Beer can chicken on the smoker is by far one of the best ways to cook a whole bird. This Sip Bite Go recipe will leave you with a juicy BBQ chicken with crispy skin and a smoky flavor that’s simply to die for. Grab your six pack, a bird and let’s get smoking!
New to smoked food recipes and Treager recipes? See my step by step video for beginners (scroll to bottom of page).
Table of Contents
Why Smoked Beer Can Chicken is so good to make…
- It smokes pretty fast!
- Has tons of deep smoke flavor.
- 5 minute prep.
- You don’t need many ingredients… Just a 3 – 5 pound chicken, seasonings, and one can of beer and you’re good to go.
- You can get creative. You can lather your chicken in BBQ sauce or baste it with butter to keep it moist. OR you can make a nice BBQ brown sugar dry rub if you want to keep things easy.
- It’s easy for a family meal or smoked dinner using the Traeger. This is pretty much like a one pot meal, but instead, you toss it on the smoker and let it ride until it’s done. Very minimal upkeep work to be done while it’s smoking.
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Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make Smoked Beer Can Chicken.
- whole chicken (3lb, 4lb, or 5lb)
- olive oil
- BBQ rub (or any poultry / chicken seasoning)
- beer, preferably a lager, still in the can
- BBQ sauce
How to make Smoked Beer Can Chicken
Now I’ll walk you through it…
Quick look at Smoked Beer Can Chicken recipe
- Preheat the smoker to 325 degrees F and prepare the whole chicken with BBQ rub.
- Stick partially full can of beer under chicken.
- Smoke at 325 degrees F for 1 hour
- Brush the beer can chicken with BBQ sauce and continue smoking for another 30 minutes until done. (165 degrees F internal temperature)
- Remove the chicken from the smoker. Rest, carve, and enjoy.
Detailed recipe steps
- Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 325 degrees F.
- Prep whole chicken for smoking. Remove chicken from the bag, remove any extra bones or parts that might be inside, and pat dry the whole chicken with a paper towel.
- Season the whole chicken by rubbing olive oil all over. Then season all over with BBQ rub, massaging it generously into the bird, get all the little areas like behind all limbs, like it’s on a spa vacation in Maui, receiving a pampering massage by the beach in a cabana. You read that right. Actually, go ahead and toss a little inside the bird cavity to season everything!
- Place the whole chicken on top of the can of beer, with half the amount of beer in it, and make sure the chicken breast side is pointing up.
- Smoke beer can chicken for 1 hour at 325 degrees F.
- Brush partially smoked whole chicken with BBQ sauce, all over. (Insert a thermometer probe into the thickest part of the chicken thigh, if you haven’t at this time.)
- Continue smoking beer can chicken until done to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. (Sometimes we take it off once it’s hit at least 160 degrees F, with the mindset that it will come up to 165 degrees F, but you always want to check that it’s reached the safe chicken temperature to eat it.)
- Remove beer can chicken from Traeger.
- Rest for 20 minutes, carve and serve.
Tasty whole chicken recipes from Sip Bite Go
- Pellet smoker beer can chicken
- Smoked whole chicken
- Smoked spatchcock chicken
- Air fry whole chicken
- Sous vide whole chicken
- Crock pot whole chicken
- Vacuum seal whole chicken
- How to spatchcock chicken
FAQs
Cooking time depends on both the size of your chicken and the temperature that you are smoking it at. In this Sip Bite Go recipe, I smoked the 3 lb chicken at 375 degrees F for 1.5 – 2 hours until the internal temperature reached 160 – 165 degrees F in the thickest part of the chicken’s thigh using an instant read thermometer.
Be sure to cover the cooked chicken with aluminum foil during the resting period. This will keep the chicken warm while it comes up to temperature.
Yes, you most certainly can cook beer can chicken in the smoker. The good thing is that it is easy and simple. Just place the chicken on top of a can of beer and throw it on the smoker until it’s done. 
The purpose of using beer or any liquid for that matter is to help keep the bird’s interior moist during the cooking process. Alternatively you could use stock or probably water if you wanted.
The good news here is that smoked beer can chicken goes with just about anything. You could pair it with smoked mac n’ cheese, smoked baked potatoes or smoked mashed potatoes. A great option for an appetizer is smoked queso dip.
I recommend using a lager or pale ale beer for this beer can chicken recipe because they are a pretty plain tasting beer. You do not really need to go wild and use an overly flavorful beer for this smoke.
I suggest something with a rich smoky flavor like mesquite pellets or hickory pellets for beer can chicken. Hickory really compliments that chicken nicely and the chicken really picks up the smoky flavor of hickory. But hey, it’s also great with lighter fruity alternatives like the signature Traeger Blend of Pellets, pecan or Traeger applewood pellets.
Yes, you can make beer can chicken on a gas grill. If you don’t have a smoker, then you’ll want to fire up your gas grill. My recommendation here is to keep the temps of your gas grill on the lower side around 325 – 350 degrees F so you don’t burn the skin of the chicken before the meat is cooked.
If you have a wood chip box, you would add that into your gas grill to create a smoker for your cook. I’ll share a grill recipe in the future for it.
You place the beer can directly in the cavity of the chicken. The beer can will help keep it upright during the smoke.
Definitely use a pair of tongs or oven proof gloves to remove the beer can.
More Tasty Grill + Smoker Recipes
- Smoked mac and cheese
- Smoked cream cheese
- Smoked brisket flat
- 321 ribs
- Beer can chicken on the smoker
- Smoked wings
- Smoked tomahawk steak
- Traeger tri tip
- Smoked turkey breast
- Whole smoked turkey
- Smoked Traeger pizza
- Smoked onion rings
- Traeger smoked ham
- Smoked whole chicken
- Smoked jalapeno poppers
- Smoked corn on the cob
- Traeger beef ribs
- Smoked leg of lamb
- Smoked shrimp
- Grilled chicken wings
- Grilled skirt steak
- Flank steak marinade
- Grilled potato wedges
- Smoked pulled pork
- Want more? See my lineup of easy smoker recipes
See my favorite smoker tools and seasonings in my Amazon Storefront.
Meat thermometer recommendations
Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly.
On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:
- Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
- ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill.
It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature.
How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever… Then put the food in the oven, on the smoker, or grill.
While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!
Are you a foodie, too?
Hey home chefs, hope that answers all your questions about Smoking a beer can chicken.
Check out these game day smoker recipes…
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Smoked Beer Can Chicken Recipe | Sip Bite Go
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken 3lb, 4lb, or 5lb
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp BBQ rub or any poultry / chicken seasoning
- ½ can of beer preferably a lager, still in the can
- ¼ cup BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 325 degrees F.
- Prep whole chicken for smoking. Remove chicken from the bag, remove any extra bones or parts that might be inside, and pat dry the whole chicken with a paper towel.
- Season the whole chicken by rubbing olive oil all over. Then season all over with BBQ rub, massaging it generously into the bird, get all the little areas like behind all limbs, like it’s on a spa vacation in Maui, receiving a pampering massage by the beach in a cabana. No spot should go untouched with seasoning… you read that right. Actually, go ahead and toss a little inside the bird cavity to season everything!
- Place the whole chicken on top of the can of beer, with half the amount of beer in it, and make sure the chicken breast side is pointing up.
- Smoke beer can chicken for 1 hour at 325 degrees F.
- Brush partially smoked whole chicken with BBQ sauce, all over. (Insert a thermometer probe into the thickest part of the chicken thigh, if you haven’t at this time.)
- Continue smoking beer can chicken until done to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. (Sometimes we take it off once it’s hit at least 160 degrees F, with the mindset that it will come up to 165 degrees F, but you always want to check that it’s reached the safe chicken temperature to eat it.)
- Remove beer can chicken from Traeger.
- Rest for 20 minutes, carve and serve.
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