With more American craft breweries than ever before, canning their awesome brews, we’ve no doubt you’ll have some on hand this Thanksgiving.
And you can put them to good use this week in more ways than one….like for roasting the world’s juiciest grilled turkey!
Beer Can Turkey
What you’ll need…
Here are the basics you’re gonna need to pull this thing off…
An outdoor gas grill with ample clearance to accommodate an upright turkey.
It’s best to actually measure the distance between the grill grate and the top of the grill lid, so you know that what you’re dealing with (and you might want to have a tape measure with you, when you go turkey shopping.
One 10 lb. turkey obviously, and yes it needs to be thawed. Smoked turkey is also a brilliant option for beer-can grilling.
You’re also going to need….
1 Tbsp. smoked Spanish paprika, 1 Tbsp. granulated garlic, 1/2 Tbsp. roasted cumin, 1/2 Tsp kosher salt, 1 Tsp black pepper, 24oz beer (think those big cans of Fosters some call ‘oil cans’) and 1/4 cup canola oil
Here’s how you do it….
1) Remove neck and giblets from cavity of turkey, (It’s primal but necessary).
2) Rinse turkey inside and out (also pretty important if you value your stomach).
3) Pre-heat your outdoor grill to 400°F.
4) Combine paprika, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper in a small bowl (easy peasy).
5) Thoroughly rub cavity of turkey with spice mixture (go nuts, but reserve half of mixture).
6) Open beer can and take a swig or two to keep going.
7) Insert beer can into bottom of turkey, (you’re adept at that right?)
8) Place turkey and can in roasting pan. Position legs like a tripod to hold turkey up (you can also purchase a Beer-Can Roaster Rack which will make things infinitely easier).
9) With basting brush, coat outside of turkey with canola oil.
10) Rub remaining spice mixture on outside of turkey (and again behave yourself).
11) Place pan with turkey in grill (duh).
12) Lower lid and cook covered for approximately 1 1/4 hours (or until meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 180 degrees).
13) Remove turkey from grill and discard beer can immediately (after all it is Foster’s …no need to further damage your craft beer cred).
14) Transfer turkey to cutting board and let sit for 20 minutes before carving.
15) Start drinking seriously (if you haven’t already). We suggest a well-crafted porter. Hill Farmstead’s Everett if you can find it, and Founders Porter is also very solid.
Beer Can Turkey image credit: The Chew
And you can check out their recipe for cooking beer can turkey in kitchen oven HERE