Smoked Jamaican Jerk Beer Can Chicken is a chicken dinner to knock your socks off! The chicken is juicy and packed full of flavor from a Jamaican seasoning blend and the infusion of cooking on top of a can of light beer. Your tastebuds will be singing! Smoking the chicken not only gives the chicken an extra layer of warm flavor, but also keeps the chicken from drying out. I can’t wait to get another one of these chickies on the smoker!
Did I mention that this chicken smells absolutely heavenly as it is smoking away? Because it will blow your mind how good it smells! Currently, our smoker is stored in our garage and pulled out into the driveway when we want to use it. Don’t worry, we live in a small town and everyone does it (lol). We are wanting to move it to our back deck now that its ready for summer, so we just need to take the plunge and do it. I do have to say, though, I kept sneaking my nose into the garage just to get a whiff of how decadent it smelled!
The chicken is juicy and packed full of flavor from a Jamaican seasoning blend and the infusion of cooking on top of a can of light beer.
Our Smoke Set Up
We have a Pit Boss smoker that we snagged at our local Scheels (can you believe that Target sells them as well?! Learn something new everyday!) and have fallen in love with it. It is very similar to a Traeger, but can typically be purchased at a lower price point. Even though we have a Pit Boss brand smoker, we still use Traeger pellets and it works like a charm! Confession: this is actually the first recipe that I’ve ever smoked on my own! Typically, John is doing the smoking or is there to help me, but not this time! This gal knows how to run the smoker now and is going to use it!
Whether you are looking for a twist on a weeknight meal or doing a weekend bbq, this Smoked Jamaican Jerk Beer Can Chicken is what you need! If you are lucky somehow to have any leftovers of this chicken, it reheats beautifully! Heck, I even turned my leftover smoked chicken into a bowl of ramen and it was dang good!
Smoked Jamaican Jerk Beer Can Chicken
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 5-6 servings 1x
Description
Smoked Jamaican Jerk Beer Can Chicken is a chicken dinner to knock your socks off! The chicken is juicy and packed full of flavor from a Jamaican seasoning blend and the infusion of cooking on top of a can of light beer. Your tastebuds will be singing! Smoking the chicken not only gives the chicken an extra layer of warm flavor, but also keeps the chicken from drying out. I can’t wait to get another one of these chickies on the smoker!
Ingredients
- 4 lb chicken, giblets removed
- 3 tablespoons seasoned salt
- 2 tablespoons Jamaican Jerk seasoning
- 1 can light beer
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the seasoned salt and Jamaican Jerk seasoning. Generously rub down the chicken completely with the seasoning blend.
- Line a baking sheet (one that isn’t your favorite because it’s going on the smoker) with heavy duty aluminum foil. Open the beer can and place it in the middle of the sheet pan. Place the chicken cavity over the top of the beer can and gently press down until the chicken can stand up on it’s own and doesn’t feel like it’s going to tip over. About an inch of the bottom of the beer can is typically showing.
- Place the baking sheet with the beer can chicken on it directly on the smoker. Smoke the chicken for 70-90 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the chicken reads 165 degrees. Allow the chicken to cool slightly prior to gently laying it on it’s side and using a pair of tongs to carefully pull out the beer can. It’s ok if the beer can spills, it makes a wonderful sauce to submerge your chicken in once you’ve carved it!
Notes
- If you like to make your own Jamaican Jerk seasoning, go for it! Store-bought is also fine to use as well.
- For the light beer, I like to use Bud Light. It has a good, neutral beer flavor.
- I like to use hickory pellets for this chicken, but mesquite works great as well!
Share the love!
If you make this recipe and love it as much as I do, I’d love to hear from you! Comment below, rate the recipe, or share a picture tagging @kjandcompany or using #kjandcompany so that I can see your fun pictures 🙂
Thanks for following and cooking along with me!