I'll have 4 whole chickens, and some plain toast for my friend.

This is a story of 4 whole chickens and two distinct cooking methods. I was tasked with providing the meat for my wife's family's 4th of July celebration (after rocking my family's gathering with a slew of brats). I could have just provided a few stock smoked chickens, but this time I was determined to try something new.

Enter beer can chicken. Now I know that my last two recipes have featured beer in a culinary application, but I couldn't help myself. Just bear with me this one last time and I promise I'll drink my beer for the rest of the summer and leave it out of my food!

Step one, brine. I've found that for highly seasoned birds (like my rubbed chickies), it's not worth it to go nuts with the brine. I keep it simple by adapting the Good Eats BBQ brine with a little kicked up seasoning. Brine for 1 hour per pound, turning once or twice to keep everything submerged. My chickens were about 3 1/4 pounds each.

Basic Brine
Adapted from the Good Eats BBQ Brine

2 quarts Water, very cold
6 oz. (by weight) Pickling Salt
4 oz. (by weight) Molasses
1.5 tablespoons BBQ Rub

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Submerge chickens in brine and refrigerate. Makes enough brine for two birds.

Rinse the birds after their brine bath and pat dry with some paper towels.

Step two, rub. Once again I used Wild Willy's Number Onederful Rub from the excellent Smoke and Spice. Be sure to get it all over and especially under the skin. Following a tip from Cook's Country, I pierced the skin all over with a skewer to help the fat run out all over the skin. Let the rubbed chickens sit at room temperature for half an hour.

Step three, prep the brew. I opened the tops with a bottle opener (the pointy end) and poured one whole beer into a glass for future consumption. Then I split the remaining beer between the two cans and added a tablespoon of rub to each.

Step four, stuff the birds. Jam that can up into the bird and place on the grill.

I'd seen a tip to place the chickens on their perches on a pan or tin to keep them from burning during cooking. In retrospect this was a mistake since the pan prevented them from cooking evenly. Without the heat from the grill, the bottoms weren't as done as the tops, and the skin didn't crisp like I wished. Next time, skip the pan and put them directly on the grill.

Step five, cook the birds. As far as heat is concerned, I started the grill on high until it got nice and heated up, then switched off the rear two burners and left the front on high. This kept the grill at a consistent 350° during cooking. To add a little flavor, I soaked a handful of hickory chips and threw them on an aluminum foil tray directly on the lit burner. The birds cooked on the burner over indirect heat for about an hour.

Step six, glaze. After the allotted hour, I glazed the birds with the glaze recipe from the afore-mentioned Cook's Country article. Don't be stingy.

Beer Can Chicken Glaze
From the Sept. 2005 issue of Cook's Country Magazine

2 tablespoons Ketchup
2 tablespoons Beer
2 tablespoons White Vinegar
2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Hot Sauce

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Step seven, finish cooking. Let the birds rest for 5-10 minutes, then carve and serve.

My inlaws absolutely loved the chicken, which was moist and uberflavorful. I didn't get much help from the beer. The infernal pan prevented the cans from getting hot enough to boil the beer, so I don't think that process added much to the flavor. I think the brining and rubbing saved the day for this one. I'm definitely trying this recipe again to get it down perfect.

Is there any more American way to celebrate the fourth?

So that's two chickens down, two to go. I'll be covering round two of the ultimate chicken cookoff soon...

Update 7/13/06 - In my zeal to post I neglected to mention points. It's really hard to say because I'm not sure how the brine affects the points value for the chicken, so I just tacked on a point or two to each serving for safety's sake. I think that's pretty conservative.