Mesquite Smoked Beer Can Chicken Thighs

Mesquite Smoked Beer Can Chicken Thighs with Barbecue Sauce

With spring right around the corner, it's time to take the cover off the grill and buy smoke pellets!  Actually, I grill just about 365 days a year: rain, shine, or occasional snow flurries.  It's the easiest way for me to prepare meat, poultry, and fish, and it sure beats anything you can do to it in an oven!

For a taste of the smokey South, conjuring up mental images of fire pits and the smell of mesquite swirling in the air, I make my own version of beer can chicken using thigh meat.

I read in a book, that when preparing beer bread or beer can chicken, cheap beer is better.  Works for me!  I got this beer for $0.50 a can at Trader Joe's.

Start the grill and get a steady temperature of 400 degrees.  Add your smoke pellets (~1 cup) and after 15 minutes, your neighbors will be hating you because suddenly their take-out pizza isn't smelling quite as appealing :)

I use the entire can of beer, and as long as my grill doesn't get too hot, it will last the whole hour that my chicken cooks.  I remove the skins, to be healthy, and season the meat.  You'll notice that a beautiful golden and chewy layer will form over your succulently moist inner meat.

So, there you have it!  An inexpensive and easy dish that is so delicious that I can't do justice describing it.  You'll just have to make it for yourself...again...and again...and again!

*Easy clean-up bonus.  Line an old cookie sheet with two layers of aluminum foil.  Simply fold up and throw away when you're done.  No washing dishes for you!

From one hearty appletite to another...happy cooking!

Photography © Hearty Appletite