Beer Can Chicken Is The Perfect Inspiration To Have Some Fun With Roast Duck

Few grown-up recipes are as simultaneously fun and impressive as beer can chicken. To elevate your beer can dinner game and add flavor to roast duck in one innovative swoop, you know what must be done. The era of beer can duck has dawned.

If you've never tried it before, beer can chicken is exactly what it sounds like: A whole chicken roasted with an open can of beer stuck in the cavity at the bottom. As it roasts, the beer steams and fills the interior of the bird, making for moist, succulent meat and crispy golden skin. Borrow this playful prep method for your next classic roast duck. It translates easily between birds and it's a great icebreaker for home cooks who might be intimidated by the idea of cooking a whole duck.

Use one 16-ounce "tall boy" beer and a 3-4 pound duck. Pour out (or drink) a few inches of the beer in the can before sticking it into the duck. You can also stick any aromatics like thyme or rosemary directly into the beer can to infuse upward into the bird. Opt for a beer with a flavor you like to drink — ideally, one that pairs well with savory meat; any pale ale or lager works well here. Steer clear of fruity sours and bitter IPAs. Pro tip: If you coat the outside of the can with a generous layer of nonstick spray before opening it, it'll be much easier to slide out post-roast.

To prepare the duck, remove the giblets and trim the skin around the neck. Then, use a knife to perforate the duck's skin with a series of shallow pokes all over the exterior of the body so that the fat can escape as it roasts; ensure that you're puncturing the skin but not cutting into the meat. To insert the beer can, hold the duck so that its open cavity is pointing down and wiggle the duck until it's fully sitting on the submerged can. This is the position in which the duck should be roasted, with the beer can remaining upright.

The legs and the beer can act as a tripod to hold the bird upright as it cooks. It can be helpful to recruit an extra set of hands for this step to get the duck into position. To catch all those flavorful drippings, position a large pan under the duck.

Your beer can duck should take about 1 ½ hours to cook all the way through over medium heat (350 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit). Check the internal temperature at the thigh joint with a meat thermometer. It's ready when it reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Just let it rest for 15 minutes, carve, and bask as the compliments roll in. To complete your roasted dinner recipe, pair with thyme potatoes and corn on the cob, which can conveniently be thrown on while the grill or oven is still hot.