Beer can chicken is a whole chicken with a partially filled can of beer stuffed in its cavity, roasted vertically on a grill so the beer can steam from the heat, thereby passing its flavor and moisture into the chicken. Although some cooks swear by this method of roasting chicken, others say it's a waste of time — and possibly dangerous.

You should enjoy your beer and your chicken separately, unless you merely want to show off your vertical chicken roasting skills. There's no way for the beer to get hot enough to evaporate while inserted into the cool, moist chicken, due to the way the bird is positioned, so the meat won't get a beer-flavored steam bath.

Additionally, the beer can might even explode while inside the chicken, sending metal shards everywhere and causing injuries. If you do try cooking beer can chicken and the end result is moist and tasty, it doesn't really have anything to do with the beer, and you may as well save yourself a can to drink right now or enjoy later.