GRILL IT OFF! WEEK TWO
Beer-Can Chicken and Butter-Basted Grilled Cabbage
We are back on Tuesday for some more Grill it Off! weeknight inspiration!
Last week was all about hot and quick grilling. This week, we are looking at longer cooking times, but the meal is in the “set it and forget it” category.
This is a variation of my favorite back-pocket meal with Beer-Can Chicken (BCC) at the center. I’ve talked about BCC a lot on #W4D and you can read more about it here.
I love BCC because it makes the best roasted chicken. I think it is 10x better than rotisserie chicken and we all know how good that is! The skin is crispy and the meat is tender and juicy. Plus, despite that there are those who swear that it is scientifically impossible for the beer to impart any flavor, I equally swear that I can taste a deeper, clean yeasty flavor similar to that of baked bread.
Beer-Can Chicken also makes a dramatic presentation that always wows whoever you are serving. If those aren’t enough reasons to make it once a week, the leftover chicken for a sandwich or salad will be.
All you need to make a succulent Beer-can Chicken is EVOO to coat the whole bird and S&P. the EVOO will promote the caramelization, a.k.a. the crispy skin, and keep the bird from drying out. Alongside the BCC, I am making a variation of my Barbecued Cabbage. It doesn't get any simpler!
If you’ve read any of the food predictions for 2026, you may have read that CABBAGE is IN! It’s HOT!
Cabbage is trending for various reasons including the fact that it is affordable, versatile, can be used in lots of different ways (raw, fermented, braised, grilled, smoked, sautéed, stewed…my sister even makes a cabbage cacio e pepe!) and in a variety of cuisines and BIG BONUS»it’s nutritious.
You know when Vogue, writes about its cabbage crush, it’s definitely in fashion!
For this cabbage side dish, I am cutting the cabbage in wedges so that it will cook quicker. I am also spreading each side with a small amount of butter—you could use EVOO—and seasoning it with S&P. You could also use your favorite spice rub for extra flavor but this month, I am keeping things simple and trying to stay as close to the Grilling Trilogy as possible.
Once the cabbage is prepped, I wrap the sides in heavy-duty aluminum foil to protect the outer leaves and keep the cabbage together as it cooks.
Grill the cabbage alongside the chicken. Both will grill over indirect heat and the cabbage will take as long as the chicken. Most of the time, I grill a small 4 pound chicken but today my chicken weighs in at 5 pounds and it’s amazing the difference a pound makes in the cooking time. This chicken took about 1 hour and 45 minutes to cook and the wedges of cabbage took the same time.
The foil “boats” protect the cabbage so a little extra cooking time only makes it silkier in texture and a little more caramelized on the top. How long the wedge takes to cook will depend on how large the wedge is and that depends on how large the cabbage is.
If you’ve ever purchased a cabbage before, you know how much the size varies. Cutting the cabbage in a wedge instead of a slice keeps enough of the cabbage in one piece that it steams as it grills and cooks slow enough that it almost braises as it grills changing the texture from raw to a translucent soft leaf.
If you aren’t worried about the little bit of butter, brush the cabbage with a little butter as soon as you take it off the grill for extra moisture and extra flavor. When you take a bite of the slow-cooked cabbage, it’s difficult to connect it to the cool crisp shread that makes up the ubiquitous cole slaw. Cooked like this, the cabbage is meaty and tender with a delicate flavor and a nose of the cruciferous that everyone associates with roasted broccoli and caramelized cauliflower. Cabbage is part of the cruciferous family along with broccoli, cauliflower and kale which is why some folks are trying to popularize “cabbage steaks,” but I think I’ll stick to cabbage wedges like these.
This entire meal would also be terrific with the Spiceology Smoky Honey Habanero spice blend.
Let me know if this simple explanation is easy to follow or you would rather have recipes to print out and follow.
The rest of the week I plan to be grilling using the Grilling Trilogy. I will shop every other day and buy what looks good in the meat and produce section. If you need inspiration, search “grilled” in the archives for all of our past grilled meals…but forget the sauces and marinades, just try grilling your pick of protein and vegetables using EVOO, Salt and Pepper. And if you come to a roadblock, reach out, I am only a question away!!
Thank you for joining me to Grill It Off!
Elizabeth
Absoutely brilliant take on the cabbage prep! The foil boat technique is clever cos it protects the structure while also letting enuf heat through to caramelize the top. I tried somethng similar with fennel once and the timing was way off, so the observation that a pound makes such a difference with indirect heat really helps dial in expectations.