By Nick Tolbert
Enquirer contributor

I used to think that I was the best around when it came to throwing down on the grill - 'til I ran into Bubba. Bubba was from the hills of Tennessee and was one of the best grill men - or pit men, as he liked to put it - I have met. He never went to chef school, and everything he knew about grilling was a "family tradition," he said.

Bubba introduced me to beer can chicken, grilling a chicken upright over a can of beer. The result: the moistest, most succulent, flavorful chicken I ever tasted.

Since then, it's become one of my favorite ways to grill chicken. Beer can chicken, also known as drunken chicken, dancing chicken and chicken on the throne, has become an American favorite, especially around football season at tailgate parties.

Here is a recipe I was able to get from Bubba. Try it - it may end up becoming your family tradition.

Bubba's Beer Can Chicken

1 can of your favorite beer

1 chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds)

2 teaspoons melted butter

RUB

1/4 cup of course salt (kosher or sea)

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup paprika

1/2 cup dried paisley

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons freshly ground pepper

Place the rub ingredients in a bowl and mix.

Pop the tab of the beer can and pour out half. (Unused beer can be used for soaking wood chips.) Using a hand-style can opener, make two additional holes in the top. Set can of beer aside.

Prepare chicken by removing the packet of giblets from the body cavity. Remove and discard fat just inside the body and neck cavities. Rinse the chicken, inside and out, under cold running water, then drain and blot dry, inside and out, with paper towels.

Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the rub inside the body cavity and 1/2 teaspoon inside the neck cavity of the chicken. Drizzle melted butter over the outside of the chicken and rub over the skin. Sprinkle the outside of the bird with 1 tablespoon of rub and rub over the skin.

Next, hold the bird upright, with the opening of the body cavity at the bottom, and lower it on to the beer can. Tuck tips of the wings behind the chicken's back and pull the legs forward to form a sort of tripod, so the bird stands upright on grill.

Push hot coals to one side of grill. On the other side, place a drip pan. Replace the grate and move the beer can and chicken over drip pan away from the heat. Cover the grill and cook the chicken until the skin is golden brown and crisp and the internal temperature of the thigh registers 180 degrees.

Contact the Midnight Gourmet by phone: 362-2723; e-mail: thepulseofthecity@hotmail.com.