How to use a Weber Poultry Roaster

By using a Weber Poultry Roaster you’ll be able to make the most of your barbecue and enjoy roast chicken with all the trimmings any day of the week.

A poultry roaster is an essential barbecue accessory for juicy and tasty chicken. It keeps a bird upright on a barbecue cooking grate to allow heat and flavour to flow evenly through and around the meat. Always use Weber’s indirect cooking method to achieve the best results when roasting a whole chicken.

Weber make three styles of Poultry Roaster for you to choose from (check which one fits your BBQ first):

• Weber Gourmet BBQ System Poultry Roaster
• Weber Deluxe Poultry Roaster
• Weber Poultry Roaster

All Weber Poultry Roasters are designed for beer can chicken recipes and some include a cup that can be filled with beer, wine or fruit juice to steam a bird from the inside resulting in deliciously moist chicken with crispy skin.

Here are our top tips on how to use each of these highly effective Weber Poultry Roasters:

How to use a Weber GBS (Gourmet BBQ System) Poultry Roaster

The GBS Poultry Roaster provides more space and is designed for use with any Weber GBS barbecue. It’s ideal for any beer can chicken recipe.

It’s a two-in-one roaster that can be used to roast poultry and vegetables at the same time, or simply remove the middle section to create a large grill basket. This versatile roaster can cope with larger chickens too.

1. Before you prepare the chicken, please remove the GBS circular grate in the barbecue whilst it is cool and easy to handle. Then prepare and light the barbecue for indirect cooking. The ideal temperature to roast chicken is approximately 180°C.
2. Prepare the poultry with a drizzle of good quality cooking oil and season well. Add your favourite liquid to the centre of the poultry roaster. Local English bitter is a great choice, but any beer, cider or white wine will add flavour. You can also add fresh herbs, such as thyme, basil or rosemary to impart maximum flavour.
3. Place the poultry onto the centrepiece of the roaster and place seasonal vegetables around the chicken in the roaster.
4. To lock in flavour and retain the liquid, simply pop half a lemon or onion quarters into the neck of the poultry. This will prevent steam from escaping, retain heat and stop it from drying out.
5. Once you have prepared the poultry, simply place the roaster into the GBS grate hole and close the lid on your barbecue. You can leave the chicken to roast for approximately 75 minutes or longer.
6. You can use a temperature probe to test the meat which should be cooked through once it reaches 75-82°C and the chicken juice should run clear when probed.
7. Remove the Poultry Roaster from the barbecue and allow the chicken to rest whilst you plate up the vegetables. Then carve the juicy chicken into pieces ready for serving and enjoy.
8. To clean, simply remove any food and pop it in the dishwasher.

How to use a Weber Deluxe Poultry Roaster

A Weber Deluxe Poultry Roaster infuses food with flavour and can be used on charcoal or gas barbecues to recreate any beer can chicken recipe. More compact than the GBS Poultry Roaster, this two-in-one accessory cooks most chickens and comes with an infuser lid to lock in flavour. By removing the infuser and lid, it can convert quickly into a griddle pan ready to bake or warm through food on the barbecue.

1. Light the barbecue ready for indirect cooking and bring it to a temperature of approximately 180°C.
2. Prepare poultry with oil and seasoning. Add beer, wine or fruit juice to the centre well of the roaster and pop in any fresh herbs to the well.
3. Place the infuser on top of the liquid in the well and place the chicken onto the infuser in the centre of the roaster. To lock in flavour place the infuser cap on top of the neck of the chicken.
4. Place your favourite seasonal vegetables around the chicken in the roaster. The built in tray will help to gather delicious juices which can be used to make a gravy from the meat and vegetables.
5. Put the roaster carefully onto the barbecue cooking grate and close the lid on the barbecue. You can leave the chicken to roast for an hour and a half. The upright position of the chicken will enable it to cook through with moist meat from the steaming process and crispy skin from the heat of the barbecue.
6. You can use a temperature probe to test the meat which should be cooked through once it reaches 75-82°C and the chicken juice should run clear when probed.
7. Remove the Poultry Roaster from the barbecue and allow the succulent chicken to rest. Remove the infusion cap and move the chicken to a board ready for carving. Juices gathered can be used to make a home-made gravy.
8. Once you are finished the non-stick ceramic surface makes cleaning up easy and it is dishwasher safe.

How to use a Weber Poultry Roaster

For traditional beer can chicken use a Weber Poultry Roaster. This metal roasting rack provides enough space for a beer can to be inserted for an authentic cook.

1. Set up the barbecue ready to cook using Weber’s indirect cooking method with charcoal around the edges of the barbecue. Then light the barbecue and cook at approximately 180°C.
2. Prepare poultry with a rub and reserve about one third of the beer from the can (or drink it). This will prevent liquid flowing over into the barbecue. The rack holds most heat resistant cups or a can measuring up to 6.8cm in diameter.
3. Place beer can carefully into the centre of the rack and place the prepared chicken on top of the can. The rack will support the bird in an upright position to maximise flavour.
4. Place the roaster carefully onto the barbecue cooking grate and close the lid on the barbecue. You can leave the chicken to roast for up to an hour and a half.
5. You can use a temperature probe to test the meat which should be cooked through once it reaches 75-82°C and the chicken juice should run clear when probed.
6. Remove the Poultry Roaster from the barbecue using the roaster rack handles and allow the beer can chicken to rest. Any liquid left can be used to create a tasty gravy.
7. To clean, simply remove the beer can, then place the roaster into the dish washer (removing any food before you do this).

Finally to enhance flavour, try using a Weber Smoking Poultry Blend with a Weber Poultry Roaster. This is ideal if you don’t enjoy applying a rub to chicken and you’ll still be able to achieve great flavour with any of the roasters.

Browse for a Weber Poultry Roaster online in our Barbecue Fuel & Accessories section or visit us in-store for further advice from our fully trained Weber Barbecue Experts at our official Weber World Store at Gates Garden Centre in Leicestershire.