OK, I have to chime-in on the beer can chicken thing, for better or worse.
I started using this method years ago on the grill, but could never tell much difference from a "regular" roasted chicken. I've tried everything from apple juice concentrate to various beers in the can, with really no difference in the flavor. If you look at a beer can chicken setup, you'll see that the can ends at the
top of the chicken! No matter what you have in the can, it's going to "steam" (if it actually gets hot enough to steam)
out the top of the bird! I say "if it actually gets hot enough to steam" because I've based it on experimentation. First of all, you take a room-temp liquid and place it inside 4 1/2-5 lbs of
cold chicken. As the can tries to heat, it is still surrounded by cold meat for quite awhile. I've made multiple holes in the top of the can, and varied the liquid level, all to no noticeable avail. I've pulled many cans out of a chicken that had no appreciable lesser level of liquid in them.
I think the "posture" of placing the bird on a can, or can holder, is a great way to position a bird for smoke penetration (vertical), but I just don't believe the can of liquid makes any difference whatsoever in the final taste of the bird. I'm sure I'll catch some flak for this, but I've tried multiple ways to make this work (yes, I was a believer in this). Now, I see it's just not worth the effort, and will stuff a bird with some onions, apples, and lemons if I want impart "flavor" to the meat - not liquid in a beer can.