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cooked 1st beer can chicken tonight! What was up with the rubbery skin??

smokn gramma g
smokn gramma g Posts: 144
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I have cooked this way on my gasser many times and never had the skin turn out this way! Was like rubber, not crispy at all! I don't know what I did wrong, I cooked it indirect, on a beer can half filled with a great lager, resting on a drip pan. Was coated with evoo and dp red eye. I cooked for 2 hours, and every thing was great except for the skin. The skin is my favorite, gotta have some! I know! Bad, bad, bad! But that is my fave part of bbq chicken.
The only different thing I did was use a roaster chicken instead of a fryer! (and my egg)
I used fresh maple leaf lump and cleaned the egg prior to the cook!
I am stumped!
Any help??[p]Gayle

Comments

  • smokn gramma g, I am no expert, but when I cook chicken the entire time indirectly I find it tastes more like baked chicken than bbq'd and the skin does not crisp up much. When I cook direct on a raised grid the skin does crisp up and it has more of a bbq taste, but it is not quite as juicy this way. Next time I think I will start it off indirect and finish it off direct. If you cooked for 2 hours my guess would be that your fire was under 300 degrees, you may want to pump it up to about 350/400. I hope this helps.
  • Zee,
    I loved the taste of the chicken, better than that on my gasser! Was squirting juice out with every cut. Temp was nailed at 325!

  • chicken.jpg
    <p />smokn gramma g,[p]I always get crisp skin when I cook at 450.

  • An Egg Downunder,
    450! Indirect?
    I thought same rules applied to the egg like the oven! I have never cooked my beer (drunk) chicken at 450 on my gas!
    How long do you cook per pound??

  • Darnoc
    Darnoc Posts: 2,661
    smokn gramma g,
    Most of the big time grillers out there dont seem to reccomend roasters.From what I have read they say to use two fryers chickens around the four pound range.The roaster was to big as compared to the typical fryer.I would think that the larger bird with your typical cooking was not long enough.

  • Darnoc
    Darnoc Posts: 2,661
    smokn gramma g,
    Just noted the temps.The last 15 min you should have cranked it up to 400/425 range to crisp things up.

  • darnoc,
    What do you mean long enough, the bird was done! Was excellent (cept the skin)! So you are saying roasters are to big, that doesnt make sense, as my turkey gets crispy! Does vertical make a diff? temp wise?
    so confused!!

  • Darnoc
    Darnoc Posts: 2,661
    smokn gramma g,
    What was the weight of that roaster? I takes longer for the fat to render on a larger bird.Was 325 a little low for the cook?

  • darnoc,
    the big bad boy weighed in at 6.5+ lbs. But all I hear on the forum is what is good for the oven, do the same for the egg. Am I misinterperting something?

  • Darnoc
    Darnoc Posts: 2,661
    smokn gramma g,
    A bird that size sould be cooked at 350 .Then the last 15/20min crank it up to 450 to crisp the skin.As I said prior the larger bird as opposed to a fryer takes a longer period of time for the fat to render.Just google ROASTING CHICKEN and I think you will find the same answer.Hope you guys have a dry weekend up there as we are expecting 8/10 inches of rain.

  • smokn gramma g,[p]It took just over an hour for a medium size bird. I never use beer cans - just a holder - because I don't like what they put in the inks that are used on the outside of cans.[p]I followed the mad max roast chicken recipe(link below) except I had to use a stainless steel pan instead of copper. Best chicken ever. [p]
    [ul][li]Mad Max's chicken recipe[/ul]
  • Darnoc
    Darnoc Posts: 2,661
    smokn gramma g,
    Good night smoken gramma.I hope you dont take the google thing as a bad comment.But you really seemed concerned about the crisp skin.That is my favorite when a whole turkey is cooked.It tastes better than the meat,in my book, and if it is not dark brown and crunchey I am not a happy camper.

  • An Egg Downunder,
    Wow! that is some nice chicken! I might be cookin it that way... less the souffle!
    Raised grid, no place setter!
    I did a search, nothing came up like that! oh well!
    thanks a bunch!

  • smokn gramma g,[p]
    I'm thinkin..an I'm just a Stump..but you done go an cook that there chicken atta lower temp till it looks like maybe its close to bein doen..then flip it skin side down over some hotta coles..meanin you may or have to may not take apart your cookin surfaces,,that is git the chicken for the last 15 nibutes or ova some real hot heat. If I'ma cookin with the platesitter..I just leave it all in there an start to move your chicken (in the bbq sense not in the rap music sense) over to the edge where the heat comes up the side of the platsetter...now I'm a boy and there takes extra care for me seein as how I prolly got somethin what don't even look like chicken maybe gettin too close to the grill..an next thing you know..you be lookin like you done got caught makin love to some kinda baked Alaskan or somethin..an I'm not braggin neither...though there was no ice cream involved as the flamin girth would suggest..so I guess I'm sayin you autta be careful if there's somthin south of the border what mite wanna be some fancy--main-ingredient-missin popular flamin ice cream desert.[p]StumpBbay[p]StumpBaby

  • smokn gramma g,[p]You are now a member of the ELETE in this forum!!!![p]You have been STUMPED!!!!![p]I'm so jealous.
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    smokn gramma g,[p]I haven't tried a roaster in the Egg yet, but when I have done them in the oven, they have been much harder to get crisp than friers. Stewing chickens even more so. I braised one stewing chicken for hours in the oven, and the skin was still rubber.[p]And, my experience so far with the Egg, is that crisp chicken skin needs a direct fire.[p]gdenby

  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,657
    2005162649.jpg
    <p />smokn gramma g,
    try a direct cook on a raised grill at 375 for a crispier skin. its important to get the chicken off the grill at the 160 internal breast or just a little below it as the carryover temps climb much higher with the higher egg temp combined with a larger bird. the first pic is for a regular bird, the second was with a light coating of chef rd wing recipe. with the chefrd coating make sure to pin the wings so that they dont touch the breast, it wont crisp up if it touches
    100_0181.jpg

    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Darnoc
    Darnoc Posts: 2,661
    smokn gramma g,
    I dont want to hear any rubber chicken jokes on this subject.You all have fun.Beers.

  • AZRP
    AZRP Posts: 10,116
    smokn gramma g,
    I split a chicken into halves last night and worked some fresh thyme, garlic, and butter under the skin. Cooked them skin side up indirect at 500 degrees for 40 minutes. This was the best chicken skin I have ever tasted, no corn starch, flour, just high heat. The meat was tender and moist. Seems to me we can get away with much higher temps in the Egg without burning or drying out. -RP

  • Darnoc
    Darnoc Posts: 2,661
    AZRP,
    Looks just like my slobber lips from your profile.Great lap dog.Dont dare come near the house.A guess you get my drift.Dont get them mad.

  • AZRP
    AZRP Posts: 10,116
    darnoc,
    Actually he's not much of a watch dog but his size (225 lbs)is enough to keep the bad guys away. The UPS guy won't get out of his truck when the dog is out, he just pulls up and throws the package into the carport, pretty funny. -RP

  • Darnoc
    Darnoc Posts: 2,661
    AZRP,
    I know just what you mean.Does yours give you the paw scratch treatment when it wants attention.More like a club than a paw.

  • AZRP
    AZRP Posts: 10,116
    darnoc,
    No, he just sleeps. -RP

  • EdF
    EdF Posts: 121
    What kind of dawg is that. Looks a bit like my bulldogs, but they aren't big.