what went wrong with my trusted beer-can chicken???

Midnight Smoker · July 2007

hey all,[p]i've done lots o' beer can chix in the past, and they all turned out great. but last night, it was terrible. the breast meat was way overcooked (around 180 degrees in the center), and the leg and thigh meat was way undercooked (around 160 degrees). [p]i don't even know what i did wrong. same set up, same everything. maybe the temp was running a wee bit higher than normal, since last night it was at 400 degrees indirect, whereas usually it's around 350-375 indirect. [p]seems like the smoke high up in the dome was cooking the breasts faster b/c they were highter up than the thighs, since the chicken was sitting on one of those beer can stands. i wish i could flip the bird over and let the thighs be high in the dome and the breasts down near the grate, but the small opening at the neck cavity of the bird makes that impossible. [p]and the skin was like rubber too. [p]any suggestions would be much appreciated. i'd especially like to hear some recipes on slow-smoking a whole chicken vertically. [p]thanks!

Bucky Buckshot · July 2007

Midnight Smoker,
I have had the same results as you with beer-can chicken. I corrected that problem by spachcocking them. By doing that I have had perfect results every time. Just a thought. Bucky

Darnoc · July 2007

Bucky Buckshot,
Was that bird completly thawed out or you really had a cold spot in your fridge.

Midnight Smoker · July 2007

Darnoc,[p]completely thawed out. and i had smeared it with a paste of my all-purpose rub and melted butter.[p]just don't know what went wrong...

Darnoc · July 2007

Midnight Smoker,
You got me stumped.I have never had that happen.Might have been a drunken chicken(not Spring Drunken Chicken)had to throw that in.

thirdeye · July 2007

<p />Midnight Smoker,[p]When beer can chicken first became a fad I tried several and they were never to my liking, for some of the reasons you mentioned. Using an empty can produced better results. Years later when those vertical racks came out, I bought two and tried it without the can. This was better than using the empty can but still not what I wanted.[p]When you really think about it, a chicken is two totally different types of meat with different amounts of fat and cooked to two different doneness levels. So why cook them together?[p]Try butchering your chickens into dark and light halves and put the dark half on about 15 or 20 minutes before the breast. Monitor each for your personal doneness. You can split the pelvis to give you dark quarters if you like.[p]If you don't want to fool with racking up the breasts, just remove the backbone and cook on the grate. Don't split it in two pieces and don't break the sternum, they loose too much juice that way.[p][p]All that said .... One of my all time favorite beer can chicken pictures is a photograph of unknown origin, that was called "beer boob chicken". Lemons were halved, cleaned of pulp, filled with garlic (or herbed) butter, partially frozen and then inserted appropriately. As the birds cooked the butter melts and self bastes.[p][p]~thirdeye~

Midnight Smoker · July 2007

thirdeye,[p]yeah, beer can is tough to get uniform results through an un-uniform chicken. maybe next time, while the egg heats up, i'll try MadMax's ice-down-of-the-breasts trick. [p]i really think the key is figuruing out a way to stand the chicken on its head on a beer can holder, rather than having it stand on its feet. it's tricky, b/c the neck cavity is so much smaller than the butt cavity.

fishlessman · July 2007

<p />Midnight Smoker,
ive always cooked them direct, maybe give that a try as the heat from the lump hits the legs first

Midnight Smoker · July 2007

fishlessman,[p]not a bad idea. what temp do you do it at? i assume you use a grid raised to the felt line...

fishlessman · July 2007

Midnight Smoker,
raised grid 375 plus or minus. ive been using gingerale, maybe one inch deep in the can, i dont like buyng cheap beer and i will drink the tonic occasionally

stike · July 2007

fishlessman,
if that guiness is the proud papa to whatever can that chicken is birthing, he's gonna be awful upset to see it's a budlight.[p]where the h*ll did YOU get a bud light? ...of all people[p](this italics thing is really gonna be handy)

fishlessman · July 2007

stike,
my brothers father inlaw brought them over. get this, he drinks them WARM from the top of the fridge. i remember back in college i bought a 30 pack of them and sat down to watch the sox, second inning they were gone and i had to get more beer. last time i ever bought such a worthless beer. i did buy some pbr once to cook the chicken, but go for the gingerale. atleast you can drink the stuff.

stike · July 2007

fishlessman,
hahaha[p]what was the score of the first inning?[p]since i left work maybe 9 months ago, i don't go downstairs and drink their 23 oz beers all the time anymore. if i have two now, i'm starting to feel it. man. used to have five or so and go BACK TO WORK.[p]at least i'm saving cash, and my liver i guess. i miss the fresh beer though

Essex County · July 2007

stike,
Yeah, and they laid off half the waitstaff at the Beer Works.
Paul

stike · July 2007

Essex County,
black arm bands for a week after i left.
my old boss had to knock back to once or twice a week. was bad enough when we were down there LITERALLY every day. but being alone he kinda sticks out.[p]...a friend of mine has sorta taken my spot though, and they are back into a rhythm, though not as frequently.[p]what does this hafta do with chicken? boy, i hijacked this thread didn't i?[p]sorry Mshark!

Essex County · July 2007

fishlessman,
It's tough being a beer snob. A friend came by with a twelve-pack of Coors light a few years ago. We drank a few and he left the rest behind. We froze them and used them as ice packs in coolers. After a year or so and a dozen freeze/thaw cycles, I was desperate and opened one. The flavor was unchanged.[p]Paul

stike · July 2007

Essex County,
that sh!t is for people who like to pee.[p]i remember in highschool gagging on michelob light trying to pretend i thought it tasted good and gee aren't we cool. the guys would give me grief for not being able to drink it. fast forward and those guys now can't drink a sam adams. they call it "fancy" beer. [p]can't tell if it's me or the beer that is more bitter. >sniff<
hahaha[p]found a decentplace in reading we thought would be great to meet at for dinner. then we got serve at 10:30pm having sat down at 8:30. perhaps not such a great spot after all.

Darnoc · July 2007

stike,
By all means warn your friends about this new Miller Chill.No where near a Corona,it tastes like Squirt pi--.

what went wrong with my trusted beer-can chicken???

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