Beer can chicken

Powak

Is it possible to churn out a good beer can chicken on the Egg? Or is that a waste of beer and better to be done on a kettle?

stlcharcoal

The whole beer aspect has been debunked because very little of the liquid in the can boils.  Just use an empty can or a chicken stand.  I have a cheap stand with a little pan at the bottom that catches the drippings.  Either way, it's great on the BGE!  Or spatchcock it.

RRP

personally it's a waste of beer whether done on a kettle or a BGE. The beer isn't going to do jack to improve the taste of yard bird!

jtcBoynton

Beer can chicken is a waste of beer no matter what device it is cooked on.  If you insist on doing it, an egg will do just as good job as a kettle.  Remember that by the time the beer starts to give off any vapors to the chicken, the meat will be over done.  

Powak

I'll have to try egging a chicken with a beer can stand but sans beer can.

jtcBoynton

How do you get the beer to boil in the cavity of a chicken without over cooking the meat?  

SmokeyPitt

Powak said:

stlcharcoal said:

The whole beer aspect has been debunked because very little of the liquid in the can boils.  Just use an empty can or a chicken stand.  I have a cheap stand with a little pan at the bottom that catches the drippings.  Either way, it's great on the BGE!  Or spatchcock it.

I've done beer chickens on both the Egg and kettle. On the kettle the skin gets nice and crispy and the beer boils pretty good if you drank half the can. In the egg it was super moist but the skin didn't get crispy and the interior of the chicken almost seemed uncooked. I think the kettle's a different experience with the vent controls being much like a 4 barrel carb and the grill running full blast unlike the fine tuned machine the Egg is.

I have heard other people say the same thing (easier to get crispy skin on the kettle).  I think you are correct it has to do with the efficiency of the egg vs a kettle.  On a kettle at 350+ it is pretty open and a lot of air is moving.  On the at 350ish there is still very little airflow.  There are some tricks to get crispy skin on the egg.  As mentioned earlier- spatchcocking is one method that seems to be easier for crispy skin.  If you go raised direct you can cook skin side down for a short time to get it extra crispy.  If cooking indirect I find raising the bird as high in the dome as possible helps because you get more convection action and radiant heat from the dome.  Another trick is to air dry the bird open in the fridge.  One more is a light dusting of corn starch.  

THEBuckeye

Go w/ Spatchcock

Better, easier, less mess, faster clean-up

Beer Can on the egg is overrated. I've got a gently used BGE ceramic beer can piece if you want it. 

CtTOPGUN

 Instead of a beer can or dedicated chicken stand I suggest a Bundt style pan. Root veggies around the base cooking in the drippings from the bird. Yum!!! This on any style cooker...And it is a multi-tasker.

     Jim

RRP

CtTOPGUN said:

 Instead of a beer can or dedicated chicken stand I suggest a Bundt style pan. Root veggies around the base cooking in the drippings from the bird. Yum!!! This on any style cooker...And it is a multi-tasker.

     Jim

Thanks for that idea!