Beer Can Chicken - Chewy Texture

rickybobby12

BGE Forum,

When I do "beer can chicken", I smoke it at 200' until the internal temp of the chicken is 160' then I pull it and let it finish cooking on its on the final 5'.

It tastes amazing but it has a chewy (gummy-like) texture.  

Any ideas on how to smoke it so it maintains the taste but has a juicy, but firm texture?

Lit

Wash the chicken and pat it dry really good and let it sit in your fridge on the beer can stand for like 6 hours.

rickybobby12

Thank you Lit    Great Idea

Mattman3969

Are talking about the texture of the meat or the skin?  What lit described will help with crispy skin but not the texture of the meat itself. To me gummy/chewy chicken generally means it needs to cook a little longer to firm up. Depending on the brand of chicken it may be pumped fulled of solution and take longer to get the meat to a desirable texture.  

rickybobby12

Thank you Matt, 

The inside is what I was referring to but Lit had a great point.  I get it up to 165' thinking that is where it needs to be but sometimes its just chewy.  Typically we get whole chickens at Whole Foods.

Carolina Q

Never did a bird at 200°. Only did a beer can once, didn't care for it - don't remember why. I always spatchcock mine. 400° direct, grid at gasket level, legs toward the hinge, flip occasionally. Pull at 160/165° for breast and 175-190° for thighs. Juicy, firm, crispy skin. They usually look like this...

Lit

Carolina Q said:

Never did a bird at 200°. Only did a beer can once, didn't care for it - don't remember why. I always spatchcock mine. 400° direct, grid at gasket level, legs toward the hinge, flip occasionally. Pull at 160/165° for breast and 175-190° for thighs. Juicy, firm, crispy skin. They usually look like this...

Show off 🔥

pgprescott

I’m not sure that the chicken will raise 5 degrees when you only were cooking at 200. Not a huge mass and not a lot of heat. Undercooked. Cooked enough to avoid sickness prolly but under. I don’t subscribe to the idea that you have to take it off at 165. Prolly helps with small chicken breast pieces cooked at high temps, but you can easily take a whole or spatchcocked chicken @ 170-175 and still have extremely moist tender bird. In fact, if doing wings I shoot for 180. There is just so much going on in the wing it needs more time IMO. 

rickybobby12

Thank you Prescott and Carolina       I am going to try this spatchcock you recommended and cook a few degrees over to ensure its not undercooked   I have always felt that the beer really didn't do anything as it just evaporated out of the top    Thank you both for the insight

lousubcap

Here's a link to spatching a chix:
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/spatch.htm  FYI-

abtaylor260

Temp too low. Need that fat hot and rendering to get that crispy texture.  350-400 is where I cook chicken. I don’t do beer can but I will stuff butter under the skin the get that nice browning.

Eoin

Agree to go with spatchcock. 350 - 400 raised direct, S & P and let it sit for half an hour, skin up then skin down to do a final crisp.