Independence Day Whole “Beer Can” Chicken (Pic Heavy)

PASmoke · July 2023

I mentioned in my shoulder post that I also did a whole chicken…..one of our daughters doesn’t like pork. It turned out great!

I used a neutral, eucalyptus charcoal and mixed in chunks of Apple wood.

The chicken was brined with added thyme for a day. I kept the preparation simple and rubbed it with olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper….I put fresh peeled garlic cloves, chopped onions and water in the “beer can” cylinder.

I kept the temp very low - between 200 & 250 - for the entire three hour cook. After the first hour I added onions and chopped red potatoes that I tossed in duck fat to the pan to cook in the drippings of the chicken. Oh, and I poured a bit of bacon fat from breakfast into the pan too because…..why not?!?

I highly recommend this low and slow whole chicken cook…..I literally pulled the legs, thighs, breasts and wings apart with zero effort and placed them into the onions/potatoes for serving. No knife needed……

The onions & potatoes were ridiculously good……with bacon fat, duck fat and chicken drippings……how could they not be?!?!

Fire started……

The garlic and onion in the “beer can”

The drippings pan with some leftover bacon fat from breakfast…….

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/iv/13hsau3quhmf.jpeg

The chicken out of the brine bag and ready to be rubbed

Rubbed very simply with olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, salt & pepper……

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/7v/w0v2pjnsx1ct.jpeg

Temp set low at 225 (ish)……..I never let it go above 250 degrees and pulled it at 3 hours…….

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/dc/6woa6e1hjsd4.jpeg

Here is the bird rubbed and on the Egg with the bacon fat in the drip pan. The BGE paella pan is perfect for this cook……it easily holds two birds and literally nothing sticks to it.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/p0/o03oeckiff0q.jpeg

After the first hour I added the onions and sliced red potatoes.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/m2/7u2y92gtae1m.jpeg

This is the finished product before carving (pulling, really) the pieces…….

I pulled it apart and laid the pieces over the onion/potato goodness to serve to our daughter and guests…..

it was soooooo good!

Again……wine geek. So we served this with a rose’ of Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley in Oregon. It worked very well but this dish could have also easily stood up to a light/medium bodied red.

Cheers! 🥂🍾 Happy Birthday, America! 🇺🇸 May God bless the men & women who paved our way……

JohnInCarolina · July 2023

That is gorgeous. I've never actually tried beer-can chicken. What temp do you typically look to pull it at?

Canugghead · July 2023

How was the skin at that low temp for three hours?

PASmoke · July 2023

@JohnInCarolina I don’t really probe it…..as long as you keep the temp between 200 and 225 it’s hard to over or under cook it in a 3 hour cook.

PASmoke · July 2023

@Canugghead The skin is good. It’s not crunchy - but it’s certainly not flabby. I patted it dry and left it on the counter for an hour before putting it on the egg…..that probably helps. Also, you easily pop it under broil in the oven once it’s pulled if you want it more crisp….