beer butt

glenn

I need a little help with my beer butt birds
I cook my birds with 1/2 can of ice house inserted in their cavities
I use the same rub on the chicken as I do for pork ribs
just the basic rub ,found the recipie some where on the egg site
I cook em till the thigh temp is at 180 and veerything looks great, nice and brown and done all the way through,(no blood in the joints)
but the skin is soggy.If it werent for that the birds would be perfect.
Actually the whole bird is extremly moist but very tasty.
But the soggy skin is sort of a turn off even though it actually tastes ok
I would appreciate any pointers that I can get
Thanx

Unknown

Glenn,
Bump your heat up for a few moments until it gets crispy.

Smokey

Driftpin,[p]You might also consider rubbing the skin with olive oil or butter before you add the rub.

Mike in MN

Glenn,[p]I start mine on high temp, (450) and allow the temp to drop after the first 5-10 minutes. This browns the skin right off the bat. Also rub with olive oil before seasoning. [p]You can check the project by looking down through the top vent on the initial "heat blast." Don't singe your eyebrows...this is one of the items that should be listed as "Do not attempt this at home," stunts...for safety reasons. But, we just use caution.[p]You can't get a broasted chicken, extra crispy out of the egg. Browned up nice, yes. But crackly crispy , no, I don't think so. There's just too much moisture in the dome for that.
Mike in MN[p]PS Good choice of beer, but I prefer the bottles.

WooDoggies

<p />Mike in MN,[p]I agree that it can be difficult to get crispy skin on a whole chicken but it can be done. And patting the bird dry first, rubbing down with oil and then applying the spices works for me as well. I will give your initial heat blast a try.[p]Pictured is a chicken that was rubbed with olive oil, rolled in BlueSmokes Gilded Splinters and cooked at 325-350 for 1.5 to 2 hours on a raised grid where the bird was up in the dome.
I fashioned a small round of foil, about the diameter of the chicken, and placed it under the setter to keep the bottom from finishing too quickly and to help it brown evenly all around. The skin turned out crispy on this one. [p]King of Coals turned me onto a method a while back that makes for some very good crispy skinned chicken. I haven't done it in a while but here it is, abridged from an email:[p]
K.O.C. Fool Proof Chicken[p]"..... brine the chickens in 1 gallon of water per 1 cup of kosher salt and whatever spices you like. Brine for at least 24 hours. Remove birds from the brine and rinse really well. Force your hands and fingers under the skin to break it loose from the meat as you rinse. Rinse, rinse, rinse.
Then prop up the birds and let sit for another day in the fridge to drain off really good.
Then pour olive oil on them and your hands and work it under the skin. Try to get under the skin on the legs and thighs as good as you can, too. Then pour on the spices and sesonings of your choice. Work it under the skin, too. Then let sit another day, whew,, a three day process but you will love the results.
Try to tie the wings and legs as close to the body as possible. Put the chicken on a holder to grill them.
Let them cook around 300-325 without looking for 2 hours. Then open and and check with a thermometer until the thigh meat goes to 200 or even above.
They will be fall-apart tender and juicy. The brine keeps even the breast meat from drying out. I promise...."
-K.O.C. 1/27/2002[p]He is right. The skin turns out crispy from the air drying and the meat is moist and has a really nice texture that only brining can give.
This method is worth trying at least once.[p]If you don't want a 3 day commitment, I have brined overnight, rinsed in the morning and patted dry, on a setter in the fridge all day to air dry, oiled and rubbed up just before grilling..... it's good but not as good as the 3 day thang.[p]Give it a go and let KOC on the Primo forum know what you think. The air drying really does work...... cheers![p]John[p][p][p]