Second fail

shannonlcorum · January 2014

I don't know what I am doing wrong. I cooked another chicken today, this one on a beer can. I cooked it for about 1 1/2 hours, direct, grate not raised, at about 350-375. The internal temp in the thigh was 175 when I took it off. When I cut into the breast, it was perfectly juicy and the juices were clear. When I got to the thigh, it was pink and had blood in the juice. I don't get it. How can it be the right temp and still not be done? The only thing I can think of is I am sitting the beer can holder inside an 8-inch cake pan, which I guess might be kind of making it indirect. But the internal temp was 175 and I did not have the probe against the bone. So now I'm stuck microwaving the dark meat again to make sure I don't poison my kids.

Help?

stantrb · January 2014

Probe wasn't in the deepest part of the thigh?

175 in the thigh won't kill anybody, but it's not ideal.

Spatchcock, raised direct, 375-400, roughly an hour. That usually gets the thigh done at the same time as the breast.

DMW · January 2014

Spatchcock raised direct 375*-400*, legs toward the back.

Doc_Eggerton · January 2014

Whole chickens are a pain in the neck to cook. I now just do cut pieces or spatchcock. You have to hit the balance between overcooked on the breast and enough on the thighs. I seem to remember some discussion of foiling the breast at some point while the thighs heated up. You could also foil the whole bird, up to temp and then expose the skin for crisp for a few minutes.

Shiff · January 2014

I had a lot of problems cooking whole chickens until I started to Spatchcock them. Now they always come out perfect. 350-400 indirect for about an hour. I pull back the skin and put some rub under the skin then pull the skin back into place.

shannonlcorum · January 2014

I was hoping to do the beer can method. Spatchcock kinda eliminates that possibility. Maybe next time I'll try putting it in with the legs up. I think I read somewhere that this would help the legs cook better.

My other option is to get a new thermometer. Maybe mine isn't accurate. Who knows. I was hoping to do some chicken next weekend for SuperBowl but now I'm sure I want to tempt getting it wrong again.

Mattman3969 · January 2014

DMW said:
Spatchcock raised direct 375*-400*, legs toward the back.

This..... Easiest way to do chicken. I do cook closer to 425*.

Doc_Eggerton · January 2014

Do you plug the neck hole? I always put an onion, apple or orange in there to maintain the heat and control the air flow. This may help even the cooking. Other than presentation I never found an advantage to the beer can method.

henapple · January 2014

When it's about 3/4 done I cut the skin a little ...where the leg is attached. Takes care of the pink.

nolan8v · January 2014

Here is an interesting article regarding the beer can method:

http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/debunking_beer_can_chicken.html

Cookinbob · January 2014

I have done them vertical on the beer can, no problem. In fact I like to cook whole chickens either vertical or horizontal. I always do them indirect with a drip pan. 350 to 400 (grate, not dome) takes me about 1-1/2 hours for a 6 lb bird.

I prefer indirect to spatchcock and cooking direct (I gave it a try). in fact I do not like to cook chicken direct. IMO, the dripping and burning fat creates what I consider an off flavor - almost like I started the fire with lighter fluid. With that said, there are lots of folks on this forum who feel otherwise.

Find what works for you, but don't give up on the whole bird. FWIW, I don't think the contents of the can contribute anything to the flavor of the bird. Use a good rub.

shannonlcorum · January 2014

henapple said:

When it's about 3/4 done I cut the skin a little ...where the leg is attached. Takes care of the pink.

I will have to try that.

shannonlcorum · January 2014

I don't know what the issue is. I've watched several videos on cooking beer can chicken on the egg, and just about every one of them says 1 1/2 hours at 350 direct and indirect. I didn't notice any of the direct ones raising the grate so that can't be the problem. The only other thing I can think of is if my egg thermometer is wrong. Any ideas on how to calibrate it? I saw a few that suggested boiling water and making sure it reads 212 when stuck in a rolling boil. Another used ice water and said to make sure it reads 32. Do either of these work or is there a better way I need to calibrate mine?

Canugghead · January 2014

article on bloody chicken ...

http://www.hi-tm.com/Documents/Bloody-chik.html

lousubcap · January 2014

@shannonlcorum-regarding calibrating the BGE dome thermo; use the boiling water method. Insert thermo (not touching the bottom or side of the container) and note temperature. If not around 212*F note the off-set. There is a nut on the back of the thermo. Twist nut (will move the needle) to remove off-set and retest. FWIW-

Egghead_Daron · January 2014

+1 on boiled water test.

Little Steven · January 2014

shannonlcorum said:

I was hoping to do the beer can method. Spatchcock kinda eliminates that possibility. Maybe next time I'll try putting it in with the legs up. I think I read somewhere that this would help the legs cook better.

My other option is to get a new thermometer. Maybe mine isn't accurate. Who knows. I was hoping to do some chicken next weekend for SuperBowl but now I'm sure I want to tempt getting it wrong again.

If you do it inverted do most of the cook with the back of the chicken with the back toward the back of the egg. When the back is well browned turn the breast toward the back of the egg. If you are saying you had 175* in the thigh with a thermapen or some decent digital thermo your cooking environment did it's job. Your dome thermo isn't the culprit. As per the link Canugghead put up, the chickens are being slaughtered at a younger age now and the bones aren't really mature. This causes the myoglobin to leech out of the bone marrow and colour the properly cooked meat at the joints. The only way to get it "looking" cooked is to overcook. You can do this by inverting the bird on the stand and cook indirect with the legs separated until the breast is 165*

Second fail

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