Chicken Fail

jwc6160 said:

So was I just paranoid?  After almost 2 hours I was probably fine right?

I'm basing what I'm about to say on your word as I was not there to see it. But a 3 pound bird cooked at 400 degrees indirect for over a hour and then cooked 45 minutes more direct at 325 degrees, I'm willing to wager a lot that the bird was well beyond done. I have cooked a lot of chicken in my time and have never seen one that small come even close to taking that long. If the bird in question is somehow not done, the only explanation is your temps are off by miles.  

@jwc6160, what exactly did you mean about the chicken not looking right? You mentioned pink. Was it a pink hue or more of a bloody pink? 

Below is a link to an article about bloody chicken that might explain what you experienced. 
http://www.hi-tm.com/Documents/Bloody-chik.html

You wasted a perfectly good chicken.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=why+is+cooked+chicken+red

EDIT: I read somewhere just yesterday that the red color has something to do with the young age at which they are slaughtering chickens these days. Can't find the article though.

Carolina Q said:

You wasted a perfectly good chicken.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=why+is+cooked+chicken+red

EDIT: I read somewhere just yesterday that the red color has something to do with the young age at which they are slaughtering chickens these days. Can't find the article though.

Look above^^^^^^^^^^

plumbfir01 said:

people still do beer can chic?

Until they do spatchcock.

jwc6160 said:

... After over an hour and several jabs, I saw 170-180 pretty consistently after over 1.5 hours. ...  Yeah, I was poking the damn thing all over. I think I was good, but chicken just make me nervous.

If your thermometer was accurate, and you tested it in multiple appropriate places, deep in the meat, not near the bone, in breast and thigh, and you got those temperatures, then it was just plain cooked.  Period.  By the standards of many, here, it was actually a little overcooked!

To me, the wild card in this story is that something looked funny to you. You admitted that "chicken just make me nervous," so the most likely thing seems to me that you talked yourself into thinking there was a problem that wasn't there, because you're "nervous about chicken.  

But if there was, let's say, something wrong with the chicken other than cooking it, like maybe it was spoiled before you put it on the Egg but somehow you didn't notice a bad smell, that'd be a horse of a different color.  If you've cooked a lot of wonderful chicken and this one looked "off" to you, maybe you were right to pitch it.

For the next time, test your thermometer by measuring the temperature of boiling water.  If you're pretty near sea level, it ought to be 212 or pretty darn near it.  If your thermometer is accurate, test the next chicken deep in the muscle, several places, not near the bone, and if the breast is above 160 and the thighs are above 165, you're good to go -- after you take them off the grill, the temperatures will continue to rise several degrees.  If you're nervous about chicken, by all means take them up to 170 or higher, but they'll be drier that way.

I've done this before and almost tossed the bird. But it's done for sure. Actually happens to me most times I do a beer can chicken. Really freaks out guests for sure - but so tasty

You do know it's not blood, right? The temp is the key. It's either done or it's not. Regardless of color.

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/mythbusting_chicken_is_done_when_juices_run_clear.html