beer butt/can chickens, some questions....

deepsouth · July 2010

ok, i've read up on the beer can chickens on the nakedwhiz.com site and i've cooked a few on my ceramic beer can chicken thingy, without realy making any hard observations about what the beer may actually be doing or not doing.

i've used mostly light lagers (which really is like trying to steam the chicken with water) and a once with dead guy ale. i haven't tried a chicken like this in quite some time (can't remember the last time i had a light lager in the house).

so......

has anyone ever tried a beer can chicken with say, a north coast old rasputin russian imperial stout or a really uber hoppy double ipa?

what if the beer was allowed to sit in said beer for say, an hour, before it was cooked?

assuming a cooking temperature of 325 degrees, why doesn't the beer get above 170? does anyone know why the beer doesn't boil?

is there a downside to bumping the temp up to 375? would the beer then boil?

regarding wet brining.... the nakedwhiz.com site recommends salt and water. how about a big old russian imperial stout or the double ipa and salt?

i'm picking up a couple chickens for this weekend, but if anyone has any experience using higher gravity/alcohol craft beers, i'd love to hear your about your experiences.

thanks in advance.

Mickey · July 2010

Have you done spatchcocked chicken yet?
If not it IS SO EASY and never had a bad one.
Going at 350/400 direct and high in dome running about an hour.
Just a thought.....

deepsouth · July 2010

Mickey wrote:

Have you done spatchcocked chicken yet?
If not it IS SO EASY and never had a bad one.
Going at 350/400 direct and high in dome running about an hour.
Just a thought.....

i haven't done one of those yet, but those are on the short list of things to do next since they are so easy.

i'm really wanting to test beer can/butt method (since reading the myth) with a beer with more character to see if any gets imparted to the chicken.

i'm even thinking maybe direct raised grid or maybe indirect, but with on the top of an adjustable rig with the platesetter down on a spider..... just some thoughts.....

fishlessman · July 2010

i went in the other direction, warm ginger ale, only about a half inch in the can, add some ginger, tsunami rub, anything aromatic, why waste good beer

now that i have been drinking extremely bad beer on my bad beer weight loss program i have the bad beer in the house to cook with, but i think ill stick to the ginger ale

AZRP · July 2010

I hope you can prove me wrong but in my experience the beer can thing is a novelty way of cooking that really doesn't add any flavor to the bird. It also is a good way to burn your hand when trying to remove the can from the cooked bird. -RP

Grill With Bill · July 2010

Here's a recipe for Beer-Brined turkey that would probably work with chicken.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe?id=7073074

I made it one year for Thanksgiving and it was really tasty. Only trouble is the brine was more expensive than the turkey.

Bill

deepsouth · July 2010

AZRP wrote:

I hope you can prove me wrong but in my experience the beer can thing is a novelty way of cooking that really doesn't add any flavor to the bird. It also is a good way to burn your hand when trying to remove the can from the cooked bird. -RP

i'll be using the ceramic chicken thing i have at home.

now that you mention the can, i do have an oskar blues ten fidy russian imperial stout that is a canned beer, albiet a four to five dollar canned beer....

i was going to use my own homebrewed double ipa and an old rasputin, but since i only have one ceramic thing and the ten fidy in a can, i may go that route.

do you think the type of beer you used could have contributed to the lack of added flavor to the bird?

what kind of beer did you use?

The Naked Whiz · July 2010

Think about it. The can is inside of a chicken that is going to be about 160-180 degrees when it is done. How is the beer going to get hotter than the chicken that surrounds it?

On my web page, experiment number three was done with a nice strong porter and tons of rub. Couldn't taste a thing. That's why I say it's a myth....

Good luck!

AZRP · July 2010

Could be, I've tried it six or seven times with all different kinds of flavorings in the can and just never saw the benefit. Kind of like spatchcocking, why not just cut it up into parts and cook it? -RP

fishlessman · July 2010

are you cooking direct with a minimal amount of liquid, at 375 direct the bottom of the can gets hot and it does steam, it can be difficult to get the can out

deepsouth · July 2010

The Naked Whiz wrote:

Think about it. The can is inside of a chicken that is going to be about 160-180 degrees when it is done. How is the beer going to get hotter than the chicken that surrounds it?

On my web page, experiment number three was done with a nice strong porter and tons of rub. Couldn't taste a thing. That's why I say it's a myth....

Good luck!

do you remember what kind of porter you used? i know i have had a lot of really tasty porters and then i've had a lot of "everyday drinking" porters that are basically darker session beers that while dark in color and different tasting than light beers, they go down much easier and can be drank much faster and almost always with far less character than say a smuttynose imperial porter or some type of imperial stout.

can the beer in the can not get hotter than the temp of the bird?

thanks for your response. i was hoping you would peep in here.

deepsouth · July 2010

fishlessman wrote:

are you cooking direct with a minimal amount of liquid, at 375 direct the bottom of the can gets hot and it does steam, it can be difficult to get the can out

haven't decided on method yet. i could do one in the small and one in the large and do different methods.

Jeffersonian · July 2010

Not only that, but it seems to me that what you're doing with the beer is distilling it (of course, without recovering the vaporized liquids). Does anything other than water and alcohol actually leave the can?

If I had a four- or five-dollar can of beer, I'd probably be applying that to my gullet instead of the inside of a chicken's ribcage.

mad max beyond eggdome · July 2010

while i am not disputing your findings o great whizeroo, i do have some questions based on my own non-scientific experiences. ..

first, when doing beer can chickens in my egg ...and i do them at 400 degrees, with a half can of beer, where i cut the top third off the can and i have a holder that i put the can in first and then set the chicken on top of the holder so that the can is probably only 1/3 inside of the cavity. ...i also prick the indside membrane of the chicken in numerous spots to allow the steam to get into the meat (now some may argue that this also allows for moisture/juices to escape the meat, but i haven't found this to happen. ...

anyways. ...the grid temp is certainly at the temp of the egg, i.e. 400 degrees, right? ... and the air temp all around the bird is somewhere in that neighborhood, right? (or the dome temp thermometer wouldn't read 400, right?)...so wouldn't the outside surface of the beer can not touching the bird be somewhere in that range? and heating up the liquid?. . .and why is it, when i'm doing 4 or 5 beer can birds at a time and i open the dome, i get a hell of a flash of steam?? even if i'm not losing a lot liquid? ... i always figured it was one of those deals, i don't know the technical term, where you are heating liquid in a closed environment, even though it is hot, it won't boil until you open that environment and then it instantly flashes to steam. ...i just figure that is what is going on with the beer inside the closed environment of the birds. ...

btw....for those that don't want to be bothered with this foolishness, but want the same effect with a spatchcocked bird, simply take an empty can, cut the top off, half fill it with beer, stick it righ on your load of lump charcoal, leaning on the inside edge of the firebox . . i guarantee you it will boil and steam and add flavor to that chicken!! . ...that way you get the ease of spatched chicken and the flavor of steamed beer too!!

The Naked Whiz · July 2010

The beer was a real honest to god porter. Plus I loaded it up with 5 cloves of crushed garlic and 2 heaping Tbsp of DP Jamaican Firewalk rub. There wasn't a hint of any of these flavors in the chicken.

The Naked Whiz · July 2010

When I cooked the birds, it was at 360-380 degrees over a throwaway aluminum foil pan to catch the drips. The can was about 1/2 full, perhaps a bit less. (The web page has a photo of the can used in the side by side empty can vs. can with beer test.)

When cooking a beer can chicken, the beer isn't in a "closed environment" which for what you are talking about would mean it was under pressure. Obviously, any steam generated is going out the top of the bird. I suppose it is possible that if you put the beer in a SS holder, more heat could get into the can, but most recipes you find tell you use just the can. I suppose I should do some "boundary testing" and just put a can of beer in the Egg at 380 degrees with no chicken.

Incidentally regarding your final suggestion, I think it was Dr BBQ who suggested beer can chicken didn't do anything and that you could sit the bird upright over a pie pan and pour your beer and spices into the pan, fwiw.

deepsouth · July 2010

The Naked Whiz wrote:

The beer was a real honest to god porter. Plus I loaded it up with 5 cloves of crushed garlic and 2 heaping Tbsp of DP Jamaican Firewalk rub. There wasn't a hint of any of these flavors in the chicken.

I'm with you. All porters are porters, but flavor ranges vary widely. That's why I asked if it was a heavier porter or a session porter.

Of course, I trust what you are saying.

mad max beyond eggdome · July 2010

like i said, i was just wondering...i think there is a taste difference. ...i think for your testing purposes and to get a true taste difference, you should do the beer can bird in one egg and the non beer can bird in a different egg and the two birds side by side could have led to 'cross contamination' LOL ...that beer and garlic may have actually permiated both birds and you just didn't realize it!! i say back to the testing lab o great wizzeroo!!!! :woohoo:

The Naked Whiz · July 2010

It was dark, is all I remember. I did that a couple of years ago. It was relatively expensive and drank the rest of the bottle and enjoyed it, but I've no idea of the specific porter was. Oh well... :-)

Essex County · July 2010

I think the major advantage to the beer can method is that you can easily fit 5 chickens in your large egg. I've tried lighter and darker beers but can't discern any difference in flavor. When I do beer can chix now, I use cans of sparkling water. (That's the only thing I buy in cans.) It's all about marinades and rubs. On the other hand, Max, I like the idea of steaming the bird with something. I'd think any volatile oils in your braising liquid would evaporate with the steam and this should give a dose of flavor to the bird. And you can do it with a spatchcocked chicken.

Now I'm jonesin' for a high quality beer...but I'm working for another 6 hours! Maybe after that I'll head to The Squealing Pig for a couple of belgians!

The Naked Whiz · July 2010

Well, the cross contamination theory might be of some interest except there was no flavor of anything in either bird. I fed the spice/beer chicken to the wife (yes, the wife who...) without telling her anything about it. Her comment was "you might have just as well boiled it." And she was right.

mad max beyond eggdome · July 2010

LOL....while i'm not much of a drinker, i really like the belgian beers!! i love a good ice cold stella artois!!!

deepsouth · July 2010

Jeffersonian wrote:

Not only that, but it seems to me that what you're doing with the beer is distilling it (of course, without recovering the vaporized liquids). Does anything other than water and alcohol actually leave the can?

If I had a four- or five-dollar can of beer, I'd probably be applying that to my gullet instead of the inside of a chicken's ribcage.

I'm not sure on that first part, but that's an interesting caveat.

I'm willing to sacrifice a half a beer for this little test.

mad max beyond eggdome · July 2010

sounds like you're just a lousy cook!! :blink: :unsure:

:ermm: :huh: :S :woohoo:

The Naked Whiz · July 2010

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: (you bastard!) :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Jeffersonian · July 2010

Let us know how it turns out, I'm sincerely interested. As I said elsewhere, I've never used an actual beer in making beer-butt bird, but I'd sacrifice a can-a suds if it improves things.

mad max beyond eggdome · July 2010

good thing both me, and the wife (yes the wife who. ..) love you!!!

Chubby · July 2010

The Naked Whiz · July 2010

You love me, don't you Chubby????

Chubby · July 2010

Yes...always!!

But that was funny....even if he did said it!!
Plus...you said "Bastard" Bevis...hugh...hugh...

Evans

PS...i need to chat with you (phone) sometime.
If you get a chance...
email me off here and give me a contact # and when I might not be bothering your important work!!

mad max beyond eggdome · July 2010

what can i say, i'm a funny guy!!

beer butt/can chickens, some questions....

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