Beer butt chicken

[bigsteve]

Momma came home with 2 small chickens and informed me I was going to smoke them this weekend. Cool, I haven't done a whole chicken yet, and have been wanting to.

For the sake of comparison, I'm going to spatchcock one, and beer can the other. These chickens are small , 4.5 lbs, the other one 4.3 lbs. Are these chickens even big enough to get a beer can in? They look awful small. Home Depot has a beer can chicken roaster for less than 5 bucks, I was going to pick one up, but then noticed how small these chickens are.

 

[jaxgatorz]

I do 4# chickens all the time wityh that same can holder they sell at HD.. Works well.. Happy smoking.

 

[rivet]

I'm looking to get a beer can chicken roaster...I've heard on several places that the laminates and their inks layered on the cans aren't good under heat. They may gas off stuff you don't want. Not sure if this is true, but heck, for 5 bucks be safe, right?

Hey, you'll love the beer can version better than spatchcock, probably. It comes out real tender. Give us some qvue....

 

[fire it up]

Beer cans are fine to use, they won't put off anything toxic that could harm you or make the flavor change. You could also use rinsed out soup cans as long as they fit.
If the cavity is too small to fit the beer can in you could always buy one of the cans that are a bit taller but smaller in diameter.

 

[slanted88]

Be fine....stick it up there & Rock On! Only have half or less in the can. Puncture holes above the half line so it will steam the other gig of the yardbird. Hell add spices to the beer & get after it.

 

[geek with fire]

I always put a couple chunks of white onion and a couple cloves of garlic in mine. I also use dark soda instead of beer because I feel the sugar in the soda imparts a sweet flavor. I take a can opener and remove the entire top of the can. Don't fill the can more than half full, or you may have a mess on your hands. Another thing you can do is shove an apple wedge in the neck hole so your liquid doesn't steam out the top.

 

[bassman]

Like Josh said, plug the neck hole to keep it moist. I just pare down an onion until if fits snug.

 

[bigsteve]

You know, I've been wanting to do whole Chickens on my Brinkman since I got it. Just never got around to it. I just picked up a Weber 22 1/2 this week. I'm thinking the grill might be the way to go on these, indirect with smoke.

Whattya think? Weber or Brinkman?

If I use the Weber, should I put liquid in the drip pan?

 

[teacup13]

how about brinkmann right now and webber later..lol

they both will work

you can buy one of those beer can holders at dollar tree if you have one around you

 

[jamesb]

About all we see around here are the smaller chickens... I can get roasters, but they are much more $$... These 4lb chickens work great on a beer can. I've used a couple of different holders and didn't like any of 'em... For me it's just a beer can and a balancing act these days... :)

 

[tn_bbq]

Beer can smoke on the Brinkman and spatchcock on the Webber

 

[coffee_junkie]

After reading this I have cooked 3 chickens, I brined with 1 gal water, 1cup sugar, 1cup salt and some spices (4 hours). One I did with beer and 2 with Pepsi, all where great! They took about 4-5 hrs at around 230 degrees, I pulled them when they reached 165. Cant go wrong!

 

[tasunkawitko]

steve - if it helps, here are some notes, recipes, methods etc. from my chicken smoke.

http://www.baitshopboyz.com/forum/fo....asp?TID=14878

results tasted GREAT and even better than that was my #3 son and i came up with for the leftovers:

http://www.baitshopboyz.com/forum/fo...TID=14889&PN=1

hope this helps.

 

[tasunkawitko]

steve -

link this up to the OFFICIAL WEEKEND SMOKE THREAD!

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75810

(if you want to.....)

 

[budlighting]

Beercanchicken is my favorite way to cook chicken.I stuff an onion in the neck also.add all kind of seasonings to the beer...sometimes put a thick rub on them,sometimes dont.But always taste soooo good

 

[the dude abides]

I've got a 6.7 pounder in the freezer. Maybe I'll do it next weekend. Picked up a can holder and rack at Home Depot today. They were on sale for $2.97.

 

[bigsteve]

I thought the birds were pretty stable without the holder. But I used the holders anyway. Sometimes with an ECB you lift the whole cooker off the coal tray. Figured the birds would be more stable that way.


Taking the birds off the cooker first is far too simple for my mechanical mind.

 

[nysmokes]

I'm doing my first BCC on my ECB today. Really excited about it, all the pictures have looked so tasty!! And then sandwiches for the week...yum

 

[bigsteve]

Good luck! The skin may seem rubbery when you do a BCC in a smoker. I don't always eat the skin anyway. But the meat is out of this world.

 

[rickw]

One of my very favorites is whole chicken on the smoker. I don't worry to much about the skin as I'm not suppose to eat it anyway, not good for the heart.