Debunking Beer Can Chicken

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Very interesting.

I haven't done a beer can chicken since I did my first spatchcock chicken a few years ago.

Thought about it a few times, but the spatch bird cooks so much better.

Al
 
Very interesting.

I haven't done a beer can chicken since I did my first spatchcock chicken a few years ago.

Thought about it a few times, but the spatch bird cooks so much better.

Al

I cook 99% of my poultry cooks spatched. Every once in a while I'll do something different.
 
Started a Beer Can Chicken once. Inserted the can, stood the bird in a pan and it fell over, beer pouring out. Stood it up again, fell over. Made some adjustment, third try. Fell over all Beer now in the pan and the Bird went in the Ronco Rotisserie! That work horse has given me 22 years of amazing Chicken and still going strong...JJ 
 
Yea I came across a few articles like this....but I do still love using my beer butt stand, because it does so well at standing my chicken up when I don't cook my typical "spatchcock" method.

It's just easy enough to use those 10 dollar stands to keep your chicken upright, and mix in some fruits & veggies into your water pan below and just smoke it / grill it that way.

Great article to post though, because I know there are still a lot of people out there who think the beer can does something positive. lol
 
I'm with Case and A 100%. I haven't cooked a bird on a rack in several years and I can't see any reason to again. Spatchcocking gives a great flavor and it cooks so evenly and quicker. It sounds funny to say a great flavor, but with spatching, I can get a much better distribution of my rub, both inside the bird and under the skin.
 
I've never done beer can chicken and chances are good I probably won't, but who knows.

Really, go through all that to put down one of many popular cooking methods for chicken?  This debunking effort wouldn't have anything to do with click effects, would it? Whether those claims are true, false or somewhere in between what is the big deal? More than likely one can of "wasted" beer won't hurt anyone. As long as it's cooked properly, people enjoy it and the process, there shouldn't be a need for anyone to debunk it or anything else for that matter. Stop "debunking" everything under the sun! 
 
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I've never done beer can chicken and chances are good I probably won't, but who knows.

Really, go through all that to put down one of many popular cooking methods for chicken?  This debunking effort wouldn't have anything to do with click effects, would it?

Whether those claims are true, false or somewhere in between what is the big deal? More than likely one can of "wasted" beer won't hurt anyone. As long as it's cooked properly, people enjoy it and the process, there shouldn't be a need for anyone to debunk it or anything else for that matter. Stop "debunking" everything under the sun! 
Obviously it won't kill someone to waste some beer, but if you read through and I've heard the concerns before. The process can in fact be potentially harmful to people, so that right there is a good reason on just sticking with grilling without a can in the grill.

People can continue to throw a beer can up the chickens butt, it's a funny / fun process, but the article is just meant to inform others that it's a pointless method and that it's just better to leave the cavity open.
 
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I don't know what the reasons are or if there are any, for that matter. Several years ago when I was doing chickens on a rack, I used cherry Dr. Pepper. I thought it had a better flavor than beer. Sometimes, I even used cut up apples or onions.

Everybody has different tastes and reasons for everything that they do.
 
 
Started a Beer Can Chicken once. Inserted the can, stood the bird in a pan and it fell over, beer pouring out. Stood it up again, fell over. Made some adjustment, third try. Fell over all Beer now in the pan and the Bird went in the Ronco Rotisserie! That work horse has given me 22 years of amazing Chicken and still going strong...JJ 
I used to do Chickens in my Ronco Spinner too, but I never get around to fixing it.

It needs a heavier cord, because the cord gets so hot you can't even touch it !!!

Bear
 
I tried a few of them, but I really never saw the benefit aside from the novelty. Went back to the old method with aromatics in the cavity.

Good luck and good smoking.

Good luck and good smoking.
 
Debunking stuff is a great learning tool and let's the reader make choices. How many explorers would never have sailed beyond the Horizon if various men didn't debunk...The Earth is Flat? Now, if we start seeing Guys jump Newbies telling them, " You're a freakin' idiot for making Beer Butt Chicken. It don't do nothing! " Then THAT is bad News. To each his own...JJ
 
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Debunking stuff is a great learning tool and let's the reader make choices. How many explorers would never have sailed beyond the Horizon if various men didn't debunk...The Earth is Flat? Now, if we start seeing Guys jump Newbies telling them, " You're a freakin' idiot for making Beer Butt Chicken. It don't do nothing! " Then THAT is bad News. To each his own...JJ
My comment was directed towards the article's underlying purpose, which in my opinion doesn't have much to do with beer can chicken, not the person starting this thread.

To each his own..... Joe
 
 
My comment was directed towards the article's underlying purpose, which in my opinion doesn't have much to do with beer can chicken, not the person starting this thread.

To each his own..... Joe
No personal attack meant...Just a general observation on my part as well...Sorry if you felt you were singled out...JJ
 
 
No personal attack meant...Just a general observation on my part as well...Sorry if you felt you were singled out...JJ
C'mon Chef, in no way did I take your post as a personal attack and for sure there is no reason for any type of an apology. 
 
I've done a few BCC & was not really impressed personally !

I've spatched my birds for a long while now & I've been happy with the results !
 
I really have no dog in the fight so to speak, I've never done a beer can myself, but I've had them several times and never had any problems with them. I'm not going to go into the pros and cons of the whole deal, because frankly I don't care. However, after skimming the article, I got to the "Dangerous" portion of the cons list. I'm just going to quote the ones I hold issue with and then below explain why.
 
  • If you forget to open the can, it can explode.
  • Some beer can holders use a shallow drip pan that can fill with hot fat. Spill this onto your legs and you’ll need an ambulance.
  • I’ve even heard of the drip pan catching on fire and destroying the chicken.
  • Spill it onto the flame and for sure you have a chicken crematorium.
  • If you use just a plain old beer can, no fancy gadget, getting the the bird and attached can off the grill is tricky. How do you grab it, by the can or by the bird? With what?
  • The can tends to stick to the chicken during cooking, and hot grease can build up on the top of the can if you haven’t removed it completely. But worst of all, removing the can can be really tricky, and if it jerks out you can find yourself covered in hot beer and scalding grease.
  • Some beers, like Guinness Stout, have a “widget”, a plastic ball in the can that helps release the CO2 in the beer and who knows what it is made of and how it will behave when heated.
Now cmon, these 7 bullets I left out of the list of 9 aren't really related to the dangers of doing a beer can chicken, but more to the dangers of letting an idiot do the cooking. The two I excluded from my list were
  • If you use just a plain old beer can, no fancy gadget, getting the the bird and attached can off the grill is tricky. How do you grab it, by the can or by the bird? With what?
  • Finally, the ink on the outside of the can may not be food grade and might get into the meat and I sincerely doubt that brewers test the plastic liners inside the can at cooking temperatures. I asked the nice folks at Anheuser-Busch, maker of Budweiser and other popular beers. They said “There are many recipes that cooks have been passing around for years that use beer to flavor chicken, and some of them suggest using an actual can of beer in the cooking process. While many people swear by these methods, and apparently produce some delicious results, it’s not one we endorse or recommend, since we don’t design our cans for this purpose. We do, however, recommend many recipes using beer and for cooks to be creative with beer in many other dishes as well.”
To which I nearly didn't remove at all, because a little common sense alleviates these "dangers" also. This danger list is really reaching, which isn't uncommon for HP. And to be perfectly honest, nobody without enough common sense to not do the stupid shit on the "danger" list should definitely not be playing with fire in the first place.
 
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