Hey everyone! Just thought I'd show off the bird that I got for $4.04 and served to my beautiful family on the cheap.
I just used an organic local bird from a farmer's market, coated the underskin with butter/rub mixture, coated outside with butter and rub and then lemon wedges and onion were stuffed inside before the beer can. I have put rub straight on skin and I just think butter on the outside then rub on the butter makes a huge difference, and get butter down inside the skin whenever possible. Pulling the wings back from the inside will help protect both the wing meat and inner breast area from excessive heat. I poured half the beer into the pan to help make more juices but also used a water pan on Weber grill indirect setup. I used mesquite for the smoke flavor.
Through trial and error, I learned that low and slow is NOT the way to go with drunk chicken, unless you like rubbery skin and pinkish meat. Instead, I smoked at about 350F for 80 minutes or so (or until meat-per aka meat thermometer beeper goes off).
Also, I have learned that injecting might seem like a great idea but generally doesn't help much and can hurt. For instance, I have used too much lemon juice and had the acid in the juice begin to 'cook' the meat inside in advance of placing it on the cooker thus garnering an inferior, pinkish product that, while cooked, is somewhat unpleasant even if it tastes great.
High temps are key IMO, even if you don't like to eat the skin.
This made a great meal and great sandwiches the next day... I even used the carcass to make a smoky chicken broth, which I'll post about later.
Bon Appetit!
I just used an organic local bird from a farmer's market, coated the underskin with butter/rub mixture, coated outside with butter and rub and then lemon wedges and onion were stuffed inside before the beer can. I have put rub straight on skin and I just think butter on the outside then rub on the butter makes a huge difference, and get butter down inside the skin whenever possible. Pulling the wings back from the inside will help protect both the wing meat and inner breast area from excessive heat. I poured half the beer into the pan to help make more juices but also used a water pan on Weber grill indirect setup. I used mesquite for the smoke flavor.
Through trial and error, I learned that low and slow is NOT the way to go with drunk chicken, unless you like rubbery skin and pinkish meat. Instead, I smoked at about 350F for 80 minutes or so (or until meat-per aka meat thermometer beeper goes off).
Also, I have learned that injecting might seem like a great idea but generally doesn't help much and can hurt. For instance, I have used too much lemon juice and had the acid in the juice begin to 'cook' the meat inside in advance of placing it on the cooker thus garnering an inferior, pinkish product that, while cooked, is somewhat unpleasant even if it tastes great.
High temps are key IMO, even if you don't like to eat the skin.
This made a great meal and great sandwiches the next day... I even used the carcass to make a smoky chicken broth, which I'll post about later.
Bon Appetit!
