My First Beer Can Chicken and Chicken Legs Attempt.

[eddisabledvet]

Ok, here it is.  The beginning of my first Chicken smoke.  I used some of the herbs and brine that SmokeFever used in his Beer Can Chicken smoke recently posted. 

I have legs as well as the Chicken with a 1/2 can of beer on a dedicated beer can chicken stand.  It was a Brickman that I picked up at the local Home Depot. 

Well, here are the first pictures.  The legs just reached 160 degrees on the inside so I am going to pull them off at 165.  The breast on the beer can chicken is only 155 degrees F so I will give it another hour and check for doneness.  (if that is a word)..  lol

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[smoking b]

Looking good man 

  I'll follow along...

 

[leah elisheva]

It IS looking good! How exciting!!! Cheers!! - Leah

 

[eddisabledvet]

Thanks.  Here are the results.   Drum Roll Please>>>>  lol

It tasted ok, but I think next time I will settle for just salt and pepper as I think the spices took away from the taste of the chicken itself.  But that is just a personal preference. 

It turned out nice and moist, the breast meat was as expected, very little to no grease but not dry and the back and legs were greasy and moist, again, as I expected the dark meat to be. 

Next up, Pulled Boston Butt.....

I stripped away most of the skin as it was rubbery and hard to chew in most places.  Besides, skinless is supposed to be more healthy anyway, right???

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My Basenji really, really, really LOVES chicken if you cannot tell.  :-)

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[leah elisheva]

It looks beautiful and the dog is beyond precious too!!!! Cheers! - Leah

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Very nice !! IMHO for your first chicken smoke ya knocked it outta the park ! Looks mighty tasty ! Also looks like your official taste tester approved... Thumbs Up

Justin

 

[eddisabledvet]

Thanks Leah and Justin.  It took me forever to convince my wife that the pink she saw was the smoke ring and not undercooked chicken.  lol  We both grew up being taught that pink bird is very bad.  lol  It was not until I started smoking that I realized that it is not the color but the temp that dictates when it is done.  Especially since rubs and smoke cause coloration.

As for my taste tester there, she would have loved to get a hold of the chicken.  I really have to watch her because she will not hesitate to pull food off the counter if she can reach it.  You can be standing in front of the food on the counter and she will sneak between you and the counter and attack the food before you even know she is there. 

When I did hamburgers the last time, I had the first hamburger patty made and I put it on a plate that was sitting on a towel.  The towel was hanging over the counter and as soon as I turned to make a new patty, she had grabbed the towel, pulled the towel and plate off the counter, had 1/2 the raw hamburger in her mouth, and disappeared down the hallway.  Before I could pick up the mess and throw the rest of the hamburger that hit the floor away, she was back licking the floor even before I could finish cleaning the floor.  I cannot get mad at her, after all, she is a Basenji and it is in their nature to stalk and hunt.  If I am dumb enough to give her a method to grab food, and she can figure out how to get to it, then I have to give her props.  lol 

While frustrating as hell, she keeps me on my toes and drives myself and my wife completely nuts. 

I think she grabbed a piece of chicken off of my wife's plate earlier today because my wife left the plate close to the edge and Saphira (my basenji) was able to grap one piece of breast meat.  I heard my wife as they both ran past my door heading down the hallway.  lol 

With 7 dogs, life is definitely never boring here and always an adventure. 

 

[GaryHibbert]

Hey Ed

You have 7 dogs???  I thought my life was pretty full with 2 dogs, a cat, a wife, and a step daughter.  Anyway about the beercan chicken.  I also bought a dedicated beer can stand, but aside from producing beautifully moist birds, I get absolutely nothing from the beer.  I've tried lagers, amber ales, dark ales, porters, IPAs, etc and just don't get any flavor from the beer.  My stand has been stashed and not used for years.

Gary

 

[leah elisheva]

Indeed, you do deserve heroic status for raising 7 dogs!!!

(Having done 4 as the most at one single time, and now I have just three; I can enjoy, empathize, and appreciate how life "changes," with such creatures around indeed)! 

You're a gracious Dog Dad regarding the food and such. Very sweet!

And hey, your food just looked terrific!

Here's to a new and very fabulous week for all!

Cheers! - Leah

 

[dish]

That sure looks like a tasty chicken.  Have you thought of trying poultry seasoning?  I used it on my first BCC.  A little bit goes a long way though.

 

[smokefever]

Here's the post I was waiting for. . . . nice job man!  I'd say the first on e was a success, keep it up I cant wait to see the next 

 

[eddisabledvet]

Thanks everyone.  I will definitely keep the q-picks coming as I intend to smoke something at least once a week, if not once every week and a half.  Since it is only my wife and I, I am trying to control the amount of food in the fridge.  lol  Bad enough to have to throw out uncooked meat, but to throw out smoked meat has to be some sort of federal crime.  lol

Ed