Smoked Honey Barbecue Beer/Soda Can Chicken Q-View

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

sqwib

Smoking Guru
Original poster
OTBS Member
Sep 25, 2007
5,962
1,034
Philadelphia
[h3] [/h3][h3] Smoked Honey Barbecue Beer/Soda Can Chicken [/h3]
USDA ON TURKEY

 



Remember food safety especially with chicken, do not "cross contaminate" and keep a bleach based cleaner on hand to wipe everything down each step of the way.

When working with chicken get everything ready and mixed before ever handling the chicken.

Preheat RF to 350°.

Prepare your beer/Soda can and pour out half the beer/Soda, take a can opener and remove the top of the beer/Soda can. I used coke for this cook.

Remove chicken from refrigerator, remove the gizzard goodie bag, rinse chicken and set aside.

Add the giblets and neck from the bag and a teaspoon of rosemary and Thyme to the soda can. This cook I did not use the giblets at my wife's request.

If you want to make gravy, you can add salt and other spices such as garlic and onion powder and when you remove the can from the chicken, place in a pot and dress up a bit, get creative here.

Some people do not like the taste of liver, so you may not want to add the liver to the beer can if making gravy.

I have noticed that spices such as Rosemary and Thyme added in the can really impart flavor into the chicken.

Place the Beer/Soda can on a cookie sheet. Place chicken on the beer/soda can. Rub chicken with olive oil and add your favorite rub or spices.  Trim neck flap so steam passes through the top of the chicken, On this smoke the outside of the bird was rubbed with oil and seasoned with Rosemary salt and pepper. For smaller Birds there is no need to worry about the breast drying out, so buttering or oiling the breast under the skin isn't really necessary, however feel free to slather for a more intense flavor.

Remove the “Beer Can Chickens” from the cookie sheet and place directly on the grates. Let the smoker drop to 275° and maintain 250° - 275°

At 145° - 150° brush the bird thoroughly with a 50/50 mix of honey and your favorite barbecue sauce every 15 minutes till the breast meat reads 165° at the thickest part, USDA States that you should not pull the bird until the lowest  reading throughout the bird is 165°, I pulled these when the breast was at 161°.

Remove the chicken from the smoker, place in a clean steamer pan and wrap in foil then a towel and and rest for about 15 - 30 minutes before carving.

If you are making gravy, do so while the chicken is resting.

The chicken cooks fairly quickly so the skin doesn't crisp up, that and the fact that I am using a glaze. Remove the skin and place on the still hot grates, if there's a hot spot on your smoker place the skin fat side down on the hot spot, carve the chicken and after the all the carving is done remove the skin from the smoker and cut into strips to serve alongside the meat. On this smoke, I removed the skin and fried it fat side down in a frying pan. 
 



 

 The twins Rubbed and on the smoker.  Starting to brown.

 
 At 150° brushed with 50/50 Honey and barbecue sauce
 

 

 

Brushed with 50/50 Honey and barbecue sauce

 
 At about 155°Brushed with 50/50 Honey and barbecue sauce161° Right Bird
 

 

 

 161° Left Bird  161° Ready to foil.

 
 Foiled.
 

 

 

 Foiled and towel.  After half hour rest.

 
Frying up skin during rest.
 

 

 

  Frying up skin during rest, skin side up.   Frying up skin during rest, skin side down.


 
 Skin was my favorite part.
These were far better than my Beer can chickens I did a while back, the meat wasn't overcooked. The beer can chickens had a texture like a rotisserie chicken you would get from a Sams club, good flavor but the meat was mushy.
 
 
Looks Great...
PDT_Armataz_01_37.gif


You didn't let to much hot air out opening the door did you?
icon_mrgreen.gif
icon_mrgreen.gif
icon_mrgreen.gif
 
icon_cool.gif


I think that I'm agreeing with you they didn't look that well. To me they looked like they needed about another hour or so. The skin isn't even near done. How high was the smoker again you said it was at 275° now was the thermo meter been tested lately??? Now I always check mine in the thigh and I run it to 165-170ish and then pull it. But you live and learn in this here game of life.
 
icon_cool.gif


I think that I'm agreeing with you they didn't look that well. To me they looked like they needed about another hour or so. The skin isn't even near done. How high was the smoker again you said it was at 275° now was the thermo meter been tested lately??? Now I always check mine in the thigh and I run it to 165-170ish and then pull it. But you live and learn in this here game of life.
Valid points,

Correct the skins are not "crisp".

Another hour or so and these would be in my chicken soup.

Used Digital thermo.

Hoovering around 270 from the initial 350.

Pulled at 161, My focus is the meat not the skin, I like the meat extremely moist and not mushy . Plus I knew that by glazing the skin and meat I would hinder the skin from getting crispy but I always fry the skin on these chickens.

The bird would be too overcooked for me if the skin is cooked to crispness... a crispness that I like anyhow, what I have learned in the past is to worry about the meat first, the skin can always be removed and fried, grilled or trashed.

Last bird I did at 170 , tasted like one of those rotisserie chickens from Sams Club, great flavor but mushy meat. The skin was good.

Beer Can Chicken, cooked at 325-350 IIRC



Beer Can Turkey 230-250 Glazed with honey

Now on a Turkey, you have much more time to crisp up the skin, although the skin is crispy on the outside, I will still pull the skin on these and fry the fat side down.



A little Butter or EVO will help the skin crisp up a bit, as opposed to a glaze.

250-275 Glazed with Barbecue sauce and honey

 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky