My First Beer Can Chicken W/PRON.. What juice do you use?

L

loveboxer

Guest
Here are a few pix of my first experience cooking a whole chicken using the Beer Can Method. I followed the classic weber recipe.

It was quite amazing to see the chicken PUFF up so to speak. You can see it in the pix, is that normal?

Super crispy and wonderful caramelization on the exterior with super tender and juicy interior.

The one critique is that my self and a few others were not in love with the subtle flavor that the beer imparts.

What other recipes do you use instead of the beer mixture?
 

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Looks good, but since you've lost the beer AND the can, you need to start calling it something different. Hmmmmm. Nah, just call it "beer can chicken." Anyway, ginger ale, sprite, apple juice, or chicken stock is good. Also I bet orange juice with the right seasoning would work good, too.
 
preheat your beverage of choice and it will help some but over all it's not going to make a huge flavor differnce.
 
Boxer: What size weber is that, and where'd you get that chicken stand? I like how it has the pan on bottom for other goodies and stuff.
 
Steven Raichlen has a book called "Beer Can chicken" that has dozens of recipes using sodas, fruit juice you name it. He has some real interesting match ups.
 
Looks good. I've used coke before, and somebody mentioned chicken broth, which I've done and adding spices to it.... nice subtle flavor
 
Really digging the pan-chicken holder.

Fruit juice would work good. I've been thinking of trying one using root beer or Dr. Pepper.
 
Wow, did not realize people used so many beverage types.. Orange juice or broths seem interesting, perhaps mixed with garlic and other herbs and oils...

The chicken rig actually is an exclusive product found at William Sonoma. I had some credit there from an anniversary gift and found that and a BBQ PIT MIT which also works quite well.

The Chicken pan holder is made really well , stainless steel ($29) and as you see allows you to grill veggies at the same time, letting the chicken fat and juices drip over them.

A nice find I think!
 
I use Sprite or 7up. But, it makes no difference if the fire isn't hot enough to make the liquid in the can boil.
 
When I've done it in the past I have used beer, a few wedges of lemon, and whatever mix of herbs and spices strike me as interesting that particular day. I also usually toss in a heaping pinch of whatever rub I put on the outside of the bird itself.

I've never really noticed much of a beer flavor in the past. In fact I was thinking of using something different next time in order to try to boost flavor. I was leaning towards apple cider or some other fruit juice. Maybe a soda like 7-up or Sprite.
 
I'm a fan of beer but my nephew Glenn (GatorDawg) uses orange soda or 7-Up since that's what his kids like. Just don't use diet sodas because the artificial sweeteners taste gnarly when heated.
Maybe use root beer or Dr Pepper and cook down a little of these sodas in your BBQ sauce.
 
I like the Sonoma cook tray. Kind of weird how your bird split like that, though I do not do birds that way. For more flavor try brining the chicken first. I think you can impart much more dimensions for taste and juiciness with brines, then hoping to have from the steam coming from beer or such. Just my thoughts.
 
Groundhog66 said:
All you Beer Can Chicken fans need to check THIS out.
Click to expand...

So what you're telling me (or rather nakedwhiz.com) is that switching over to apple juice or soda isn't going to make one bit of difference? That the reason I couldn't pick up any added beer flavor is because the method itself is flawed? I suppose that would explain my results.

It would also mean the market is wide open for a new device that can actually do what the beer can method claims.
 
well, I don't use beer, I usually use a (non-diet) soda or apple or necturine. I will say this about the experiment..... I cooked a turkey on a Foster's beer can like I would a chicken. Believe me, it DID in fact impart flavor... WAY TOO MUCH FLAVOR. It was practically ruined. I don't know whether it was the strength of the beer or the length of time it cooks (obviously longer than a chicken 1/5 its weight), but I CAN taste whatever I use to cook a chicken with this method. If you over power with spices, then of course you can't taste the liquid. Just my .02. If you like the results, use it, if you don't then don't.
 
Boshizzle said:
But, it makes no difference if the fire isn't hot enough to make the liquid in the can boil.
Click to expand...


exactly. pre-heating helps as does using a ceramic chicken holder versus an actual beer can.
 
deepsouth said:
exactly. pre-heating helps as does using a ceramic chicken holder versus an actual beer can.
Click to expand...


Neither of which made it boil in the tests performed, they could only get it to the boiling point without inserting it into a chicken.
 
Groundhog66 said:
All you Beer Can Chicken fans need to check THIS out.
Click to expand...


check this out....

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89646

i received an email from the "naked whiz" this morning. he's digging a little deeper....

I thought I would let you know what's up with the beer can chicken experiments. I tried using a plain can of beer, half full, sitting on a raised grid with a cheap aluminum foil drip pan on the regular grid and only got the beer up to 206 degrees. It stayed there for 30 minutes, so I doubt it was ever going to get higher.

But after you posted your results, I ordered a ceramic chicken sitter (actually a turkey sitter since I can't read, doh!), a Weber BCC pan that has a small reservoir for liquid (they say to NEVER use an alcoholic beverage, lol! as it might catch fire) and a metal pan with a wire framework to hold the can and the chicken.

So far, I've been able to try the turkey sitter and much to my surprise, the beer did boil around the edges and you could smell hot budweiser (I'm not blowing off any good beer just to see if it boils!). I wonder if the large bottom surface and the extra mass of the ceramic helps get the heat into the beer. But, at this point, I've got to try the other two devices and I'll redo the can by itself test to double check what happened there.

And of course, then I will have to put a chicken on them to see what happens.

I also plan to do another plain bird/beer bird run using one of the following two beers:

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/avery-the-czar-imperial-stout/20295/

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/thirsty-dog-hoppus-maximus/14134/

I am leaning towards the czar, but I picked up the hoppus maximus on a whim, thinking that it might actually be hoppus maximus and I saw you had commented that you thought hoppy beers would add more flavor. So, if you have any thoughts on which beer to use, I appreciate your opinion. I did use an expensive porter on my original test, but I can't remember which brand I used. Last night, since I was in the beer store, I enjoyed a bottle of Fuller's London Porter.

Anyway, I'll let you know what happens, and of course, I'll be revising the web page after I get this all done.

Regards,
XXXXXXXX
 
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