BCC quest for crispy skin

[Smokey Lew]

Tried a beer can chicken this weekend with mixed results. My goal was to roast a whole chicken and have it cook moist while the skin cooked nice and crispy. I thought I'd give the BCC method a try before committing to purchasing a rotisserie unit for the Performer.

After prepping the chicken I ran into the problem of how to get an erect 4.5 bird under the hood of the Performer. I had two choices, to do what I did (see photos) or use the WSM lid on the Performer to get more head room.

Brined checking for 5 hours in plastic bag, added Wolf's Citrus Rub and then stuck in on
a can filled with apple juice.


Decided to put the bird directly on the coal screen and use the Performer hood.



Cooked the chicken on high heat between 400 and 450 degrees for about an hour and a
quarter until the internal temp on the breast was at 168 degrees.


The finished product was moist and juicy and the skin was crisp for the most part.
The main problem was the lower section of the bird didn't cook as fast as expected. I think
that was because it sat down inside the foil tray at the same level as the charcoal holders
and it was screened from the heat. You can see how pink the drumstick still is.


End result . . . I'm going to buy a used rotisserie unit for the Performer tonight.

 

[ScottyDaQ]

Try it on the WSM with no water pan.

 

[bbquzz]

Seems the real problem is you are doing a beer can chicken with a Diet Coke can and apple juice Seriously I have done a BCC on my OTG, but truly put it on the can and did do a fairly small chicken, looks like your can holder adds an 1" or more to the height. Scotty's idea is a pretty easy fix and it works well. Other than the pink leg that plate looks really good... you didn't eat that leg did you?

 

[Griff]

It's fairly obvious from here -- that's not a beer can.

 

[Smokey Lew]

Seems the real problem is you are doing a beer can chicken with a Diet Coke can and apple juice Seriously I have done a BCC on my OTG, but truly put it on the can and did do a fairly small chicken, looks like your can holder adds an 1" or more to the height. Scotty's idea is a pretty easy fix and it works well. Other than the pink leg that plate looks really good... you didn't eat that leg did you?

I figured the beer would work better in me than the chicken. And yes, I did take a big bite out of the leg and swallowed it before thinking better about it.

Ended up putting all the dark meat back on the grill using indirect head for another 40 minutes until it was done. I'm eating a pulled pork sandwich right now so I guess there were no ill effects from the pinkish chicken leg. Thanks for your concern.

 

[bigwheel]

Well beer butted chicken always struck me as being sorta nonsensical. I vote to drink the beer and put the chicken face down on the grate and cook it without moving it until it hits 175 in the thigh. Try that sometimes.

bigwheel

 

[Shores]

Try it on the WSM with no water pan.

I agree.

 

[Nick Prochilo]

Spatchcock your chicken, throw it skin side down, place a cookie sheet over it and weigh the cookie sheet down with 2 bricks. Cook indirect about 20 minutes or until the chicken is done. You will love it!

 

[Shores]

Spatchcock your chicken, throw it skin side down, place a cookie sheet over it and weigh the cookie sheet down with 2 bricks. Cook indirect about 20 minutes or until the chicken is done. You will love it!

Sounds interesting. I've never heard of this process/technique. However, I'm pretty sure I'll be giving it a try. Will the skin get crispy in that short of a time cooking it indirectly? :?:

 

[californiagrillin]

Spatchcock your chicken, throw it skin side down, place a cookie sheet over it and weigh the cookie sheet down with 2 bricks. Cook indirect about 20 minutes or until the chicken is done. You will love it!

Sounds interesting. I've never heard of this process/technique. However, I'm pretty sure I'll be giving it a try. Will the skin get crispy in that short of a time cooking it indirectly?

And at what temp should it be cooked?

 

[Nick Prochilo]

Spatchcock your chicken, throw it skin side down, place a cookie sheet over it and weigh the cookie sheet down with 2 bricks. Cook indirect about 20 minutes or until the chicken is done. You will love it!

[quote:ily6f022]Sounds interesting. I've never heard of this process/technique. However, I'm pretty sure I'll be giving it a try. Will the skin get crispy in that short of a time cooking it indirectly?

Yes. If you need it crispier, throw it direct with the skin down for a few minutes at the end.

And at what temp should it be cooked?[/quote:ily6f022]
350 - 400

 

[bigwheel]

Well thanks for the spatch cocking under the pan deal. Sounds like a good plan. Will put it on the agenda.

bigwheel

 

[Smokey Lew]

Spatchcock your chicken, throw it skin side down, place a cookie sheet over it and weigh the cookie sheet down with 2 bricks. Cook indirect about 20 minutes or until the chicken is done. You will love it!

[quote:3w29fv96]Sounds interesting. I've never heard of this process/technique. However, I'm pretty sure I'll be giving it a try. Will the skin get crispy in that short of a time cooking it indirectly?

Yes. If you need it crispier, throw it direct with the skin down for a few minutes at the end.

And at what temp should it be cooked?

350 - 400[/quote:3w29fv96]
Hey thanks for the suggestion about doing it Spatchcock. I had to look the term up to see what it was. Here's a link to the Wikipedia definition. Thanks for you help. I will certainly try this! :P

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spatchcock

 

[bbquzz]

Greg like to say "Spatchcock" during his radio show just because it sounds dirty It really does work well and you can throw that beer can roaster away and just drink the beer and recycle the can

 

[bigwheel]

Well for a person who dont like to say dirty sounding words they could just split em. Thataway the avian in question would be purty instead of all wrinkly and disgusting looking with a bad name to match. Just trying to cover all the bases here.

bigwheel