Smoked Beer Can Chicken

[Texan in Tulsa]

Was asked to do beer can chicken on the 3D and gave it a try this past Saturday. Read some forum recommendations and applied kosher salt to the birds, wrapped them in plastic wrap and threw them in the fridge for a couple of hours. After 2 hours, I rinsed them off, patted them dry and then applied a very light coat of olive oil followed by Meat Church Pecan rub.

I opened 2 cans of Lil Lucy's Hot Pepper Ale........had never tried that particular beer, but I like spicy so was curious if it would impart anything to the chicken other than a little moisture (it didn't). Also after reading comments about how much moisture these smokers retain, I ended up pouring 3/4 of each can down the drain, placed the cans in the stands and then placed the chickens over the can.

Both birds fit easily on one rack of the 3D with room to spare. I loaded a couple of pieces of Smokinlicious red oak, inserted my 3D and Maverick temperature probes and programmed the temp to begin at 150F for 30 mins, then ramped up to 250F until it reached an internal temp of 165F....which took around 3 hrs to achieve.

The birds finished a beautiful golden brown. I was contemplating throwing the chickens in a 500 degree oven for a while to crisp the skin, but none of my guests planned to eat the skin anyway so I just peeled it off. The meat was super moist and had a great smoky flavor. Another successful smoke with the 3D.

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[kz0m]

Those birds are beauties Andy!  Nice work and tnx for posting too!

[DivotMaker]

The birds look great, but I don't see any benefit in beer can chicken, in a 250 smoker.  There is debate, here, on this, and differing opinions, so just take this as my 2¢.  You will get the most flavorful, moist whole birds by filling the cavity with a mix of chopped celery, onion and carrots, and sitting the bird flat on its back.  All that wonderful moisture, from the veggies, stays inside and actually does flavor the meat (unlike any ingredients in a beer can).  To me, placing a bird vertical only allows whatever moisture inside to end up in the drip pan, and loses the benefit of self-basting (from the inside-out).  Again, just my 2¢!  Never hurts to try things for yourself, though!

[Texan in Tulsa]

The birds look great, but I don't see any benefit in beer can chicken, in a 250 smoker.  There is debate, here, on this, and differing opinions, so just take this as my 2¢.  You will get the most flavorful, moist whole birds by filling the cavity with a mix of chopped celery, onion and carrots, and sitting the bird flat on its back.  All that wonderful moisture, from the veggies, stays inside and actually does flavor the meat (unlike any ingredients in a beer can).  To me, placing a bird vertical only allows whatever moisture inside to end up in the drip pan, and loses the benefit of self-basting (from the inside-out).  Again, just my 2¢!  Never hurts to try things for yourself, though!

Tony I had heard that before and have done beer can chicken on a grill with mixed results. I'm sure the sealed cabinet of the 3D had much more to do with the moist bird than the beer can, but sometimes you have to give people what they ask for. Ha!

[DivotMaker]

... but sometimes you have to give people what they ask for. Ha!

Especially if it's the spouse!!

[SmokinSusie-Q]

The birds look great, but I don't see any benefit in beer can chicken, in a 250 smoker.  There is debate, here, on this, and differing opinions, so just take this as my 2¢.  You will get the most flavorful, moist whole birds by filling the cavity with a mix of chopped celery, onion and carrots, and sitting the bird flat on its back.  All that wonderful moisture, from the veggies, stays inside and actually does flavor the meat (unlike any ingredients in a beer can).  To me, placing a bird vertical only allows whatever moisture inside to end up in the drip pan, and loses the benefit of self-basting (from the inside-out).  Again, just my 2¢!  Never hurts to try things for yourself, though!

I'm reading about Andy's recipe for beer can chicken and your response.  The chickens looked wonderful but you made some good points re: moisture and just smoking the chicken on its back.  My question is what is the reason or advantage of smoking it at a lower temp. and then raising it?  According to the Auber program, the whole chicken should be smoked at 275 to an internal temp. of 165.  I haven't tried chicken yet so I need to gleam all the information I can get! 

[DivotMaker]

Susie, he did 150 for 30 min to "ramp up" the temperature on his wood.  Depending on the dryness of the wood, keeping the element on until 250+ can cause the wood to catch fire.  Ramping, like this, is to prevent that.  It gives the wood a chance to begin smoldering without igniting.  I started doing this, a couple of years ago, to prevent the combustion problem a bunch of us were having.  What I later realized, is that good-quality wood, with a high enough moisture content, alleviates the need for ramping (or wrapping the wood in foil).  Enter my main choice for wood....smokinlicious.com!

[Texan in Tulsa]

Susie, he did 150 for 30 min to "ramp up" the temperature on his wood.  Depending on the dryness of the wood, keeping the element on until 250+ can cause the wood to catch fire.  Ramping, like this, is to prevent that.  It gives the wood a chance to begin smoldering without igniting.  I started doing this, a couple of years ago, to prevent the combustion problem a bunch of us were having.  What I later realized, is that good-quality wood, with a high enough moisture content, alleviates the need for ramping (or wrapping the wood in foil).  Enter my main choice for wood....smokinlicious.com!

Tony I'm using Smokinlicious wood, but have read so many comments about people having combustion problems that I thought it would be better to ramp the temp up to prevent combustion. Sounds like this may be something I can skip and just go full bore to my set cooking temp.

[DivotMaker]

I don't ramp or foil with smokinlicious wood, and don't have any problems.

[Texan in Tulsa]

I don't ramp or foil with smokinlicious wood, and don't have any problems.

Good to know. Planning to smoke a pork tenderloin sometime this weekend, so will just go temp and see how that works.