Beer Can Chicken and Ribs


 
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Wade G

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This weekend, in conjunction with the Final Four- -I am thinking about doing ribs on the WSM and beer can chickens on my Weber Kettle for a group. I am thinking of doing the ribs based on the many posts from the site with the only addendum being Dreamland sauce instead of KC Masterpiece.

However, does anyone have suggestions on the timing, indirect/direct, hints for doing the chickens on the kettle?

This is only my second smoke- -and I have read cautions about mixing meats early in my smoking career on the WSM until I get the hang of it. But the chicken seems to be an easier deal, especially since it would be outside the WSM on the kettle.

any thoughts, or pointing me to a thread I may have missed would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
I prefer chicken on my Weber Gold kettle. However, I have never tried beer butt chicken on it because it doesn't look like there is enough clearance between the cooking grate and the lid. I've never measured it, but you might want to measure before you attempt to cook it. I'm sure others have tried it and can tell you if it works. If there is not enough clearance, maybe it can be done by putting the chicken on the charcoal grate with coals on either side??
 
Wade, I did Chicken on the Throne 2 weekends ago. I have mixed feelings about it. I've tasted better chicken. It was still good, but not great. Most regulars here recommend using your kettle for the chicken. So I suggest you load up your wsm with ribs, and your kettle with chicken and send me an invite. lol
 
Dave--
Good forethought. I will do a little measuring before I commit and by the birds. (thinking of doing 2).

Jeff--
That might be a little far to travel for my first attempt at either the ribs or chicken. Let me get them right, and then we can talk!!

When you say you tasted better- -what was the problem? Too dry, or not enough flavor?

my initial concern (not thinking if they would even fit in the kettle) was about too much/not enough smoke wood ruining the chicken.
 
Wade G

If you decide against Beer Can chicken on your kettle, you might want to consider butterflying them, splitting into halves and marinating overnight in WB Italian. Then use your favorite rub and grill indirect. Lot of people prefer to brine, but I use the other method. Use some soaked wood chips and you'll get a little but not too much smoke flavor. It is important to test the temp in the breast (160) and the thigh (180) to know when to pull off. My suggestion would be to time so that your ribs come off the WSM first because I believe you can hold them better in foil and a cooler than you could with the chicken.

By the way, I'm also anxiously awaiting the FINAL FOUR. I love the game and have stayed with the tournament, but like our headline said today, "Finally Four". I'm glad it's coming to an end.

Good luck

Paul
 
Paul-
Thanks for the thought. I actually may do one beer can (just because i'm fascinated by that idea) and one WB Italian.

You raise an intersting point about foiling and resting, though. I know from reading that Butts will stay warm (and even perhaps improve) with time in the cooler. but will ribs keep like that?
how bout the chicken?

any thoughts?
thanks
 
The ribs will stay warm and moist in the foil and probably improve some in so far as tenderness. The reason I made the suggestion is that I think the moisture created in the foiling might have an adverse effect on the chicken skin ?

Paul
 
I injected with the marinade that comes with the recipe. With the injection, and smoke it just came across as a little too over-powering in my opinion. I love chicken breasts on the kettle. If I had to do over I would cut down on the amount of smoke, and injection I shot into the bird. I used 3.5 fists of Pecan and 1 fist of Hickory. This was too much. Next time I'm going to try 4 fists of apple.
 
Another good chicken marinade is the McCormick "Italian Herb Marinade".
2tsp McCormick Montreal Chicken seasoning (Grill Mates)
1/4 cup olive oil
2Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2tsp Italian Seasoning

Thats for 1lb boneless chicken breasts. I double it for a whole cut up chicken. Cook indirect on the kettle.

Bob
 
Thanks to all. I appreciate the input. I think I am upping it to 3 chickens. One Drunken, one WB italian, and one with the italian herb marinade. Go light on the smoke wood (all I have is hickory). I am not as worried about the skin, as it will probably be yanked off anyway. Unless it gets hot enough to crisp it up.

I can't believe I have to wait until Saturday to do this. I am ready now!
 
Wade,

I did beer can chicken last night on my kettle (2 of them) and they fit fine. I learned a valuable lesson though that I'll pass on for future reference.

I have been using Royal Oak lump charcoal lately and used it for this cook. I lit a whole chimney of Lump then filled the Weber Charcoal baskets for the indirect cook. I anticipated a 1 1/2 hour cook. After an hour they were done, in fact, one was a little over done.

Be careful on the amount of charcoal you use, I would limit it to 25-30 coals divided evenly on each side.

One more caution, be careful on the amount of smoke wood you use and chicken soaks up wood readuily and it is easy to oversmoke. Using lump I don't even use smoking wood, the flavor of the lump alone gives the chicken a great flavor.

Good luck!
 
Thanks Bruce. I plan on using Kingsford briquettes, but will cut down on the smoke wood. perhaps 1 or 2 fist size chunks of hickory further split into chips and then soaked in water overnight? does that sound about right?

Or should I do even less?

It would probably make sense to look into milder woods like apple, but I won't have the time before the weekend.
 
If using hickory you might want to try no more than 1 fist. Since it is a party I would go conservative on the amount of smoke. Too little your guests won't miss it, but too much might turn them off.
 
Good point, Jeff. Found out today that the party is getting bigger. So, I really don't want to mess it up and turn folks off. I look forward to doing this for years to come.

Thanks.
 
Two chickens on a throne and ribs on top are one of my favorite combinations. While probably 99% of the folks on this board use beer, I use a Coke can half full of apple juice. (not a diet Coke can, but the real thing--- just kidding)

Turns out pretty good.
 
Sonny
Are you talking half coke, half apple juice? or a complete Coke can that is only half filled with Apple Juice? Perhaps I am dense here.

Are your rib's rivaling Dreamland's at this point?
Do you prefer BB's or Spares (i assumed spares are what Dreamland sells).

Any suggestions for good rubs, mops, or finishing sauce?

thanks

(PS-- I presume that from your location you (a) still reside in Bham, and (b) that you have eaten at Dreamland and like it. Perhaps presumptuous, but worth a shot)
 
Here's what works for me after years of extensive research:
Rub the chickens inside and out as well as under the skin with your favorite rub.
Marinate over night in Italian salad dressing.
Pat dry with paper towels and rub again at least an hour B4 cooking.
Then I do beer but style, indirect in the kettle. Butterfly is good also.
Can't go wrong, I promise.
Bob
 
Beer can chicken is so great---it's even fantastic in an oven! But nothing beats the indirect heat of yer good ol' weber kettle.

I use a basic rub (paprika, salt, pepper, brown sugar) and those suckers turn out great. It's easier if you have a rotisserie cuz then you can get your lid up high enough for the birds. Otherwise you can cook 'em by standing them on the coal grate in a pie plate surrounded by coals (but I can't imagine you'd fit too many birds that way). I can see easily standing 3 birds on a 22 1/2 inch kettle tho.
 
I did a 6 lber in the oven. Had a pop up timer an everything! But I can see how it might be trickier on the grill.

Wish my beer can duck had worked out (you use a tall boy beer can). It looked FANTASTIC right before I added coals and hit the flashpoint. It was jet black when i finally fought the flames enough to get it out, poor thing. The saddest thing is that it might even have been done before i added the coals, but i didn't check it.

I've got another in the freezer tho and am gonna try it again. At $16 a pop, this one better turn out!
 
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