Beer can chicken - gone wrong?

[Wyatt]

so i'm still a newb with my WSM - i have about 5 cooks under belt - still trying to figure out how to turn the dials during cooks and find my groove. i did a few chickens the other day, where i cooked them high heat (300+) for just over and hour, then crisped the skin after the fact. bascially, they were killer - oh that smoke flavor - so nice.

so yesterday I thought i'd give the beer can chick recipe a whirl. in general, beer can chicken is good, but truly a well cooked piece of bird is just as good. anyway, so i put on a nice flavorful rub and threw the birds on at 225 (fyi - used water pan). so after 2 hrs, i started to baste them every 1/2 hour or so. after about 4 hrs, the breast was at 165, so i pulled them.

bascially, the skin was like leather - we are talking bulletproof. was totally unappetizing - i was so bummed. all that great spicing, for not. the meat below was tasty, but the skin just had to go. is this the norm? i'd assume if you go slow and low on the chicken, you are basically rendering all the fat and the skin is what it is. any tips, or is this deal? main reason i wonder is for turkeys - i'm getting psyched to find some cheap birds at the grocer, but is this gonna be the deal - if so, so use in doing a rub if you ask me - just brine and go.

 

[Pat Smith]

To get an edible skin - whether "crispy" or "bite through" you're going to need to go 325 - 350 on the temps. Cooking chicken at 225 - 250 will give you a moist bird, but inedible skin (check out some of the posts on the "Turkey Talk" forum).

You can do the higher temp cooks - which you've done - or you can do the lower temp and work some of your seasoning under the skin to get move of the spices onto the meat itself.

I like to do chickens either on the Weber rotisserie or on my WSM, water pan only - no water - pan foiled, at 325 - 350.

Pat

 

[Ray Crick]

Like Pat said - higher temps will solve your problem. I usually cook my beer can chix at 375 degrees.

Ray