Beer Can Chicken question

[Jim R.]

I have enjoyed this recipe on my gasser many times and can't wait to try it on my WSM which is one state away via UPS currently.

My question is in regards to some sentiment that smoking chicken results in skin that is not crispy but rather rubbery.

Could you (has anyone) remove the water pan and smoke the beer can chicken that way? Still by using slow and low cooking but via direct heat.

As a newbie I apologize in advance if this has been discussed before (I looked but couldn't find anything on it exactly).

 

[Russ Hazzon]

It still won't work. You have to understand the concept behind crispy skin. By heating the layer of fat between the meat and the skin high enough causes the fat to fry the skin, thus turning it crispy. By cooking low and slow the fat may render, but never gets hot enough to crisp the skin.

 

[Henry Joe Peterson]

I do mine on the kettle and the skin crisps up just fine. In fact, never even tried a beer can bird on the WSM.

 

[Bill Freiberger]

There is very little point in slow cooking chicken. It doesn't have cologen that needs to be slowly rendered out. Cook chicken at 350* to get the best results. If you want to add a little extra smoke flavor, smoke it for a half hour to an hour at 200* then crank the temp up to 350* to finish.

Bill