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Beer can chicken skin woes


 
L

Luke M

New member
Hi all,

I recently tried making my first BCC. The meat was great, but the skin - which I don't really like even when cooked properly - was soggy and pretty unappealing. I cooked it at about 225-250 for about 3.5 hours.

I understand that this is a common problem with cooking chicken at a low temp, so my question is, is there any reason not to take off the skin prior to smoking? Will removing the skin adversely affect how the meat is cooked? Any thoughts or advice? Thanks!
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I hate to break it to ya, but chicken is NOT the wsm's forte, and you should shoot for temps closer to 350 if your taste is like most folks. (The supermarkets sell THE HECK out of rotisserie chicken every day, and I haven't seen smoked leg quarters for sale yet!)

Try using the top grate only and no pan, cooking directly over lump. Occasionally baste with something like the "Roadside Chicken" recipe off this site if you'd like.
 
It's the cooktemps, not so much the cooker. If you can achieve high enough temps in whatever cooker you're using you can get better skin.

The skin is my favorite. I do chicken > 400 (usually 450+). If you want crisp skin you'll need the higher heat of a hot cook; nicely textured (at least), a more moderate 350 will work.
 
As Kevin pointed out, it certainly is the higher temperature during the cooking process.
Four hundred degrees or better will result in crispy skin.
I've done whole and cut-up chicken on the WSM many times, butt I prefer to use the Weber kettle. If you're lookin' for a smoky flavour, simply add your favourite smoke wood to the charcoal.
Good Luck!
 
I have had a little bit of an easier time getting evenly crisp skin by splitting the chickens.

Keep practicing.... Chickens are cheap.
 
Originally posted by Ernie D:Keep practicing.... Chickens are cheap.
Click to expand...
...and if you're still disgusted, make sure the chickens are fully cooked, then send them DIRECTLY TO ME! I'll eet em
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low temps=rubber skin. you want the skin on to keep the meat moist. also the skin is there to hold the rub on underneath. i don't eat skin either.
 
If you take the skin off prior to cooking it can make the chicken very dry. If you cook it low and slow and keep it away from the heat around the edge of the smoker it's not too bad. However, it can be very smokey. When I cook chicken on the wsm that's the way I cook it. But I'm cooking it to make smoked chicken salad. It needs to be very smokey to have the right amount of smoke flavor after you mix everything else into it. For chicken that you aren't making into salad go with the higher heat and leave the skin on.
 
I always go high heat when doing chicken(BCC) acctually only time i use the weber coal baskets.

This is to get an even colouring

This was from our last cook



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Bless

//Me
 
Brine 'em, dry 'em off, rub 'em down and cook 'em HOT. I cook mine in the kettle and bank the coals on either side with the chicken facing one bank and it's back to the other. Vents wide open. Fold the wingtips under themselves to avoid charring them. It takes about an hour if you don't lift the lid, but you get some wonderfully well cooked juicy chicken with beautiful, crackly, delicious skin.
 
dry chicken comes from overcooking, skinless breasts can be moist if not over cooked.

I don't completely remove the skin. However, when I plan on doing pulled chicken, I'll make some large cuts in the skin to make sure everything gets rubbed and I have some crusty smokey bits to mix in.

Its a little hard to see, but you may be able to make out some of the cuts here:

IMG_2313.jpg


I use the beer can racks when I'm cooking quantity. If I'm doing a single bird, I'll spatchcock it and cook it in the wsm minus the pan.

HTH
 
I don't do beer can chicken any more, I prefer to spatchcock them and cook them direct as hot as you can get the wsm. Rub them down first with ether butter or oil and that will get the skin crispy.
 
I was watching Americas Test Kitchen and they did beer can chicken on a Weber charcoal grill. They took a skewer and carefully poked holes through the skin a few times all over. That left the fat with somewhere to go and said it helped crisp the skin. Of course, they did not do this on the WSM, but I wonder if poking a few holes might have a little better result when doing a high heat cook on the WSM...to the lab!
 
Like the others have said, high heat is great for chicken, save the slow and low for meats that have lots of fat to render and collagen to break down. Personally I spatchcock the chicken and put them in the kettle. I can generally fit 2 in. If I needed to cook more, I'd go to the wsm and cook without water and at high temps.
 
I take the water pan out after the long, low smoke to crisp the skin. Sometimes, I'll take the middle section off and throw the grate onto the charcoal ring. Just lay the cooked chicken down for about 2 minutes a "side" to crisp it.
 
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