Custom Barrel Smoker Beer Can Chicken

[Brendo]

Cooked up a fantastic beer can chicken tonight on my recent creation, The wine Barrel Smoker.

The chicken was super moist even though i cooked it all the way up to 176*F

Quick question though, the legs / wings were a little too pink for my liking. Should I have cooked it longer ?
Most recipe's I googled told me to take it off at 165F.

Any Ideas ??

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hureufftt7o51xm/12322970_10208536232953463_5124354645077060901_o.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6ue2xvlfrlkc96f/12334325_10153167550140766_806504801_o.jpg?dl=0

 

[Enrico Brandizzi]

Brendo, your barrel smoker looks beatyful.
About chicken IT there should a difference between dark and white meat. White needs 165F You were speaking about. Dark needs 10-15F degrees more.
For me I look always for 180F.
Bird remains moist enough. Maybe not so nice bite, but not mushy.

 

[Brendo]

Thanks Enrico.
Ill keep that in mind next time. It wasn't mentioned in the recipes so its good to know !

 

[Tommy B]

the US food safety people have determined white and dark meat is both good at 165 degrees. When you smoke chicken or turkey you will get a pink/purple meat that may look undercooked. As long as you are using an accurate thermometer and its above 165 you will be good. I took my dark meat a little too far this year up to 180 degrees and still got some pinkish looking meat but it was still really good! Good luck!


I copied and pasted the below from the Amazing ribs site.

http://amazingribs.com/recipes/chicken_turkey_duck/ultimate_smoked_turkey.html
The new recommendation is 165°F for any and all parts of turkey and chicken. That means cookbooks published in 2006 or earlier are wrong. Worse, many celebrity cooks seem never to have gotten the word and it is common to hear them tell us to desiccate our birds by overcooking them to 180°F. Click here for a complete guide to the proper cooking temps for all meats, both USDA and restaurant chef recommendations.