How many chickens can you fit?


 
J

Jeremiah Sullivan

TVWBB Member
Let's assume 4 lbs. broiler/fryers

I fit about 2 beer can chickens on the top rack with plenty of room to spare.

Do you think it's feasible to fit 8 total, assuming you're doing them beer can style?

Obviously if you butterfly them it will be significantly less.
 
Jeremiah,

Haven't tried that many. I think 6 would be no problem. If you do eight, let us know how it turne out.

Ray
 
Jeremiah, I doubt you could get more than 4 beer-can chickens on the top rack. Maybe 5 if they are skinny. They would be too tall to put more on the lower rack if you are using the upper one. Also, they would sit pretty far to the outside of the grate and would catch the heat that comes up the sides of the WSM, so you'd have to rotate them during the cook.

Do let us know how you handled these.

Rita
 
I've placed four on the top rack and four on the bottom.... and it works fine. To help stablize them, I use skewers to harness the chickens together. It looks funny but then again, it works.

Cheers

Brian
 
Brian, glad you posted. I didn't think there would be enough height on the lower grate. That's good to know. Buy short chickens!
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Rita
 
All:

Thanks for the info!

Brian:

Was it difficult to get the 4 chickens off of the bottom rack without spilling any beer? Worried about steam burns.
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I regularly do 6 whole chickens at a time. I don't do beer can... just arrange them on their backs. The wings touch a bit, but no biggie for me.

I wouldn't squeeze any more on there if you want consistent results. I think you'd be layering them on top of eachothe, which would result in uneven results...
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I wouldn't squeeze any more on there if you want consistent results. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I agree with Adam - you need some space around them for consistent results, I have found that I can grill 5 cornish hens on my Weber Genesis, but when I try the sixth hen, they are squeezed together a bit and do not all get done at the same time and consistency.

Ray
 
Going to do 6 beer can style and perhaps try 8 at a later time. I have 12 people interested (lunch at the office) so 6 makes more sense. Wouldn't want to unnecessarily go for 8 and have suboptimal outcome, although I definitely want to try this in the near future.

Any tips on getting the chickens off the bottom rack without spilling any beer on the coals?
 
The four chicken harnessed together works however place the chickens back-to-back so the breast meat is outwards. The beer can, for me is simply a "prop" - its empty. I'm not finding the liquid (beer or whatever - and yes, I've tried) adding all that much to the flavor to the chicken.

There are a couple of comments about drippings onto the coals... are you planning to have your water tray in place? I usually foil a tray and leave it empty - no liquid).

Have fun!

Brian
 
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