Spatchcock or beer can chicken


 
B

Bill Farmer

TVWBB Super Fan
Just curious as to who prefers spatchcocked (butterflied) chicken or beer can chicken. I prefer the spatchcocked chicken over beer can chicken as I feel it cooks with better flavor.
 
To me it's the difference between direct and indirect grilling, and I like them both. One thing I've learned about BCC is that the beer needs to be really loaded with strong aromatics to get flavor into the meat. And spatchcocked is nice for quicker cooks and recipes like Cornell Chicken.
 
I've only made one beer can chicken but several spatched chickens but I can't cite any particular reason as to why I've only made a single beer can. When I do poultry it's a decision between spatchcock or rotisserie.
 
Bill,
I agree with you on the spatchcock. I also feel like it’s just easier with less clean up on a spatch.
 
If vertical roaster counts as a variation of BCC, that's my fav; whole chicken turns out super moist and I make soup from the carcass - the drippings back into the 'can' goes right in the soup for flavoring.
 
I'm with @Erik Tracy. Beer can chicken is great if you leave out the can and just use the stand for a vertical roast. I've got a stand with a drip pan, so it's easy to save the drippings for gravy. Spatchcocked is also great and a little faster cook. Either one is quite simple and very tasty.
 
X 3 on the vertical roaster. When I spatch I go all the way and just half the bird or birds. That way everyone gets a leg thigh wing and breast.
Now I go a rotiss for x'mas and need to rig it on my akorn auto-kamado.
 
Vertical roaster is easiest. I have two of the ones below. I stopped using beer and just slice some onion up and put it in with some water or apple juice. I cook with this most often


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Rotisserie yields crispier skin but is a little more setup and cleanup.

For spatchcock, If I'm going to the effort to split the bird I'll also cut off the leg thigh quarters.
I can pull the breasts at the perfect doneness temp and leave the leg thigh quarters on a bit longer as I like the thighs cooked to a higher temp than the breasts.

 
I split em right down the middle into halves, maximizing exposure to rub/smoke...better cooking experience
 
Spun about a 4lb bird on the ole 22" kettle with the Weber Rotisserie attachment this afternoon. Boy was it delicious.

I used some Sysco Rotisserie rub on it but found that it was a little lacking in the seasoning department. Any suggestions for jazzing up my next bird on the rotisserie?
 
I like both ways of cooking the bird. To me it all starts with brining the chicken for 12-24 hours. The juiciest chicken that I make is made on the "Weber Deluxe Poultry Roaster" I have been using that device for +10years with fall off the bone results. When cooking a chicken Spatchcock style, I use the SnS attachment, it provides a bit more crispier skin & obviously a different presentation.

www.weber.com

Deluxe Poultry Roaster | Weber Grills

The ceramic non-stick Weber Deluxe Poultry Roaster holds liquid in its center cup, has a cap to lock in steam, and captures juices for basting.
www.weber.com www.weber.com

snsgrills.com

Whole Chicken Recipe | SnS Grills

A whole barbecued chicken makes for a great family meal or dinner for 2 with plenty of leftovers. Our recipe is going to teach you a couple of very simple techniques to ensure your next whole bird (and every one after that) is perfectly cooked.
snsgrills.com snsgrills.com
 
I prefer spatchcock to vertical roaster for chickens and turkeys. When used to use a vertical roaster, I put the charcoal into my CBs and put the chicken between them on the charcoal grate.

I am not a fan of BCC at all. It just doesn’t work.
 
Spatchcock or spinning for me, probably more spinning after a get the roti carriage built. BCC doesn’t trip my trigger for whatever reason, it just means one more thing to clean. I know folks will take exception to that but, thats just my opinion.
 
I can go either way. Like some other folks, I use a vertical roaster similar to the one below. I don't think whatever (if any) liquid that evaporates from a can does anything to flavor the meat, regardless of the what that liquid tastes like. And, I think the can actually impeded heat transfer to the inside cavity of the chicken, so I don't put the can in the holder.



1682646474175.png

My favorite way to cook chicken in an WSM is shown below - I get really good flavor and color this way + crispy skin. It's hard to beat

1682646554606.png
 
Jose DT said:
Spun about a 4lb bird on the ole 22" kettle with the Weber Rotisserie attachment this afternoon. Boy was it delicious.

I used some Sysco Rotisserie rub on it but found that it was a little lacking in the seasoning department. Any suggestions for jazzing up my next bird on the rotisserie?
Click to expand...
The best thing for rotisserie chicken is a brine. We have two favorites, both from Jamie Purviance:

"Chicken with herbs and buttermilk", as shown in this thread:
tvwbb.com

What are you smoking this weekend? August 2020

I have a 13 pound Turkey 🦃 that’s going into the WSM with some apple chunks. My labs will be very happy to assist in eating this.
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com
(We leave out the hot sauce, as neither of us likes it)

If you want something even easier, but very tasty and a little unusual, his "Oktoberfest Chicken" from Big Book Of Grilling is wonderful:
1 gallon water
1/2 cup pickling spices
1/2 cup kosher salt

Bring ingredients to a boil for 5 minutes or so, then take off heat and allow to cool to room temperature. When cool, put into a container along with your whole chicken (I've used pots, plastic marinating tubs from the chef supply store, and even large Ziploc bags - doubled, of course.) Brine overnight in the refrigerator, then throw it on the rotisserie.

Trust me, either of these recipes will make your family/guests forget all about that cr*p rotisserie chicken they get at Costco!

(For future reference, I've posted this recipe in the poultry section)
 
John K BBQ said:
I can go either way. Like some other folks, I use a vertical roaster similar to the one below. I don't think whatever (if any) liquid that evaporates from a can does anything to flavor the meat, regardless of the what that liquid tastes like. And, I think the can actually impeded heat transfer to the inside cavity of the chicken, so I don't put the can in the holder.



View attachment 69715

My favorite way to cook chicken in an WSM is shown below - I get really good flavor and color this way + crispy skin. It's hard to beat

View attachment 69716
Click to expand...

I have that same hanging contraption for my WSM and I’ve only used it for ribs. Need to hang some birds from it. 👍
 
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