# Cookery Corner - Beer Can Chicken



## barfridge (15/1/05)

After reading about the fabled american dish of beer can chicken on the interweb, I decided to have a crack at it.

Ingredients:
- 1 chook (I went all hippie and used a free range one)
- erbs and spices for seasonings
- honey and soy sauce for glaze
- vegies for roasting
- 1 can beer

Method:
1) Seasoning rub on outside of chook
for this I used salt, pepper, sugar, paprika, italian herbs, cayenne pepper and onion flakes. Basicly whatever is available. Mix in a large bowl, then throw the chicken on top, and rub mixture into the skin. For mine I went slightly overboard on the sugar, so it was a little too sweet.

At this stage the chicken should look like this:





(Note: the colouring is due to the paprika and cayenne, its a completely raw chook)

2) Performing colorectal surgery
Open the can of beer (i used a very average brew, but its all I had in a can). Pour off about a third of the can, and save to use in the glaze later on. Add any seasonings you like to the beer, I used a little minced garlic. Now for the fun part...carefully open the bumhole of the chicken, and slide in the can. Place upright in the centre of your baking tray. Its also a good idea to tie the wings to the sides of the chook, to stop them drooping as it cooks, and collapsing on itself.

3) Vegies
Slice and dice your favourite vegies, I used spud, carrot and onion. Sprinkle with italian herbs, and oil liberally. The oil aids in cooking them through, and makes the outsides nice and crispy.

At this stage you're ready to cook, and it should look like this:





4) Cooking
Heat: 180 C
Time: approx 90 minutes.
I did mine on the BBQ under the roasting hood, but an oven will suffice.

5) Glaze
After about an hour its time to turn the vegies, and time to glaze the chook. This aids in making the outside skin crispy, and stops moisture loss from occurring. I used the 1/3 can of beer I saved earlier, along with honey and soy sauce to taste. Pour over chook with a spoon, dont use a brush as you dont want to remove the rub you applied at the beginning.

6) The final product
bon appetit!





Tasting notes:
- The rub I used, plus the honey in the glaze made the outside skin a little too sweet. Next time I'd use less sugar, more salt which would bring out the flavours of the glaze more I think.
- The upper half of the bird was perfect! I dont think I've ever had chicken that was more moist and tender. And there was no greasiness at all. However, due to the steaming process from the beer can, the top cooked more quickly than the bottom, so the drumsticks were slightly underdone, and had to be cooked for a further 10-15 minutes.
- Only a small amount of the beer in the can boiled off, so my thought is to punch a couple of holes in the can about halfway up its sides, to release steam into the lower portion of the chook.

Overall rating: 8.5/10. It would be 9.5 if not for my mistakes with the seasonings, and the differences in cooking times for various parts of the bird.


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## Guest Lurker (15/1/05)

Nice work Barfridge.

I see your chicken and raise you a turkey.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/RBI/beer%20can%20turkey.htm

Anyone want to raise the stakes to a Goose?

Doing it without a tray on a bbq, with gentle coals, the heat comes from below, and so the drumsticks end up well cooked and tender, while the breast at the top is mostly cooked from the inside out by the steam.

I've done about 10 chickens this way now, did 2 on Christmas Day, and its one of the best ways to cook them. Is that Emu Bitter I spy in the chook? At least its bird related. I like to use Speckled Hen, the can is longer and keeps the drumsticks off the grill, and the hoppy toffee flavours go well with chicken.


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## Backlane Brewery (15/1/05)

The other option to mix beer & chook (apart from making Cock Ale) is to joint the chicken into about 8 big chunks, put it in a pot with a can of beer & two sliced chillies, smoe garlic & salt & pepper , and simmer the lot for an hour or so til the meat falls off the bones & the liquid has reduced & thickened up.
Pick out the bones & eat. Good with rice.


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## phantom (15/1/05)

That second photo is a pearler,looks like it is laying an egg.
I might give it a go,sounds yummy
What about the paint /ink on can.Did it blister of fume?


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## rodderz (15/1/05)

Chicken looks quite contempt sitting on a beer lol

Had a mate who did this recipe over xmas in a webber bbq, turned out brilliant


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## kook (15/1/05)

Always remember, theres nothing stopping pouring the shit beer out the can, and filling the can (with a funnel or tube) with homebrew, or a commercial beer thats more to taste.

You dont use shit wine to cook with, why use shit beer?


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## barfridge (15/1/05)

Thanks for the feedback 

Phantom: There were no problems with the paint on the can, as it all stayed moist and (relatively) cool. I suppose if the can ran dry there would be a problem, but I didnt get to that stage.

kook: I take your point, but this was more in the line of an experiment, so stuffing about with bottles and cans was too much effort. I will definitely do it next time however.


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## phantom (15/1/05)

MMMMMMM......loo ks as if i may have to drag the webber out!


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## Backlane Brewery (9/2/05)

One of the dishes on the menu for the Melbourne BBQ Appreciation Society's first annual "Brew & Q", to be held next week.

If any Melb. brewers are interested, PM me for details.

Frijoles borrachos=drunken beans.
Recipe from : Texas Home Cooking - ISBN 1-55832-059-8 

2 Cups pinto beans
6 Cups water -- or more as needed
12 Ounces beer
2 Teaspoons bacon drippings -- or peanut oil
1 Large onion -- chopped
2 garlic cloves -- minced
2 fresh jalapenos or serranos -- chopped
2 pickled jalapenos -- chopped
1 Teaspoon chili powder
1 Teaspoon salt 

Pick through the beans and rinse them, watching for any gravel or 
grit. Soak the beans in water, enough to cover them by several 
inches, preferably overnight. 
Drain the beans, and add them to a stockpot or a large, heavy 
saucepan. Cover them with the water and beer. Simmer the beans, 
uncovered, over low heat. 
After 1 hour, stir the beans up from the bottom and check the liquid 
level. If there is not at least an inch more water than beans, add 
enough hot water to bring it to that level. Simmer the beans another 
30 minutes, then check again, adding water as needed. 
When the beans are well softened, add the remaining ingredients, and 
continue simmering. Cook at least 15 more minutes, keeping the level 
of the water just above the beans. The beans are done when they are 
soft and creamy but not mushy. 
There should be extra liquid at the completion of the cooking time, 
although the beans should not be soupy. If you want the liquid a 
little thicker, squash a few of the beans in the bottom of the pot 
with a potato masher. 
Serve the beans immediately, or cover them and keep them warm for as 
long as 1 hour. Or let them cool, and refrigerate or freeze them for 
later use.


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## Boots (9/2/05)

I hadn't seen this thread before, but one of the birthday presents i got this year, was ... you guessed it, a beer can chicken roaster!!

It's one of those normal chicken roasting racks, that stand the chicken up by ramming it up the chook, but a beer can fits inside the rack.

The instructions on the packaging say that the best way to use it is to use a webber, remove the top roasting rack (the one you always use) and to sit the chook on a drip tray inbetween the coals at the bottom of the webber. I guess that gets around the slower cooking bottom half of the chook.

I was initially concerned about the paint bilstering on the beer can, and thought that I might use a baked been tin (plus some nice APA) or similar instead - but if it doesn't blister, should be fine.


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## Bionic (9/2/05)

Ive done this and it turns out very well indeed.. The steam from the beer keeps the chicken nice and moist.. Even with a Stout I really couldn't taste any beery or malty flavours as I though I would have..


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## NRB (31/8/06)

I cooked up my first beer can chicken tonight.

I made a rub (enough for many pieces of meat and now stored in my pantry) consisting of:

1/4 cup Hungarian sweet paprika
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbs coarse sea salt crystals
3 tbs black pepper
2 tbs garlic powder
2 tbs onion powder
1 tbs cayenne pepper

I rubbed this into the skin, stuck the 1.6kg free range beast onto a can of Tetley's and roasted at 180C for 75 minutes.

It was amazing how juicy the bird was when carving!

I'd highly recommend trying this out. I know I'll do it again in future.


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## Doc (31/8/06)

I agree.
I did one for the Hills Brewers Guild AG Imperial Pils brew day at my place a few weeks back.
Doing another this weekend for Fathers day.
Injecting the marinade into the bird makes it even better.
Drunken Chicken.

Details here

Beers,
Doc


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## Adamt (31/8/06)

Heard close to exactly the same thing on Huey's the other day!

He said he used a can of XXXX Gold, but next time he'd use a "better beer like good old Carlton Draught"... sad sad fat man he is.


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## Guest Lurker (1/9/06)

Lightweights....real brewers do 7 kg beer can turkeys.


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## normell (1/9/06)

Guest Lurker said:


> Lightweights....real brewers do 7 kg beer can turkeys.


Or you could use a can of Coopers, then the sediment would make the chook look like it shat itself


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## tangent (1/9/06)

aren't beer cans coated with plastic inside?


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## RichLum (1/9/06)

I have a coke can that I use for mine and I've used the same one a number of times...
I just wash it out after each use and then fill it up with homebrew when I want to use it.

Never had any dramas with the paint coming off the outside or plastic odours or anythign like that from inside...

I also punched a few holes around the side of the can up near the top as I think (in my own dodgy reasoning) that this lets more steam spread more evenly around the inside of the chook...


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## Lukes (15/9/06)




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## Jye (15/9/06)

Ive done this a few time now and the chicken doesnt pick up any of the beer flavours  The last one used water and about 6 garlic cloves in the can and I couldnt pick up any garlic in the chicken, I think this has to do with very little of the cans contents evaporating.

But this is one of the easiest dishes to prepare, cut up everything nice and chucky like in Barfridges first pic (potatoes, pumpkin, whole carrot and onion) then 90min at 180C and your done. For 10min preparation you cant get a better tasting dinner





Doc, in your pic it looks like you are having some trouble getting the chicken on the can... try sweet talking it first


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## Justin (15/9/06)

Interesting this popped up again, I was planning on trying the Beer can chicken recipe in the very near future in my newly built smoker. 

This was my latest construction project. I built a hot smoker out of an 18G keg to start doing american style BBQ, I've smoked chicken pieces and sausages so far (only had it running for about 2 weeks) and looking to try some brisket and ribs and beer can chicken soon as well.

Have a look, built from an 18G (80L) keg, I know-should have made a kettle out of it but this is another worthy cause. I intalled an electric coiled hot plate element, 0-110C thermostat and water bowl, racks etc. All fully stainless. Works great. You just throw on some hickory, mesquite, apple wood etc into a pan on the element, close the lid and let it run till done.





So far its cooked some lovely meals, can't wait to get a bit more adventurous and have the time to do a 8-10hr brisket and explore some more rubs and marinades.


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## Bobby (15/9/06)

that looks great!!! i think i will put that on my 'to build one day' list.


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## Guest Lurker (15/9/06)

Excellent info as always Justin. Thinking about doing this. Does it have a flue and have you tried putting racks at the end of the flue for cold smoking?


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## Justin (15/9/06)

I'll draw up a plan of the inside. Really is pretty simple inside though, not much more than racks, a water bowl and an element.

As for true cold smoking, no I haven't rigged or tried to rig a rack for cold smoking. It might take a fair bit of modification to make it work with this one (if your planning to smoke around the 25-32C range for 1-5 days).

I have a full temperature range availble but it's really designed to run at about 105C as a hot smoker so that the element is turned on and off regularly producing the smoke, given it's thermostatically controlled I don't think it would work very well at cold smoking temps as the element wouldn't cycle often enough to smoke the wood chunks.

There seems to be quite a difference of opinion on what temperature true cold smoking occurs at. I've read all sorts of stuff from 23-70C for "cold" smoking. I suspect real cold smoking is in the lower portion of that range and relies mainly on your brining process to cure your meat. I've read plenty of info about smoking salmon and trout for short periods at ~70C, and the ones I have tasted were bloody nice. But it's cooked meat at this temp, not the transluecent flesh you see in proper smoked salmon.

Hope it helps anyway, I'll try to draw up a plan and post it.

Edit: Sorry, does it have a flu-no. It didn't need one really as there is enough gap around the lid to give good air flow without losing too much heat and I also installed a vent in the lid like on the weber bbq's to fine tune and play with. I generally leave it open so that there is a good flow of smoke. Apparently if smoke hangs around too long it contributes a bitter taste to the meat. Haven't gained enough experience yet to prove it but it seems well founded.

FWIW I guess you could plumb off a flu and cold smoke with it I guess. As long as you had sufficient length to cool the smoke you could run it to another cabinet where you hang the cold smoking stuff. More reading I guess with answer that, I can see no reason really why it wouldn't work. That way you could still run the hot smoker at sufficient temps to get good smoke generation (you don't actually need much smoke at all). More research 

Here's the pic, it's basically the same as this except I put an element in the bottom instead of charcoal. Any metal container from an old fridge (no plastic innards), to a 44 gallon drum and anything inbetween could be used. The keg only cost me $20 so that's what I used.


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## tangent (15/9/06)

i saw a pissed chef make a smoker out of 2 filing cabinet drawers at an office party. nothing like smoked meat  nice work justin


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## chillamacgilla73 (5/10/06)

Fantastic work Justin - you've inspired me to pull finger for summer.....summer brings out the desire for smokey meat, beer and cricket on the idiot box....I can hear the crickets chirping now and the back flyscreen door swinging shut..... I have been smoking meat in the webber for a while with mixed results and a cold smoker would be a welcome addition to the back yard. I would love to oneday make fermented sausages(Salamis etc) next winter and a cold smoker would certainly widen the scope.

Thanks for the drawing - I'm going to nut out a plan of attack tonight.
:beer:


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## Justin (5/10/06)

No worries, good fun to make and makes a nice BBQ. The old man has been going nuts on the smoked sausage and also did a whole chook last week too.

You can simplify that diagram somewhat too by the way. It doesn't have to be exact. You just need your heat source, a water bowl, and some racks for the meat.

As I mentioned I chose an electric stove top element so that I could fit a thermostat so I didn't have to attend it for the whole cook watching the temp. Pretty simple set up really.

I found a couple of good websites too. Plenty of info and a few good recipes by the looks of it too.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

www.smokingmeatforums.com

When I head home next I'm going to try on of these briskets I read so much about. Looks like they take in the order of 8-10hrs to cook. Hmmm should be tasty though.

But mine has been working great from all reports from the old man. So best of luck with it.

Cheers, Justin

Edit: Here's a link to a smoker made out of a rubbish bin and a bench top element. Very simple. This particular one doesn't use a water bowl, you can make your own judgement on that (hey try it both ways?). But it gives an idea of just how simple it can be. However, I have read that galvanised stuff is far from idea for a smoker because apparently if you heat galv it can give off toxic fumes. But any metal container or some large teracotta pots would do the job. Have fun. 

http://www.cruftbox.com/cruft/docs/elecsmoker.html


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## chillamacgilla73 (6/10/06)

Thanks for all the info Justin - I'll get stuck in over the next few weekends and see how we go.

Re: Galv surfaces giving off toxic fumes - when welded galvanised steel gives off zinc(I believe?) fumes that cause shocking head aches(I know from experience). I am pretty sure it's non toxic coz all the workers at the galvanisers we use at work don't wear respirators or much other PPE...to be honest there complacency with molten zinc is somewhat disturbing......I'll still give the galvanising a miss to be safe.


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## jimmyjack (6/10/06)

Heres a link on how to convert your weber bbq into a smoker 

Smokenator 1000


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## chillamacgilla73 (6/10/06)

Cheers JJ & J  

A wealth of info - much appreciated and will be taken on board. I like the pic from http://www.cruftbox.com/cruft/docs/elecsmoker.html with the bottle of Harp lager next to the temp reader - kudos to a beer drinker from the US that doesn't drink the worst megaswill available(Bud, Coors, Miller, Milwaukees Best etc h34r: )...he he

I'm thinking I'll have to smoke a little meat when I host a brew day round the macgillas in the not too distant future(I'm thinking I better sort some public liability insurance first...).

Thanks again guys
:beer:


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