I decided to give Beer Can Chicken a shot last night, made a bunch of mistakes and it still turned out juicy and tender.
First picture is of the chicken after I had washed, mounted and not so completely dried the birds. I also didn’t use any oil, so the rub after applied showed a less than perfect application.
Lesson learned. Dry the birds better next time and rub with oil before applying the old secret blend of herbs and spices.
The second and third pictures are of how I had the chickens positioned in the MasterBuilt smoker. I had the meat on the far left side of the middle rack with a drip pan directly underneath.
Next to the drip pan I had an A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker filled with cherry and a bit of hickory. Below that I had a water pan with about a gallon of water, and then the heat source two trays down from the pellets.
Second mistake, never put your pellet smoker above the heat source. My setup ignited every time I opened the door. I’ll tell you what! Along with huge spikes in temperature, I did get a great smoke.
And finally the money shot. Nicely tanned and juicy.
I did a terrible job of carving, so I won’t show you that. The chicken was just as juicy as promised and even the skin was delicious. I had thought I put too much rub inside the birds but now I’m thinking there is no such thing as too much rub when these things self baste from the inside. My son, a healthy food addict, was first to start grabbing at the leftover chicken skin on the platter. For him to do that was the ultimate in compliments.
Happy smoking,
Ron Groetsema -- Barnardsville, NC
First picture is of the chicken after I had washed, mounted and not so completely dried the birds. I also didn’t use any oil, so the rub after applied showed a less than perfect application.
Lesson learned. Dry the birds better next time and rub with oil before applying the old secret blend of herbs and spices.
The second and third pictures are of how I had the chickens positioned in the MasterBuilt smoker. I had the meat on the far left side of the middle rack with a drip pan directly underneath.
Next to the drip pan I had an A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker filled with cherry and a bit of hickory. Below that I had a water pan with about a gallon of water, and then the heat source two trays down from the pellets.
Second mistake, never put your pellet smoker above the heat source. My setup ignited every time I opened the door. I’ll tell you what! Along with huge spikes in temperature, I did get a great smoke.
And finally the money shot. Nicely tanned and juicy.
I did a terrible job of carving, so I won’t show you that. The chicken was just as juicy as promised and even the skin was delicious. I had thought I put too much rub inside the birds but now I’m thinking there is no such thing as too much rub when these things self baste from the inside. My son, a healthy food addict, was first to start grabbing at the leftover chicken skin on the platter. For him to do that was the ultimate in compliments.
Happy smoking,
Ron Groetsema -- Barnardsville, NC