I've seen some really awesome food threads lately, but nobody's taking the fun outside the house. Being a Texan, I'm required by law to own an OMGWTFBBQ pit so today I will share with you a recepie so easy that anyone can get it right on the first try.
OK, everyone's heard of beer can chicken. It's about as idiot-proof as you can get. Unless you spray your chicken with charcoal starter and light it on fire, it's not going to end up burnt, no matter what you do. The concept is that you mount the chicken on a half-empty can of beer. As the chicken slow-cooks, the beer heats up, bubbles out of the can, and absorbs into the chicken. The chicken stays moist and gets that wonderful beer flavor. I'm switching things up just a touch. By using cider instead of beer, the chicken gets a slightly sweeter taste. Have a look.
Hurr! First off you need some chicken. If you have a Costco near you, check there. They have very low prices and (at least the one near me has) excellent cuts of meat.
And you also need an OMGWTFBBQ pit. I'm not going to get into the old charcoal vs. gas argument here, but it's pretty clear which side I'm on.
This little fella is a charcoal chimney. You don't need one of these, but I just bought it today so I thought I'd feature it. No charcoal starter fluid is required. Just put a little newspaper in the bottom, fill it up with charcoal and light it. In 15 minutes, you'll have a bucket of molten goodness.
Plain and simple. Use Kingsford. Seriously. Don't fuck around.
Take all of that nasty shit out of the chicken and give it a good rinsing inside and out. Don't worry about the chicken absorbing too much water. Extra moisture won't hurt a thing when it's on the grill.
Here's where things get fun. Everybody knows about beer can chicken, but we're going to switch it up a little today. I'm using Strongbow, which is an apple cider. You don't need that stand, but since the Strongbow can is taller (.5L) than most beer cans, the stand provides extra stability. Take two or three hard pulls off the Strongbow before you put it in there. You want the can to be about half empty.
Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and put it on the stand. Put a little vegetable oil on the chicken and rub in salt and pepper. Then take your favorite OMGWTFBBQ rub and work that into the chicken's skin a little bit too. Here's the rub I've been using lately:
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm a cook.
OK, the chimney's smoking now because the coals are good to go.
We're going to cook with indirect heat. Let me repeat that. We're going to cook with indirect heat. Pour the coals in a pile on one side of the pit and place the chicken stand on the other side. It should be close enough to get good heat, but it should not be directly on top of the coals.
Oh dear Christ! What is that nasty bucket full of!? Why it's full of pecan chunks that have been soaking in water for months. Take two or three good-sized chunks of pecan and put them on top of the coals right before you're ready to close the lid. Pecan smoke will give the chicken a tint of sweet smoky flavor. Combine this with the Strongbow and you've got an interesting, but not overwhelming taste. If you have easy access to some, chunks of Apple wood work even better. Cherry would work nicely too. Here in Texas, you have lots of Mesquite, Oak, Pecan, even Hickory, but not much Apple. Check around. You may have better luck.
Close the lid. You're done for now. You've got an hour and fifteen minutes to kill. Crack open a Strongbow while you wait. Throw some darts. Edit your pictures and make a food thread.
Check on the pit from time to time to make sure you've got some smoke wafting out of it. Fight the urge to open the pit and look at the chicken. Well, we all know you're going to do it, just try to keep it to a minimum.
Make sure the temperature is up well over 200 degrees.
Fast forward 1:15 and the chicken's all done. Those mustard/garlic steaks on the left will be featured in my next thread.
Looky here! We've got ourselves some chicken. Wasn't that easy? Be careful taking the chicken off the stand and let it sit for a few minutes to cool down.
PROTIP: Now's a bad time to finish off the rest of the beer in the can.
OK, eat up. Your dinner's done.
Here's a bonus picture of my Devin Brown cup (My name is Devin Brown)
OK, everyone's heard of beer can chicken. It's about as idiot-proof as you can get. Unless you spray your chicken with charcoal starter and light it on fire, it's not going to end up burnt, no matter what you do. The concept is that you mount the chicken on a half-empty can of beer. As the chicken slow-cooks, the beer heats up, bubbles out of the can, and absorbs into the chicken. The chicken stays moist and gets that wonderful beer flavor. I'm switching things up just a touch. By using cider instead of beer, the chicken gets a slightly sweeter taste. Have a look.
Hurr! First off you need some chicken. If you have a Costco near you, check there. They have very low prices and (at least the one near me has) excellent cuts of meat.
And you also need an OMGWTFBBQ pit. I'm not going to get into the old charcoal vs. gas argument here, but it's pretty clear which side I'm on.
This little fella is a charcoal chimney. You don't need one of these, but I just bought it today so I thought I'd feature it. No charcoal starter fluid is required. Just put a little newspaper in the bottom, fill it up with charcoal and light it. In 15 minutes, you'll have a bucket of molten goodness.
Plain and simple. Use Kingsford. Seriously. Don't fuck around.
Take all of that nasty shit out of the chicken and give it a good rinsing inside and out. Don't worry about the chicken absorbing too much water. Extra moisture won't hurt a thing when it's on the grill.
Here's where things get fun. Everybody knows about beer can chicken, but we're going to switch it up a little today. I'm using Strongbow, which is an apple cider. You don't need that stand, but since the Strongbow can is taller (.5L) than most beer cans, the stand provides extra stability. Take two or three hard pulls off the Strongbow before you put it in there. You want the can to be about half empty.
Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and put it on the stand. Put a little vegetable oil on the chicken and rub in salt and pepper. Then take your favorite OMGWTFBBQ rub and work that into the chicken's skin a little bit too. Here's the rub I've been using lately:
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm a cook.
OK, the chimney's smoking now because the coals are good to go.
We're going to cook with indirect heat. Let me repeat that. We're going to cook with indirect heat. Pour the coals in a pile on one side of the pit and place the chicken stand on the other side. It should be close enough to get good heat, but it should not be directly on top of the coals.
Oh dear Christ! What is that nasty bucket full of!? Why it's full of pecan chunks that have been soaking in water for months. Take two or three good-sized chunks of pecan and put them on top of the coals right before you're ready to close the lid. Pecan smoke will give the chicken a tint of sweet smoky flavor. Combine this with the Strongbow and you've got an interesting, but not overwhelming taste. If you have easy access to some, chunks of Apple wood work even better. Cherry would work nicely too. Here in Texas, you have lots of Mesquite, Oak, Pecan, even Hickory, but not much Apple. Check around. You may have better luck.
Close the lid. You're done for now. You've got an hour and fifteen minutes to kill. Crack open a Strongbow while you wait. Throw some darts. Edit your pictures and make a food thread.
Check on the pit from time to time to make sure you've got some smoke wafting out of it. Fight the urge to open the pit and look at the chicken. Well, we all know you're going to do it, just try to keep it to a minimum.
Make sure the temperature is up well over 200 degrees.
Fast forward 1:15 and the chicken's all done. Those mustard/garlic steaks on the left will be featured in my next thread.
Looky here! We've got ourselves some chicken. Wasn't that easy? Be careful taking the chicken off the stand and let it sit for a few minutes to cool down.
PROTIP: Now's a bad time to finish off the rest of the beer in the can.
OK, eat up. Your dinner's done.
Here's a bonus picture of my Devin Brown cup (My name is Devin Brown)
