Gravy's Cooking Thread

Dr.Retarded · 2025-05-03T14:51:03-0400

BrutulTM said:
Meathead has a whole manifesto on why beer can chicken is a terrible idea.

Beer Can Chicken Recipe: There Are Better Ways To Cook Chicken

Beer Can Chicken is not a good way to cook chicken. Here's why, and how you can make better roast chicken.

amazingribs.com

Also soaking in the marinade for 24 hours does nothing.

I don't know who the hell Meathead is, but he sounds pretty goddamn retarded.

Beer can chicken is great for keeping a bird moist. I use the method when cooking whole pheasant, and despite that being a leaner bird, bard with a few strips of bacon and a Stella Artois can, and it always comes out juicy.

I'll even beer can of Turkey with an oil can of fosters, and then toss it into the Big easy, and I've never had a bad bird.

BrutulTM · 2025-05-03T15:04:22-0400

You clearly didn't read the article. You're wrong. The beer doesn't get hot enough to actually evaporate, and even if it did, it doesn't go into the chicken. I'm sure your chickens turn out fine, but it's not because of the beer can. He measured everything and spells it out in the article. The only thing the beer can is contributing is a big heat sink in the middle of the bird so you need to check the temp at the ribs instead of the center of the breast because it won't cook as quickly on the inside due to all that water absorbing the heat.

Gavinmad · 2025-05-03T17:01:54-0400

The person disagreeing with Dr Retarded is right, don't even have to read the article to know that adding a bunch of thermal mass right in the middle of the bird you're trying to cook is a recipe for disaster.

If you've produced good birds it's been in spite of using that cooking technique, not because you were using it.

lurkingdirk · 2025-05-03T17:31:51-0400

BrutulTM said:
You clearly didn't read the article. You're wrong. The beer doesn't get hot enough to actually evaporate, and even if it did, it doesn't go into the chicken. I'm sure your chickens turn out fine, but it's not because of the beer can. He measured everything and spells it out in the article. The only thing the beer can is contributing is a big heat sink in the middle of the bird so you need to check the temp at the ribs instead of the center of the breast because it won't cook as quickly on the inside due to all that water absorbing the heat.

That's interesting to me. When I do beer can chicken the can of beer is less than a quarter full by the end, and it's boiling. If it's boiling it's releasing steam. Where does the steam go after it is released into the cavity of the chicken? Honest question. I know it starts as a heat sink in the middle of the chicken, but it's bloody hot and boiling part way though. I've done whole chickens on the bbq with and without the beer can, the results are extremely different. And I would swear I get some of the beer flavour in the chicken as I've tried different types of beer and had different results. Not trying to be a dick, just reporting back first hand experience.

Gavinmad · 2025-05-03T17:48:06-0400

lurkingdirk said:
And I would swear I get some of the beer flavour in the chicken as I've tried different types of beer and had different results.

Power of suggestion/confirmation bias? You're expecting some kind of beer taste so uncertainty gets filled in by your brain as beer taste. As the article points out beer is almost nothing but water and alcohol. Boiling down several beers into a reduction (youd need some kind of thickening agent, a neutral oil or maybe a bit of gelatin powder) and using it as a baste/glaze is about the only way you could get beer taste to overpower the rub/aromatics.

lurkingdirk · 2025-05-03T19:15:58-0400

Gavinmad said:
Power of suggestion/confirmation bias? You're expecting some kind of beer taste so uncertainty gets filled in by your brain as beer taste. As the article points out beer is almost nothing but water and alcohol. Boiling down several beers into a reduction (youd need some kind of thickening agent, a neutral oil or maybe a bit of gelatin powder) and using it as a baste/glaze is about the only way you could get beer taste to overpower the rub/aromatics.

I certainly considered that. I think there is actually a taste element here. If I use a generic ale it's one thing. But if I use a really bright IPA with citrus I'm certain I can taste it. And I have validation of this because my wife and kids also say they taste a difference whenever I do a beer can chicken. Plus, I've done three at a time, each with a different beer, and I really could taste the difference. I don't doubt the guy's findings in his article, and maybe I'm imagining all of it, but a huge point of contention for me is the temperature of the beer. It boils, doesn't stay cold. More than half evaporates because it's boiling.

Dunno man, I'ma gonna keep doing beer can chicken because it comes out delicious. Maybe it's just the power of suggestion, still tasty. And different from other preparations.

Lanx · 2025-05-03T19:26:29-0400

lurkingdirk said:
That's interesting to me. When I do beer can chicken the can of beer is less than a quarter full by the end, and it's boiling. If it's boiling it's releasing steam. Where does the steam go after it is released into the cavity of the chicken? Honest question. I know it starts as a heat sink in the middle of the chicken, but it's bloody hot and boiling part way though. I've done whole chickens on the bbq with and without the beer can, the results are extremely different. And I would swear I get some of the beer flavour in the chicken as I've tried different types of beer and had different results. Not trying to be a dick, just reporting back first hand experience.

it's cuz your doing it on a grill where the coals are on the bottom of the can heating the beer directly

in an oven, it's a no go, the beer will be full still cuz of the chicken insulation

Dr.Retarded · 2025-05-03T19:28:39-0400

BrutulTM said:
You clearly didn't read the article. You're wrong. The beer doesn't get hot enough to actually evaporate, and even if it did, it doesn't go into the chicken. I'm sure your chickens turn out fine, but it's not because of the beer can. He measured everything and spells it out in the article. The only thing the beer can is contributing is a big heat sink in the middle of the bird so you need to check the temp at the ribs instead of the center of the breast because it won't cook as quickly on the inside due to all that water absorbing the heat.

I didn't have to read the article because I know it's retarded.

lurkingdirk knows the score. The beer always comes to a boil and releases steam. You can argue how much of that steam is actually going to flavor the chicken, but that's why you also put herbs or your barbecue rub in there and at least to me it seems to make a difference, and I always get a juicy or chicken versus just straight up roasting or smoking. All I know is I've always gotten good results and like he said, if you use a weak beer, and not something that tastes really good your mileage may vary as far as the flavor, but that's also what the aromatics are for.

Dr.Retarded · 2025-05-03T19:34:09-0400

lurkingdirk said:
I certainly considered that. I think there is actually a taste element here. If I use a generic ale it's one thing. But if I use a really bright IPA with citrus I'm certain I can taste it. And I have validation of this because my wife and kids also say they taste a difference whenever I do a beer can chicken. Plus, I've done three at a time, each with a different beer, and I really could taste the difference. I don't doubt the guy's findings in his article, and maybe I'm imagining all of it, but a huge point of contention for me is the temperature of the beer. It boils, doesn't stay cold. More than half evaporates because it's boiling.

Dunno man, I'ma gonna keep doing beer can chicken because it comes out delicious. Maybe it's just the power of suggestion, still tasty. And different from other preparations.

I also typically use a beer can that's when sitting out on the counter and warmed up to expedite the process. You can even take a empty can, and put something like a white wine in there. I've only done that a couple of times but it turned out pretty good and you can definitely taste the wine. Do you maybe get better results by marinating the chicken and wine, probably, but it was a fun experiment.

I typically also add beer to most of my wet marinades that I make if I'm doing barbecue or fajitas or something.

BrutulTM · 2025-05-03T21:57:59-0400

Lanx said:
it's cuz your doing it on a grill where the coals are on the bottom of the can heating the beer directly

in an oven, it's a no go, the beer will be full still cuz of the chicken insulation

The tests in the article were done on a grill, but not directly over the heat. I think it would be pretty difficult to roast a chicken evenly over direct heat. In any case, you can certainly get a lot more flavor on your chicken by putting herbs and spices directly on it than subjecting it to an unknown quantity of beer steam. Also, as this picture illustrates, most of the chicken is not going to even be touched by the steam.

Lanx · 2025-05-03T22:24:13-0400

Ya ll can just go and beer chicken in both oven and grill and see how much beer is still in the can

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Gravy's Cooking Thread

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Beer Can Chicken Recipe: There Are Better Ways To Cook Chicken

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