Ruth gets me started on a new hobby

For Father’s Day this year, Ruth got me a Weber Smokey Joe portable charcoal grill.  After a few savory steaks, I was interested in grilling different kinds of meat, but I needed more room so I could do indirect grilling and some smoking.  So I picked up a barrel grill from Wal-mart (at $98, it was a steal) which has provided me greater grilling opportunities.  I decided I wanted a charcoal grill because turning on a gas grill seemed very much like turning on our gas stove top and I wanted something that felt more like grilling outdoors.

The next issue was where to get the meat.  After finding out more about the food industry (Food, inc.), I wanted to get our beef and poultry from a local farm where the animals are cage-free; the cows are grass-fed (they were never meant to eat corn) and the chickens are not kept indoors in boxes.  Fortunately, a farmer’s market opened up near our house and we now get our beef, poultry and eggs directly from the farm.

Beer Can Chicken

Sunday is a good day for grilling and this Sunday I grilled a whole, free-range chicken direct from the farm.  This was my second attempt at grilling a whole chicken.  Both times, I followed a grilling method that’s been around for about ten years known as “Beer Can Chicken.”  Essentially, you position the chicken over a can of beer and stand it upright on the grill.  The first time I did it, the chicken came out pretty good but it clearly needed improvement before I could give “Beer Can Chicken” a thumbs up.

For my second attempt, I poured half the beer in a bucket of apple wood chips and let them soak for a half hour or so.  I then removed the giblets and rinsed and dried the chicken.  You can use whatever kind of rub for the chicken you want to add flavor and color.  For the first attempt, I used a barbeque rub.  For the second attempt, I used a seasoning I got from The SpiceHouse.com which has lots of rubs and seasonings for all kinds of meats.  This seasoning was comprised of flake salt, cracked Tellicherry black pepper, sugar, minced orange peel, coriander, and turmeric and did not disappoint.   I sprinkled some spices in the cavity of the chicken and then put some in the half can of beer.  I then rubbed some of the spices all over the outside of the bird.  I then positioned the chicken over the can of beer and drip pan.

The Grilling

Before preparing the chicken, I set up the grill for indirect grilling.  I put charcoal on both ends of the grill leaving the middle without any charcoal.  I used enough charcoal for medium heat.  I placed the chicken in the middle of the grill so it was not directly over any coals.  I put the apple wood chips directly on the charcoal and closed the lid to let the chicken smoke for awhile.

The apple wood smells so good when it is smoking.  This is one of the mistakes I made with the first Beer Can Chicken.  The wood smelled so good I added more later when the initial spread stopped smoking.  Sometimes too much of a good thing is not such a good thing.  I think I smoked the first chicken a tad too much.  This time I stuck to the recommended 2 cups of wood chips and no more.

I kept the grill as close to 350 degrees as I could.  To do so, I added charcoal three times over the next hour and a half.  I use the Smokey Joe portable grill to get the charcoal lighted and ready to add to the barrel grill.  I can lift the grates on either side of the chicken to add charcoal with tongs without disturbing the bird.  I kept a food probe in the chicken and a probe for the grill so I could gauge what was going on inside (this is an essential tool for charcoal grilling since you can’t just adjust the heat automatically to low, medium or high.  My temperature probes let me know even if I’m inside the house how hot my grill is and how hot my food is).

The other mistake I think I made with the first attempt is I relied too much on the probe.  The placement of the  probe is easy for steak or fish but placing it in just the right spot on the chicken proved difficult.  For the second attempt, I spent more time after the chicken had been cooking about an hour and 15 minutes taking temperatures on the chicken in different spots with an instant read thermometer (at $20 everyone who cooks meat indoors or out should have one).  Once the thigh was reading about 170 degrees and the breast was at 165 degrees, I pulled the chicken off of the grill.  Since dark meat should be cooked to hotter temperature than the white meat, the chicken is in an ideal position by standing upright.  The dark meat is closer to the heat and the white meat is further away from the heart source.

Serving the Bird

The other mistake I made with the first attempt was that I cut it too soon.  The juices concentrate in the center during the cook and then flow back out to the rest of the bird as it rests.  Plus the juices continue to cook the inside of the bird for a little while.  If you cut too soon, the juices just run out of the bird and your meat will be dry.  I let it sit for about 25 minutes and then cut it.

Results

This one was a clear winner.  The meat was tender and moist and full of flavor.   The barbeque sauce stayed in the fridge because this chicken tasted great without adding anything to it.

If you don’t have a rotisserie accessory on your grill, you really don’t need it.  You can cook a whole chicken by standing it upright on a beer can (or soda can like root beer).  The upright position plus the moisture coming from the beer and spice mixture keeps the chicken from drying out and indirect grilling cooks it just right.

This is one hot summer so next time you pop open a cold one . . .   stick a chicken on it.  You won’t be disappointed!