# Brining Beer Can Chicken?



## Alix (Aug 6, 2006)

OK, I am about to try the beer can chicken thing tonight. I have a few questions for you experienced folks.

1. Does it have a really "beery" flavour? 

2. Do you brine your chicken first?

3. What herbs do you put in the beer?


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## bjcotton (Aug 6, 2006)

Alix, I did my first Beer B*tt Chicken [that's the name of the recipe] the other day.  It was quite tasty, but didn't have a beer taste to it.  I used a dark Porter...I first had to put the chicken on one of those tower thingies, because it wouldn't stand up over a can.  Maybe that was the reason it didn't have a beer taste.  It was still a tasty chicken.  Next time, I'm going to brine my chicken first, it was a little dry.


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## Alix (Aug 6, 2006)

Hmmm...I don't have a tower thingy. AND...this is one BIG chicken. Its a 9 pounder. Perhaps I had better investigate this a bit.

Chicken is currently brining in the salt/sugar mixture. I have another 5 hours before it needs to hit the oven/BBQ.


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## bjcotton (Aug 6, 2006)

One of my friends said she would find me one of those "other" thingies that is made for the beer can in the center and supports for the chicken around it.  Someone mentioned using an angelfood cake pan, but I don't think you could get the beer can in there with the chicky.


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## Alix (Aug 6, 2006)

Nope I don't think that would work. I wonder if I could juryrig my roasting rack to hold things together?


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## bjcotton (Aug 6, 2006)

How about some metal skewers you could make a tripod out of?  The recipe I have calls for it to be on a baking sheet, but I have a small aluminum skillet without a handle that I use...that would work wouldn't it?  Between the chicky legs, chicky butt, beer can, and the skewers?


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## Alix (Aug 6, 2006)

DING DING DING!!! WOOHOO! Yep, that will work nicely. Thanks much!

OK, now for my question about what you put in the beer, any thoughts?


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## bjcotton (Aug 6, 2006)

Hmmmmmmmmm, let me see.......the recipe I had didn't seem too impressive as far as I was concerned, it said "butter, garlic salt, paprika, salt and pepper." I would think rosemary at the least [rosemary and chicken were made for each other], maybe some crushed garlic cloves and some hot pepper oil.


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## Alix (Aug 6, 2006)

Yum, sounds good. No hot pepper oil as several diners would dislike that intensely. Garlic for sure, rosemary, maybe some basil and a couple chunks of lemon and onion? Think that would work? Maybe I could stuff some lemon and onion in the cavity and THEN shove the flavoured beer can in?


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## Gretchen (Aug 6, 2006)

Alix, I don't think I have EVER seen a 9lb. chicken--or one that I would trust to roasting. That would be a stewing chicken in our neck of the woods--old and tough. I will be interested to hear how it is.
I think the beer is just a steam thing. I have not been impressed enough with them to do it again personally.


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## GB (Aug 6, 2006)

Alix said:
			
		

> 1. Does it have a really "beery" flavour?


Nope, it is just mosit and delicious, but not beery tasting at all. 





			
				Alix said:
			
		

> 2. Do you brine your chicken first?


I like to brine my chicken no matter how I am preparing it, but it is certainly not necessary with beer butt chicken. The end result is so juicy even without a brine.


			
				Alix said:
			
		

> 3. What herbs do you put in the beer?


I actually just use beer and nothing else, but anything you have on hand could work.


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## QSis (Aug 6, 2006)

Alix,

I rarely brine anything, including beer butt chicken.  But there are a lot of brining proponents out there, since you need to cook the thigh to 180 and the breast is best at 160 - brining keeps the breast moist while the dark meat is getting up to temp.  

I don't find it necessary with beer butt.  

No, it does not taste beery.  And don't bother putting anything in the half can of beer - you won't be able to taste it in the chicken.  If you want herbs, then place some under the skin before you cook it.

Make sure you oil it and sprinkle a tasty rub on it (or at least S & P with garlic powder and a little paprika for color)

I just sit the chicken on it's legs and it's can (so to speak) and try not to lift the lid of the grill very often.  I have not had one tip over yet.

Lee


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## Alix (Aug 7, 2006)

OK folks here is the final shakedown. We ended up with guests coming over for dinner so I had to stretch things a bit. I couldn't fit the dang chicken in the oven with the beer up its behind, ditto the BBQ. So...I ended up just roasting that sucker and tossing a couple of extra breasts in just in case. Sigh. I will have to get a smaller chicken to try the beer thing I guess. My oven won't handle the farm chickens that way. 

Gretchen, where I come from I get farm fresh chickens twice a year that vary from 7-13lbs. They are young, tender and delicious no matter how I cook them. Never had a bad one yet. They really are huge though. They easily feed 8 people with leftovers. This was one of our smallish ones so when I invited our company over I decided I needed to cook extra just in case they were extra hungry after their travels. LOL.

Thanks to you all for answering all my questions. When I get a small chicken I am going to just shove the beer can up there and not worry about flavoring the beer at all. And I am going to try it first without brining, just to see if it is really all that moist and tender.


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## Gretchen (Aug 7, 2006)

With respect to brining, I am in the "I don't like what it does to poultry" camp so obviously, I don't. The only thing I brine is frozen shrimp--for about 30 minutes. It does restore them nicely to nice plumpness and juiciness.

I am amazed by Alix's chickens and glad they are so good. That would definitely not be the case in the US.


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## Trip (Aug 7, 2006)

OK, at the risk of sounding stupid... What do you mean by Brining, And what is it's benefit? Also is this only for chicken or is it for Turkey, and other poultry as well?


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## Andy M. (Aug 7, 2006)

Brining involves soaking meat in a salty brine solution.  typically, salt, sugar and seasonings in water.  

The brining adds flavor and moisture to the meat and you end up with a jucier end result.  

Typically, you would brine turkey, chicken and pork.  Beef and lamb do not need brining.  It worls best with very lean meats.


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## Half Baked (Aug 7, 2006)

Brining is soaking the meat in a salty sugar solution. I've done it with pork and poultry. I makes the meat moister. You can also add flavors of choice with the water. That's it in a nutshell. CJS does alot of brining if I remember correctly. I'm sure she'll find the thread.

Alton Brown has a good show on brining, if you check foodtv.com.


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## GB (Aug 7, 2006)

The trick to brining is getting the right mix of salt to water (and anything else you add in like sugar or spices) and to getting the timing right. If you brine too long then the texture of the meat will suffer. It is not hard to figure out how to do it right though. I am a HUGE fan of brining.


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## Constance (Aug 7, 2006)

Fryers are best for beer can chicken. No need to brine them...and no, they don't taste like beer.

Beer Can Chicken with Memphis Rub
Melts in your mouth...

Ingredients:
whole chickens
1 beer per chicken

Memphis Rub:
1/4 cup paprika
1 tbl brown sugar, frimly packed
1 tbl granulated sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp black pepper, fresh ground
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1-3 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:
Mix ingredients for Memphis Rub. (Make extra...it's good on lots of things.)
Preheat grill to medium (about 375 degrees). Rub chicken liberally, inside and out, with seasoning mix. 
Drink half the beer, then insert the can up the chicken's butt. Set on grill using legs and can as a tripod. Close the grill and leave it closed for about 1 hour, or until the juices run clear when chicken is pricked with fork. I always check to see if the thigh wiggles loose. 
The can will be hot, so wrap a towel around it when you pull it out of the chicken. 

I always do two chickens while we're at it, and then I have some extra cooked chicken for another meal.


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## Alix (Aug 7, 2006)

Gretchen, come on up and have a chicken dinner with us sometime. Sorry you can't get the same birds there. 

As to the brining, I have found that I really don't need to brine my chickens as they are usually tender, flavourful and moist without it. Turkey on the other hand really requires it. I have also come around to the pork brining camp. WOW that makes a difference. 

GB maybe you can help here. I read a snippet somewhere that brining was originally done in making food kosher. Is that right?


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## GB (Aug 7, 2006)

Alix I am not really sure. My thoughts are that brining has nothing to do with Koshering a bird. My mother on the other hand things that I am wrong.

The reason I do not think brining has anything to do with it is this. The reason salt is used in the koshering process is to draw all the blood out of the meat. It is against the kosher laws to ingest blood so this is very important. Pouring dry salt over the meat will draw the liquid out. Brining does the opposite. It draws liquid into the meat.

OK now that I am typing this I am starting to wonder, perhaps both my mother and I are both right. kosher chickens are juicy and saltier than non-kosher chickens. Perhaps they first salt it dry to draw out the blood and then brine them to replace the lost moisture? I am thinking that is probably very likely. So maybe the answer is that it is not done to make the bird kosher, but to make a kosher bird more tasty?


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## Alix (Aug 7, 2006)

Cool. Thanks GB, I knew you would be helpful.


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## GB (Aug 7, 2006)

My pleasure!


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## jennyema (Aug 7, 2006)

In a recent edition of Cook's Illustrated, they had a recipe for roasted picnic chicken that was not brined but rather seasoned with a salty rub mixture applied under the skin and then left overnight in the fridge. They claim that this has the same effect as brining.

My coworker brought in some chicken made from that recipe today. It tastes fabulous, but is not as juicy, IMO, as brined chicken.


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## bjcotton (Aug 7, 2006)

Oh boy!  I jes' love these discussions.  I began brining poultry and pork after discussing it with cjs and trying it.  I love the flavors I can infuse and how juicy the things are.


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## GB (Aug 7, 2006)

And for those of us who may have a drink or two while cooking and tend to forget to pull the meat off the heat in time, brining is a little insurance policy that even if you overcook the meat it will not be all dried out


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## ronjohn55 (Aug 7, 2006)

GB said:
			
		

> And for those of us who may have a drink or two while cooking


 
Now who among us would EVER do something like that????  

John


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## GB (Aug 7, 2006)

I am just speaking hypothetically of course ronjohn


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