SPRITE CAN CHICKEN AKA BEER CAN CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS:

1 chicken, fryer 2 to 4 lbs.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Wild Bill's Meat Rub

Rub chicken with olive oil and sprinkle a coating of Wild Bill's Meat Rub over entire
chicken.  Plug the chicken neck cavity with an onion, carrot or potato wedge to seal in the
moisture while chicken is cooking.  Cut the top out of a Sprite can and insert can into the wire holder. Add liquid of your choice; Sprite, Orange Juice, Beer, etc. and seasonings of your choice to the Sprite can and place chicken on top of the can.

Place chicken and fixture in grill preheated to 350 degrees F. and cook for 1.5 hours until chicken is tender and juices run clean.  You can let the chicken internal temperature get as high as 190 degrees F. and chicken will still be moist and juicy.

Serve with your favorite sides while chicken is hot.

YIELD: 4 SERVINGS

Above chicken prepared on 07-08-14 and used a "Sittin Chicken" ceramic fixture to hold the chicken instead of the wire fixture.  See sequence pictures taken near the bottom of this page.

Today is July 10, 2004 and one of those days meant for rest and relaxation preferably inside with the climate control set for super cool without the slightest thoughts of the kilowatts being consumed by the thirsty compressor as the outside temperature lurks in the lower 90’s. 

Our youngest daughter Lisa Dianne is visiting with us this weekend and wanted to try some of the Beer Can Chicken and in my case “Sprite Can Chicken” dusted with ole Wild Bill’s Meat Rub.  My bride picked up a couple of young fryers weighting in at a little over three pounds each and it didn’t take too long before I had the pair of featherless fowl sitting atop a couple of sprite cans half filled with sprite and about a teaspoon of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce and a Idaho white potato wedge lodged in the neck cavity opening to seal the cavity.  Sealing the cavity allows the drink inside the can to produce moisture and steam, which cooks the bird from the inside as well as from the outside.  I preheated the Jenn-Air grill to 350 degrees F. and let the birds cook about one hour and 45 minutes with an internal temperature of around 200 degrees which was very well done yet moist, juicy and would literally pull apart.  Inserted a few pixs:

The dark color on the chicken is not burned; it is the sugar from the rub that has caramelized aka charred which turns very dark.  Can you say Beautimous?

The next pix is the finished product with a few trimmings ready to be devoured by yours truly.

The corn on the cob is steamed and very tender and my store bought teeth had no trouble removing four or  five rows of the corn kernels at a time like a sharp razor cutting through thin paper.  The “Sprite Can Chicken” is about as close as you can get to give some serious competition to Porter’s Cajun Blend Deep Fried Turkey.  The meat rub is definitely a plus for this recipe.   

I apologize, no I don’t, for getting your taste buds all worked up but the Sprite Can Chicken is one of the easiest and fowl proof recipes for grilled chicken to come along in a long time.  PS:  I had to snicker at myself on the “fowl proof” method of fixing grilled chicken.  Go ahead and grin again!   Also, the second bird looked as “beautimous’ as the first bird and he is chilling out in the refrigerator to make an appearance later.    A few thumbnail pixs added from archived pixs:

It is getting late and better close for now.

WILD BILL'S MEAT RUB

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup paprika                           1/4 cup ground black pepper
1/4 cup salt                                 1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder           2 tablespoons onion powder
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper*     1 tablespoon garlic powder

Mix spices in a bowl and store in airtight container in a cool dark place.  *I use 90K heat rating of cayenne pepper; most store carry on 35K therefore you might want to increase the cayenne pepper to 1 tablespoon or more (to taste).

NOTE:  Rub or sprinkle on meat 30 minutes to an hour before grilling.  Be sure to shake the container to redistribute spices before using, especially if rub has been sitting for a while.  I normally transfer a portion of the rub to a shake container for immediate usage.

Web posted by Bill aka Mickey Porter July 10, 2004. 

BABY UDS ROBERT WEBSTER MODEL VIRGIN COOK ON 07-08-14

My friend Robert Webster surprised me today with a small baby ugly drum smoker (UDS) he made which is ideal for cooking for two or small family of four.  I definitely had to field test the baby UDS this afternoon with a small fryer sitting atop a ceramic "sitting chicken" fixture that holds your liquid.  Go to my Sprite Can Chicken for additional information.  Below pix of Robert with the charcoal basket.  NOTE:  There is  160 pounds of Kingsford Original charcoal in the background behind Robert's head.  Lowe's had it on sale during the recent Holidays (two twenty pound bags for $9.99) and a good time to stock up on

Below is a pix of the charcoal smoked chicken after about an hour and a half with the Baby UDS (Ugly Drum Smoker) temperature running around 325 to 340 degrees.  It is amazing how the temperature remains constant during the cooking/smoking cycle and burns very little charcoal in the process. 

The above UDS chicken served with loaded mashed potatoes, butter beans, cole slaw and garlic bread and was "off the chain good."  This was more or less impromptu and realize there is no greens on the plate for my food critics.....grin if you must!  There was a good presence of charcoal smoked flavor imbedded in the chicken which was moist, juicy and succulent even though the chicken internal temperature was a little over 190 degrees F.  My bride and myself savored every morsel.  Below pixs of the plated chicken:

Click on below thumbnail sequence pixs taken for a larger screen view:

I guarantee you this Baby UDS will get some serious usage on the end of the carport.  Robert Webster always turns out a First Class All-American Product no matter what it is.  Robert believes in the same philosophy as I do, "Anything worth doing, is worth doing right," to quote Fred Bear, Archery Legend.

Web published updates on 07-08-14 by Bill aka Mickey Porter.

LEAVING ON A SPIRITUAL NOTE