Trouble with Ginger ale can chicken

Bart Leetch

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3,206
Location
Clinton, Washington on Whidbey Island
We BBQ'd chicken again yesterday the problem after about 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 hrs the meat between the thigh & body was still not done...it was a very pale pink. The rest of the bird was at 170 degrees while the thigh area was 140 degrees...we popped these parts in the microwave.

The last time I used about 25 briquets in a pile on each side which wasn't enough this time I used 35 on each side & there was enough to have left the bird in a while longer.

What to do... I don't want to burn the bird. The BBQ is somewhere up over 200 Degrees as close as I can tell if sticking the probe in through vent means anything.
 
If I understand what you're saying, you had charcoal on both sides of the chicken with none beneath it. It kinda sounds like the heat surrounded the top of the chicken and the bottom portion - legs and thighs - were cooler. I've always made sure there was heat under the chicken and can to cook the chicken and help vaporize the liquid.
 
I've always just filled a charcoal starter with charcoal and put half on each side after they are going good already.

I know I definitely have the temperature up over 300, and it usually takes only an hour or so and everything is done.

Definitely keep with the coals on the sides, but I think you just must not have enough coals, or the coals aren't going enough when you cook them.

Chicken doesn't have a lot of connective tissue or collagen, unless it's an old rooster or something, so the whole low and slow thing doesn't provide a lot of benefit.
 
Bart to expand a little it is not just the amount of fuel that will determine the cooking temperature especially with slow cooking. the ambient temp air temp and amount of air flow pat the coals all contribute to the cooking temp. This is critical when slow cooking since these factors change over time. I would suggest you get some sort of a temp prob that will tell you the actual temp you are cooking at. This will make it easier to get repeated results when you are cooking.
 
I think you all have hit on the problem. My probe only reads up to 200 degrees it went up higher when I put it in the vent hole in the lid but I have no way to measure it. I am sure a higher reading gauge would help a great deal. My probe is the type you stick into the meat to check the temp.
 
I think putting the underdone parts in the microwave is an acceptable solution. My chef son tells me that breasts only have to be cooked to 165º while thighs have to be cooked to 180º.

You should be able to check the temp inside your barbecue by getting one of the thermometers they use on gas barbecues, and installing it.
 
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