Beer Can Chicken

Beer Can Chicken

Well, the end of summer is almost here. To hear the kids tell it, "the end" has already happened because they are back in school. First, summer doesn't officially end until September 21st. Second, if it's still eighty-plus degrees outside and the air conditioning is still cranking, it is still summer. I have seen Chicago summers go well into the third week of October. Either way, time flies. And I had yet to make Beer Can Chicken in Summer 2010, so before it starts getting dark too early (already sort of happening!) and before I'm wearing a sweater and jeans while BBQ-ing. I thought it would be best if I got right on it.

This is the silly thing...it seems like such an adventure. But, if you want a CHEAP adventure, this IS your game! The chicken was $3 (on sale), ten red potatoes $2.33, and green beans 46 cents. Split this between two adults? $2.90 per person...for dinner, not lunch! Can't beat that...

So, how do you grill a Beer Can Chicken? This is about the fifth one I've done, so I will share the steps.

I have a charcoal grill. When you grill something like burgers that will take about twenty minutes at the most, you will not need a lot of charcoal. But chicken on the bone or a whole chicken takes an hour or longer, so more charcoal is needed.

Time I lit the coals: 5 pm

Here, I have my grill started. I have one of those grills with a pot at the bottom where I put newspaper to feed the fire. I put the coals in a triangular shape add lighter fluid, light, and add twigs to get the fire going. Keep an eye on it and move coals with prongs as necessary to keep it evenly going. If it dies out completely, re-light but be very careful to stand back as it will re-light SUPER quickly and viciously. Lighter fluid IS DANGEROUS.

Woods chips are soaking in water to add to fire. Not necessary for burgers, not necessary for bratwurst or pork chops, but chicken? YES. You need something to keep the fire going. Soak a cup of these for maybe twenty minutes before grilling. While the grill is getting hot, it is now time to prepare the chicken.

Remove the chicken from packaging and take gizzards, etc. out of chicken's body cavity. Wash inside and outside with water and dry off with a paper towel.

The star of the show: the CHICKEN! and his (her?) counterpart bought on E-Bay, the beer holder.

Some simple spices...salt, pepper, and BBQ rub!

Sprinkle salt, pepper, and whatever other seasoning or rub you wish onto chicken's cavity and outside.

Chicken all spiced up

Spray chicken AND beer holder with Crisco butter spray. No need to spray beer bottle. The beer is being poured into the beer holder!

It is now about 5:40 pm. The coals are almost done turning gray, and the last sticks I threw in there are still a little on fire. We need to do two things next to get the grill ready: Put the coals in a circle and add the wood chips. Note on this...IF you were just making burgers, brats, or pork chops, no circle necessary and no wood chips. ONLY because this is chicken on the bone and it takes longer to cook do you need to go through these steps.

Move these around with a long-handled metal prong. And be careful...

Throw in wood chips by handful. And it will burn well for another five minutes.

OFF OF GRILL, prepare beer holder and chicken (while wood chips are burning)

Fill beer holder about 3/4 full or place a beer can which is 3/4 full in place for chicken to rest upon

Chicken on grill OFF of grill...set up off to side before actually placing on top of fire

Here we go...ready to grill!

Put lid on when centered.

Time: 5:50 pm

One side...green beans

Second side: red potatoes

Cut up potatoes into fourths. Spray with butter Crisco. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parsley flakes.

Spray veggie griller with butter Crisco and load potatoes in. Spray taters with more butter Crisco and season more if wedges are showing with no seasoning.

Time placed on grill: 6:30 pm

Here is chicken with the taters getting nicely done. If fire seems to be dwindling and needs to a little kick, poke the chicken all around so juices flow out. Also turn the potatoes so they cook evenly.

This is about 6:45 pm

Next we will add the green beans to the potatoes. And the gizzards for our dog, Bear. If you love your dog, grill him/her the gizzards. We're not exactly making gravy tonight...

Dinner done 7:30 pm

ENJOY!!!!

Success and Failure

The Science of Success

What is "success"? I think the ideas of "success" and "failure" depend on many things. If your idea of "success" is getting something absolutely perfect the first time you try it, then you will view many attempts as "failure". If your idea of "success" is "trying to do something in the effort to become successful at something" then you will view anything short of your goal as "steps to success". In the end, it is YOUR definition, that really matters. So here's some food for thought...

Just think for a minute. Think about babies or toddlers learning to walk. They are definitely NOT successful the first time. Neither are kids learning to ride a bike. Do they give up? No. And I don't think I have ever seen a grown person crawling on the ground because he or she gave up on the walking bit. 

Now let's take it a step further. Imagine someone, I'm going to use Tara Lipinski, our United States Gold Medal winner in the Olympics many years ago. You can use any other athlete of your choosing! Let's say we're showing a video to Tara as a eight month old. Keep in mind, Tara is able to talk (think Look Who's Talking movies for a minute!) and she's hearing us tell her our plans for her future. "Tara, first you're going to learn how to walk. Then we're going to put ice skates on you and you're going to skate on some ice. THEN we're going to go REALLY FAST in circles around and around the rink and THEN you're going to JUMP. Not only are you going to jump, but you're going to twirl around four times in the air, land on the ice, and not fall. Oh yeah, there will be people watching too. They will see if you can do it good or not. And there will be judges who watch your every move. And, you have to look gracious, smile, and act like you're having a ball."

Ok, so we said, Tara is able to talk. What do you think Tara will say in response? She can't as of yet WALK. And she's going to be told she's going to skate on ice, jump, land, not fall, and do this in front of how many people? And get judged? And represent her country? You would think Tara might laugh, say,"ha ha you're funny!" Or something else.

But see, Tara was never told as an infant that she couldn't do something. No one ever looks at a baby and says, "You'll never walk!" No one ever looks at a toddler going through potty training and says, "You'll never use the toilet!" (Unless they're a very exasperated parent!) See these are things that everyone can do.

We're all not going to be great at anything the first time we try it. Just because you try to do something and it fails does NOT mean you should give up. I love Mustangs. I have found that many Mustangs are stick shift. I do not know how to drive stick shift. One of these days I am going to own a Mustang. And I will learn to drive stick shift. Am I going to "get it" the first time? Hell, no! LMAO Anyone who knows my driving skills KNOWS this. I KNOW this. The first time I get behind the wheel and try it, I know it's going to stink. It will probably be very bad and I'll want to give up out of sheer embarrassment. BUT if I want a pretty Mustang, and I do...I will learn to drive stick shift. I will NOT be doing well the first day. I already feel sorry for whoever it is that my teacher is going to be! BUT, I will end up knowing how to drive stick shift. I AM going to make an ass out of myself while learning. (OK, maybe this is negative thinking! But...) It's going to happen.

Lately, I've been thinking about the cake decorating bit and I think I am going to try a different avenue. Like I said, you try something and it doesn't work, you don't quit. You evaluate what you learned from the steps you took and just view it as STEPS to success. There is no failure in trying. You're learning what doesn't work, is what you're doing. Not "failing", but "learning". And there's nothing wrong with "learning", right?

So, I've come across a different idea:

I think I will concentrate on what I can do that others can't do or don't want to do. Or, don't have the time or patience to do. I have a lot of patience when it comes to decorating. And I can help others make their cakes look like a showcase.   

This is what I like to do! I can still do any kind of cake I want, but this is where I maybe have the "wow" factor a little more.

I may not be "the best" right now. But I can keep practicing and become the best I can be. And, it DOES take practice. And patience.

AND, there is no way this cannot be fun! It's a blast. I am like a 41-year-old wishing I can be five again so I can play with Playdough and knock all the other kids' socks off...

So, cake or no cake, it is onto "figurines" for now for me! Maybe it's just that this summer was so hot I didn't want to bake and will pick it up again come October! We'll see...

Next we're going to have Ladybugs, Bees, and Black scary cats. So September and October-ish!

Just remember, the first time you put on make-up you didn't look so good! But you didn't give up, did you?

THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX

Not one of my specialties! Just being honest…We once were low on bottled water and I said something to my hubby about it. His response? Get it from the sink. OOOOHHHHH YEEEAAAAHHHH…. (doink on the head!) I have always been “book smart” and completely NOT “street smart”. That is what my hubby is around for.

This brings me to the point of: “doing something because you’ve always done it that way”. I read a book once and it had a story in it about a family who always cut the end off of the roast before cooking. Finally someone backtracked through the family chefs to find out why. It was because the roast wouldn’t fit in that particular family member’s oven. I would like to think before I do something that it appears well thought out. But this isn’t always the case! Habits sometimes prevail…

Well, going down memory lane recently with my oldest daughter proved to be somewhat of a trip. What came up? “Remember those pics of Grandma Paulette letting me takes sips of her beer?” EEEKKSSSS!!!! Well, YES, I remembered, but why in the hell would my mother have done that??? She had also let me and my sister do the same when we were younger. I am going to stop right here and add “my dad” to the mix. He was equally as guilty. It’s funny NOW but back when we were 5-6-7 years old, my parents would ask us to get them a beer and when we returned with it, we would ask if we could have a sip. They said “yes”. ???????????????????

To me, as a parent, and now a grandmother, I find this VERY unacceptable. I have a five year old grandson right now and would NEVER allow him to take a sip of any alcoholic drink I was consuming. I NEVER allowed my children to take sips of my drinks when they were growing up either. MAYBE at Christmas or New Year’s someone got to take a drink of champagne, but they were over 16 before they did that, not five!

In any case, that brought me to thinking about our parents’ habits we take with us into our own adult lives. I think the very first one I dropped was my parents’ use of Open Pit BBQ sauce. OMG…gross…I haven’t touched it since. I am not joking…

So here’s a different burger. Not your parents’ burger.

Ingredients:
One pound ground pork

½ t. garlic salt

1 t. salt

½ t. cumin

Pinch of black pepper

1 t. basil

1 t. paprika

1 jalapenos, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients and form into five patties. GRILL!!!!

And, I do use aluminum foil most of the time when I grill because bacon on a wide open grill will get killed.

Top with cheese, bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, or whatever you like! I like Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce.

And the kiddos get milk or juice...no sips of beer!

;-)