We have the stainless steel device for this. Nice too. It keeps us from cooking with aluminum, and it better supports the chicken.
1-26-2021
Today I decided to do it in the oven.
I cleaned it, stuck it on the device, and then coated it with canola oil, smoked paprika, black pepper, keeping the spices simple so as to not bother Elizabeth and deciding not to use garlic granulated as it has been burning on me in the oven lately.
I put the device in a glass oven pan using a half bottle of a NA beer.
375 for about an hour and a half is what is recommended. And it worked just great. There was plenty of juice for gravy thanks to the glass baking dish. Perhaps next time I'll baste mid cooking.
The skin was crisp and the chicken tasty. The paprika did not do much and did blacken a bit, so I'd just skip it next time.
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February 17, 2021
Chicken was small, a bit over three pounds. Set at 400 Preheated. Rubbed with a bit of peanut oil and black pepper. It cooked about an hour and Elizabeth said it was done. She was right too. Good taste.
July 10 2021
This chicken was a huge seven pounds. I did not put fruit in the top or inside and I just used black pepper and a spray of olive oil. I started it for at 425 for 35 minutes and then turned it down to 350 without opening the oven.
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This one I could not figure on weight. The label was disfigured. I guess is was 3 lb.s
Preheated, then put in chicken and cooked at 400 for a half hour.
Then back to 325
Used thermometer.
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September 29, 2021
I had a five and a half pound chicken and three separate split chicken breasts.
I cooked the whole chicken at 415 for a half hour after preheating oven.
Then I put the three split breasts in along side the whole chicken.After half an hour I decided that the skin side chicken breasts were wrong and turned them over.
Pushed the temp up to 380. Internet instructions have everything from 325 to 550. Basically the chicken was cooking but it was not crisping on the outside.
We broiled the split breats for a few minutes to crisp the skin.
The main roast was not quite done as much as we wanted, although the temperature gizzmo said it was more than done. Another 20 minutes did it.
Used thermometer
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Thermometers never seem to work for me.
I cooked a 4 lb chicken at 450 for 40 minutes and it was well ready for basting. I turned it down to 365 for about ten minutes and then to 350 for another 40. It turned out as one of my best, crispy on the outside, but tender and juicy white breast meat.
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April 1 2023
I' cooking the largest chicken I've cooked on the stainless steel beer can contraption. Over 8 pounds.
Used "Just the haze" NA beer.
Cooked at 435 for an hour. Not much going on. Turned it down to 405. After an hour, turned it down to 360,
I had it on the bottom rack to accommodate the size on end, and that seemed to work. I brushed it with juices collected in the beer can contraption. At first I thought there were none, but I was looking in the glass baking dish. There was plenty in the contraption. I had to use a brush, but that is not as good as a baster. I found the baster and basted again.
I basted again in about 40 minutes. The thermometer was not yet up to poultry. Turned it down to 350.
I read the temp gauge wrong and did not see the poultry line which was quite a bit below what I ended up with as a temp near the top. But all was good. It tasted good.
April 22, 2023
I had a 7 lb bird. sprayed with canola oil and put on black pepper and kicken chicken. 475 for 30 minutes then turned down to 350 without opening door, setting it for an hour. It was more than done, but not dry at all. The kicken chicken was a bit strong on some of the skin, but in general I think it worked fine. It might be better to skip it and add it to cut up pieces in the warmed up chicken. The gravy went fine. I did not pour beer from the can into it. I just went with what was in the glass dish which I put on two burners, heated and whipped in some flour for thickening. I thickened it at first too much, added a bit of water. It tasted good. I tried to bake some russet potatoes, but they did not work very well. I may have put them in too late. After a warmed up dish they were still hard. I mashed them and with cook them again to soften them a bit. I think mashed potatoes in a pan on the stove would be better.
I had some bones from the last chicken and I added the carcass rich with some chicken and boiled it all to make a very tasty soup. I strained the broth into a pan and then picked the chicken from the strainer. That worked great. I could easily separate out the bones. All in all a good meal with more to come.