Greetings from the SF Bay Area

[swong13]

I have been addicted to barbecue for most of my life. Started out grilling on my Weber kettle. Started out seriously smoking with a Weber Smokey Mountain. I discovered AmazingRibs and learned the Fuse Method for arranging my coals and wood chunks. A friend of mine invested in a Traeger pellet grill and kept telling how easy it was to cook on a pellet grill letting the machine maintain a constant temperature. I did a lot of research on pellet grills (mostly on AmazingRibs) and I wound up buying a RecTec. Still learning the RecTec but I have had a few successes so far. Biggest surprise came with a couple of chickens. I have been making Beer Can Chicken for years. Then I read MEATHEAD. Cooked a couple of chickens mounted on my Beer Can Chicken racks but without the beer can. Cooking the chickens vertically on the stand placed the legs and thighs closer to the heat source. I had my Maverick thermometer in the breast and took the chickens out when the breast reached 165°. Juiciest chicken I have ever cooked and everything was perfectly done. Thanks, Meathead!

-Steven

[fuzzydaddy]

Welcome to The Pit swong13! Congrats on the RecTec. We hope to see you around often.

[swong13]

Thanks for the welcome! Here's a shot of my first pulled pork from the RecTec.

[fuzzydaddy]

I see some awesome bark in there. Beautiful! Thank you for the photo, and that was quick.

[DWCowles]

Welcome swong13

[MBMorgan]

Welcome aboard!

[Nate]

Welcome from Indiana.

[Danjohnston949]

swong13, Welcome to The Pit! You are Now Enrolled in the BBQ Univ.! Attendance and Participation are Mandatory! Your Pulled Pork looks 👍👍👍👍👍!
Eat Well and Prosper.! From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan

[jharner]

Welcome to the pit from a fellow pellet head. Enjoy the Wikipedia of BBQ.

[Ribber]

Welcome from Leesburg, Florida.

[Huskee]

Welcome to The Pit swong13! Nice intro, happy to have you here. Would you say the non-beer can chicken tasted better or cooked better/quicker/easier? Lots of proponents of BCC have a hard time accepting that it's not the beer that makes it good, it's the fact you smoked a chicken that made it good, the beer if anything hindered things a wee bit!

Since this is your first post, please check out our homework assignment post for new members, it contains a few how-tos and please-dos. This will help you learn your way around so you can get the best experience from our forum.

Also, it's very important that you:

1. Give us an email address you actually use. You can set or change your email on file with us by clicking your name in the upper-right, then User Settings, then the Notifications tab.
2. Add the domain AmazingRibs.com to your email safe list. We NEVER spam! This is important to receive notices about your account, such as if you’re up for renewal or are ever drawn as our monthly Gold Medal Giveaway winner (we’d hate to have to pick another person because you don’t answer us)!

Hope to hear & see more from you!

[Elgine]

Welcome to the pit from Laughlin

[FireMan]

Welcome aboard swong13! Man, you came to the right place to feed your addiction. You also jumped in, in a big way. Great pics & great cooks. Keep em coming. Enjoy the ride!

[swong13]

Welcome to The Pit swong13! Nice intro, happy to have you here. Would you say the non-beer can chicken tasted better or cooked better/quicker/easier? Lots of proponents of BCC have a hard time accepting that it's not the beer that makes it good, it's the fact you smoked a chicken that made it good, the beer if anything hindered things a wee bit!

Since this is your first post, please check out our homework assignment post for new members, it contains a few how-tos and please-dos. This will help you learn your way around so you can get the best experience from our forum.

Thanks to all for the warm welcome!

Huskee- I have to confess that I was bit skeptical about cooking a Non-BCC since so many previous Beer Can Chickens had turned out so well. I don't know that it cooked quicker since I watch my thermometer more than my clock but it was close to the same amount of time. I can say that it was easier to not have to deal with inserting the beer can into the process. Plus, I add more beer to drink! And I can't say why, but it did cook better. I had always assumed (obviously falsely) that the beer can added moisture and contributed to the bird not drying out. The Non BCC actually came out juicier than my previous BBC.

My theory on the success of Beer Can Chicken is that 1) It looks cool! and 2) The vertical orientation of the bird allows the legs and thighs to be closer to the (usually below) heat source than the breasts. The problem for me with horizontal cooking is that if I monitored the breasts the legs/thighs were always under-cooked and if I monitored the dark meat, the white meat was always over-cooked and dry. I now believe that the vertical orientation is more significant than the actual can.

BTW...I completed my homework assignment but the dog ate it!

[LA Pork Butt]

Welcome to fun in the Pit.