INGREDIENTS
2 cups hickory or oak chips
2 12-ounce cans beer
1 cup Basic Rub For Barbecue
Two 3 1/2 to 4-pound chickens
Basic Rub For Barbecue
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup ground black pepper
1/2 cup paprika
DIRECTIONS
Place the wood chips in a bowl. Pop the tab of each beer can and make two additional holes in each can over the chips. Add additional beer or water using a church-key opener. Pour half the beer from each can to cover chips and soak them for one hour; drain. Set up the grill for indirect grilling (see Raichlen's Grill Instructions, below). Sprinkle one teaspoon barbecue rub in the neck cavity and two teaspoons in the main cavity of each chicken. Add one tablespoon rub to each half-full open can of beer (don't worry if it foams up.) Season the outside of each bird with two tablespoons rub. Stand the beer cans on a work surface. Holding each chicken upright, lower it over a can so that the can goes into the main cavity. Pull the chicken legs forward to form a sort of tripod: the chicken should sit upright over the can. Carefully transfer the chickens to the grill in this position, placing them in the center over the drip pan, away from the heat. If using charcoal, toss half the wood chips on each mound of coals. If using gas, place the chips in a smoker box. Barbecue the chickens until nicely browned and cooked through, about one to one and a half hours, keeping the temperature about 350 degrees. (If using charcoal, replenish the coals as needed.) The internal temperature of the birds, taken in the thickest part of the thigh, should be at least 165 degrees. Carefully transfer the birds to a platter, in the same position. To carve, lift the birds off the cans, and discard the cans.
Raichlen's Grill instructions
On a backyard grill, you need to use the indirect method. This means that you configure your fire so that it is hottest away from the food. On a charcoal kettle grill, light the charcoal or Charwood in a chimney starter. When it glows red, dump it in two piles at opposite sides of the grill (some grills come with side baskets for this purpose). Place a foil drip pan in the center of the grill, between the mounds of embers. Place the grate on the grill, and cook the chicken in the center over the drip pan. Toss soaked wood chips on the coals to generate smoke. Keep the grill covered, adjusting the vents to keep the temperature at 350 degrees. After cooking the chicken for an hour, add ten fresh briquettes or an equal amount of Charwood. Leave the grill uncovered for a few minutes, until the coals ignite. On a gas grill, if it has two burners, light one side on high, and cook the chicken on the other. On a three-burner grill, light the front and rear or outside burners, and cook the chicken in the center. On a four-burner grill, light the outside burners, and cook in the center. Many gas grills come with smoker boxes, in which you can put the wood chips. If you don't have a smoker box, loosely wrap the chips in heavy-duty foil make a few holes on top, and place the foil package under the grate over one of the burners.
