An awesome way to ‘rock up’ chicken! The beer can serves to keep the chicken perfectly moist throughout – as the oven heats it up and the chicken cooks, it bubbles the beer up and out of the can and into the meat, flavouring and moistening it. Match the beer/lager with the marinade and flavouring of the chicken – match classic, light seasonings such as garlic and rosemary with a lighter ale or a lager, or match spicy, punchy seasonings with a more robust ale. Below is my favourite seasoning for chicken at the moment and it matches perfectly with Newcastle Brown Ale. Try it out and let me know what you think!
Recipe
Ingredients:
1 free range chicken (plus gibblets)
1 can beer (I used newcastle brown ale)
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 smoked paprika
crushed garlic
1 tablespoon Masala mix
vegetable oil
lots of butter
salt and pepper
For Gravy: White wine and chicken stock.
Method:
1. Take the chicken, rub over it all (plus inside it) the spices, garlic, seasoning and butter and put in the fridge to marinate for 3 hours or more.
2. After marinating, preheat the oven to 180 Celsius. Open the can of beer and glug about a third, then put it on a baking tray and lower the chicken’s bottom over it so that the can is stuck where the sun don’t shine, and the chicken is standing upright.
3. Rub the chicken with more butter and smother in oil so it goes crispy. Be careful since with the can up its bottom it tends to be a little wobbly (understandable). Bake in the oven for around an hour until cooked, until the juices run clear. Leave to rest for 10, with the can still
inserted. When ready to serve, remove the can from the bottom and carve.
To make stonking, super, FABULOUS gravy: Take the roasting pan and put over heat/flame until the juices are bubbling. Chuck in the gibblets and crush into the pan to release all the offally goodness. Add a big splash of white wine and bubble away. Add the stock, and add a big splash of the remaining beer from the can. Chuck in whatever herbs you have around – use common sense though, stay away from the coriander and hit up more Mediterranean herbs like rosemary or thyme. Thicken considerably until almost gelatinous. Season. Serve.
It will take on all the wonderful flavours of the chicken seasoning you choose to use and will be, o-so-delicious and complimentary to your chicken!
