1 July 2008
(serves 4)
Also called “beer can chook” and various other unprintable names, this is a surprisingly great way to cook a bird. You’ll need a barbecue hotplate, and some kind of lid that will cover the upright chicken but not touch it.
1 tinny beer
1 X no. 16 chicken, rinsed and patted dry
about 10 sage leaves (this is just being fancy)
olive oil for rubbing
salt and freshly milled black pepper
Cooking time: Allow an hour
Heat the barbie hotplate.
Swig down half the can of beer. It’s important. Push sage leaves under the skin of the chicken over the breast using your index finger. Rub a little olive oil over the bird with your hands to coat evenly, then season well, inside and out, with plenty of salt and pepper.
Hold the beer can upright on the bench, then impale the chicken with it, so the tinny is standing upright, and the chicken is sticking up in the air, legs facing down. Pick the whole lot up keeping it the same way up, and place the tinny on the hotplate. What happens is that the beer will steam the inside of the bird while the outside browns.
Cover and roast for 30-40 minutes. Check by inserting a knife in the joint between the leg and breast to make sure it’s no longer pink.
Rest a few minutes, take great care removing the beer can (it may still have boiling beer in it), hack the chicken into four and serve.