BOOZY BBQ BEER CAN BIRD

Beer can chicken is not something I have invented but it's certainly a craze that has been going around on the foodie scene for a while now that I hadn't tried yet. I tried it this weekend just gone for the first time and I'm so glad that I did because it's absolutely phenomenal. I mean what could go be wrong with the combination of beer and chicken? Add to this boozy bird a lully BBQ butter rub made with paprika and cayenne pepper and applied to the skin before roasting and you are in for the best Sunday roast of your life. 

The main point about this recipe is that you should use a beer that you love to drink. Much like when adding wine to a dish, you are not going to enjoy it if you wouldn't drink the beer straight out the can are you? I used a can of Pistonhead Amber which has a citrusy taste that really compliments the lemon juice in the BBQ rub on the chicken skin. You can buy Pistonhead in the Co-op or Morrisons so go hunt out a few cans to shove in your bird or use your own personal favorite instead if you can't get hold of Pistonhead.

My recipe below will work for a whole roast chicken weighing roughly 1.3kg. You will need to adjust the cooking time accordingly if you have a bigger or smaller bird and just add a bit more of the rub ingredients in ratio to the size of the bird if it's a lot bigger to make sure you have enough to cover every nook and cranny. Remember to thoroughly wash your hands after rubbing that bird too, no one wants to get poorly now do they.

BBQ Beer Can Chicken

50g Soft Butter

Juice Of Half A Lemon

1 Tbsp Smoked Paprika

1 Tbsp Honey

1 Tbsp English Mustard Powder

1/2 Tbsp Oregano

1/2 Garlic Powder

1/2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper

1.3kg Whole Chicken

33cl Can Of Beer

1. Begin by turning your oven on to the highest temperature possible and make sure you have enough space in there for your chicken to fit in when stood up. Remove any shelves to make more space if you need too.
2. Mix together the butter, lemon juice, paprika, honey, mustard powder, oregano, garlic powder and cayenne pepper and then use your hands to rub the chicken all over with your newly created BBQ rub.
3. You might need help to do this, stand the chicken up and place the open beer can into the cavity and then use the can to stand the chicken up in a deep sided baking tin. 
4. Place the chicken in the oven and reduce the heat down to 200 degrees (180 fan) and roast for around 1 hour and 15 minutes. The juices of the chicken should run clear once cooked.
5. Remove the chicken from the oven and leave to rest for 30 minutes before serving.

When you are ready to serve, remove the beer can and pour out the contents of the can and any of the roasting juices into a jug and use it to make a delicious beer gravy by adding on two chicken stock cubes, 150ml of water and 1 heaped Tbsp of corn flour and simmering on the hob until it has thickened to a gravy like consistency. Pour this over the chicken which will be super moist and falling off the bone. The meat will have the hint of that beer flavor in the background along with the sweet BBQ flavor from the skin rub. This is one drunk bird I wouldn't mind wrestling with on a weekend!