Do a Google-image search on beer can chicken recipe and you will not be disappointed with the results, trust me. It would appear that people across the world, mainly men I would imagine, are cooking chickens on the barbeque with a can of beer up the bird’s rear end. As if being roasted wasn’t bad enough these chickens are subjected to a final act of indignity; violation by a can of Red Stripe. Yes, it’s pretty funny.
After seeing this recipe on the Food Stories blog I thought I would give it a go myself but being without a barbeque I looked up a recipe for doing it in the oven. I was very excited and the fact that my mother, Philippa and Ruth all expressed misgivings about the method only increased my conviction that it was going to be brill’.
I made a rub for the chicken by mixing various spices with brown sugar. I used 2 tsps paprika, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp celery salt, 1 tsp mustard powder, 2 tsp ras el hanout spice mix, salt, pepper and 4 tbsp dark brown sugar. I think. I was drinking pimms at the time but if you just bung a load of spices and sugar together you are bound to end up with a nice mix that you can rub onto meat and it will keep for up to 6 months in a jar.
I rubbed the chicken with butter and the above mix. I emptied a can of coke down the sink (no coke fans in our house), got Ruth to poke some extra holes in the top of the can and filled it halfway with a nice cider. I was cooking a small chicken for three of us and I thought that inserting a large can of fosters up the bird’s rear end might be a bit much. Some of the rub mix went into the can of cider and the chicken was then perched on top of the can. There was a brief moment of hilarity when I rather embarrassingly got the neck of the chicken confused with the rear and said ‘I just don’t think it’s going to fit up there’. It was like being in a Carry On film.
All the recipes I read said that the chicken wouldn’t need basting and that there would be lots of lovely juices for a gravy gathering in the tin however I had to add cider throughout cooking as it was dry. We ended up with a lovely gravy but the chicken itself was average. What did I do wrong? If I had to do it again I would lay the chicken down on a rack but I probably won’t try this again in a hurry. Making the holes in the top of the can is hard and I can’t imagine all the rude jokes would be as much fun second time around.
I served the chicken with couscous. To make this I fried a sliced onion in some oil then added a teaspoon of brown sugar and a teaspoon of ras el hanout spice mix. I then browned a handful of pine kernels in the same pan. For three of us I used 200g of couscous which went in a heat proof bowl with the onions, pine kernels, a handful of raisins, another teaspoon of the ras el hanout mix, the zest of a lemon and 250 ml of boiling stock. I covered the bowl quickly with cling film and left it for 10 minutes. To serve I fluffed it all up and stirred in a glug of olive oil.
As a starter we had some prawns. I added a little butter and oil to a hot pan and fried two chillis, two garlic cloves and a thumb-sized piece of ginger all of which had been cut julienne, or at least my attempt at julienne. Whilst these cooked I added more butter and the juice of a lemon. The idea is that the lemon and butter make a lovely sauce. At the last minute I added 12 raw prawns, cooked them through and seasoned the dish. With a bit of bread to mop up the butter this is an incredibly easy starter that I have been making for years. It came from a Jamie Oliver recipe, he adds parsley and I would have too if I’d remembered to buy it.
Our feast climaxed with a strawberry tart made by Ruth, the half-hearted cook. Biscuit base; good, creamy filling; good, strawberries and toffee sauce; good. It was delicious .
So strong is your culinary influence on me and so appealing are the photographs on this latest post , that I rushed out after work to buy some Ras El Hanout powder from the supermarket. What a delicious smell!
I decided to rub some into half a chicken and roast it last night and to make your couscous dish. I had run out of couscous so used quinoa instead (which isn’t very dissimilar). I forgot the lemon juice and the addition of a teaspoon of sugar but anyway it was good. I’m having the rest of it today, cold for my packed lunch, with some of the cooked sliced chicken, some rocket, black olives and red pepper.
I’m thinking of you as I eat it!!
Sylvie – the smell is gorgeous I agree, I think the rose petals might have something to do with it. I think we both influence one another as last night I made the pearl barley and broccoli salad with ginger soy dressing you told me about. It was delicious, I am having it for lunch today. I will post the pictures tomorrow.
Glad you liked it.
I wanted to make it again properly so splurged and bought some toasted sesame oil and mirin and I don’t regret it!
I also used this “dressing” as a marinade on some roast duck legs and Jean-Louis loved it (and he’s getting fussy!). I want to use it again and have a picture in my head of a salade tiede using blanched broccoli, pak choi, toasted cashew nuts, maybe some beansprouts, topped with warm cooked sliced duck and the dressing drizzled over…
Isn’t it amazing how blanching the broccoli turns a dullish broccoli green colour into a buzzing bright green!
I don’t know if the dressing I made would taste right, I didn’t have any quantities so just went on my own tastes. I felt it needed something to give it an extra kick so I put in lime juice too. I bet it was lovely with duck.
Blanching the broccoli was a revelation!
[…] a small saucepan melt some butter then add a spice mix of your choice. I used the rub I had made a few weeks earlier which included brown sugar. Heat the sauce until the spices and any […]
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