BBQ Beer Can Chicken

Starting at the dawn of the barbecue, the BBQ Manual traces the origins of this popular worldwide cooking method right through to the present day. It's packed with 100 mouth-watering recipes; some traditional, many contemporary, including the infamous beer-can chicken - the time-honoured way to roast a whole chicken on a back garden barbecue. 

BBQ Beer Can Chicken

 

You need:

1.5–2kg (3½–4lb) whole chicken 1 tall can of lager or beer
4 tablespoons general meat rub (see recipe below)
50g (2oz) melted salted butter

 

To do:

1. Open the can of beer and pour out half the contents. Make two additional holes in the top of the beer can.
2. Remove the giblets and discard any fat inside the body and neck cavities.
3. Wash the chicken inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.
4. Sprinkle a tablespoon of the rub inside the body cavity and a tablespoon of the rub in the neck cavity.
5. Brush the outside of the chicken with half the melted butter.
6. Sprinkle the outside of the chicken with a tablespoon of the rub.
7. Stir another tablespoon of the rub into the remaining melted butter and set aside.
8. Holding the chicken upright, with the opening of the body cavity at the bottom, lower the chicken on to the beer can so it fits snugly inside. Tuck the wing tips behind the back.
9. Push the chicken down as far as it will go onto the can so it is stable.
10. Stand the chicken over a low heat, cover the grill and cook for 1½ hours until the chicken skin is crisp and dark brown.
11. Baste the chicken with the reserved butter-rub mixture every 30 minutes.
12. If the skin starts to brown too early cover the chicken loosely with foil.
13. Once cooked, place the chicken on a plate and let it rest.

After 10 minutes lift the chicken carefully off the beer can and carve.

General Meat Rub

for meat, poultry and fish

50g salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon powdered onion
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Mix all of the ingredients together and store in a glass jar and use as required.

Haynes

Keep calm and make homebrew beer

Warning The Haynes Beer Manual could change your life.

Most books about home brewing tell readers how to make beers at home, which are not only the same as they drink in a pub but will be cheaper. 

The Haynes Beer Manual is much more than that, not only does it describe beer from its earliest days but it is intended to give the reader the skills to produce beers which surpass commercial creations. And yes they could be cheaper than a beer from a pub, but that’s not the point. 

Becoming a home brewer is to become part of a growing movement which embraces men and women, the younger streetwise as well as those who might be older and more sedate. 

Some might secretly want to turn a hobby into a profession others might be professionals piloting new beers at home while others are brewing to entertain themselves and their friends.

In the United States home brewing is a seriously cool hobby for tens of thousands of people, most towns have at least one home brewing club and there is annual convention where thousands of different beers can be tasted. And the signs are that something similar could be happening here. It has never been easier.

Brewing your first brew at home is the first step on a journey which will bring you new friends and take you to different places. Beer is a social lubricant which fires people’s imaginations and conversations.

Brewers, be they humble creators of beer at home or those who work for commercial concerns love to talk, swap ideas and recipes. 

Home brewing with the help of the Haynes Beer Manual is easy, fun and very rewarding and you end up with the beer to drink. 

Anyone can do it. You don’t need lots of equipment to make quality beer. If you can open a can of soup and heat it, then you can make beer. 

It’s not going to cost you lots. A basic kit, with everything you need can be found around £30-£40.

And you first brew will be done in next to no time.  From start to finish and depending on the beer, it will take about three to four weeks to make your first beer. 

Brewing: two hours; fermentation: 10 days; bottling: one hour, a cask would be even quicker; conditioning: two weeks and the time to drink a glass – well that that all depends on your thirst.

So buy the book now and you could be enjoying a glass of your own brew with you Christmas dinner. 

Buy it as a present and you could be drinking your own beer by the end of January. 

Tim Hampson

Author Haynes Beer Manual