Well, you don’t really see this at my house very often!
My husband said “what is THAT doing here?” when he came home tonight. I’ve had it in my brain to try out that infamous ‘beer can chicken’ recipe for awhile now and tonight was the night. I picked up a six-er on my way home. (Turns out the singles that you can buy at the gas station are now ‘super sized’ to 3 times the normal size of a beer can. They’d never fit in a bird!) For those not in the know, this is the recipe where you set your bird on an open can of beer as it roasts. The hot beer inside the bird supposedly tenderizes the skin and keeps the bird moist as it roasts. Guess what? It works!
I decided this season I was going to work on my chicken roasting skills. For the last few years I have grown as lazy as most Americans who just pick up a roasted chicken at the supermarket or at Costco. Yes, they are great, easy, and cheap. I don’t argue those points. But they are also quite salty and the seasonings, at this point, are unmistakably ‘store bought’. That sort of takes the fun out of it for me.
Using a can opener, take the top off the can and drink half the beer. I put about a half teaspoon of packaged kabab spices in the beer and rubbed some on the chicken. Any chicken rub will work. Using nothing will work too. Spray a little canola oil on the can to make it easier to remove after cooking. (Thanks for the tip Ms. Fig!) Set up right in a roasting pan and put into the oven at 450 for 1 1/2 hours. Its that simple.
After roasting I made up a quick sauce by deglazing with a small amount of white whine and chicken stock. I added a teaspoon of the chicken demi-glace I mentioned the other day. Seriously, buy some of this while you still can at Williams Sonoma.
I will definitly be making this chicken again. At least 5 more times.
