Beer Butt Chicken...

Well, here’s a new one. A recipe request on the blog. Somewhere down in comment-land, thanks to the nugatory non-sequiturs of the grammatically challenged SD, the topic of my world famous beer-butt chicken arose. And by world famous, I mean to say that my friends and family quite enjoy it. But come to think of it, if I make it here in Pakistan, and it is well received, won’t I then be able to say that it’s enjoyed the world over?

I should stipulate that you could type "Beer Can Chicken" into Google and find half a hundred versions of this recipe, but you might as well get my take on it right here. In any case, it’s a fun and easy recipe, and I’ve got jack all else to write about today, so why not?

What you Need:
- One Medium-sized Chicken
- A bunch of spices I don’t feel like listing
- Four Cans of your favourite beer
- Some Olive oil
- A Barbecue
- An aluminum plate

Well, that was helpful.

First, find yourself a chicken. I find the supermarket to be the best place, but if your feeling adventurous, you could try to find one in the wild. The Eastern Canadian Feral Chicken, for example, is a delicacy that is not soon forgotten, but I recommend wearing protective gloves. Anyway, get a nice, medium sized roasting chicken, and make sure it’s not frozen. I’m always amazed at people who throw frozen meat on the grill, then again, I’m also amazed at people who use the word "un-thawed" when they really mean "un-frozen" or, as luck would have it, "thawed."

Semantics aside, clean up the chicken in the regular way, wash out the cavity, pat it dry, the works. Now, set the chicken to the side. Don’t forget where you left it. Now you’re gonna want to make a rub. In a small bowl (or a big one, I don’t friggin’ care), mix together a bunch of spices you think will taste good on a chicken. I say this because my combo changes each time I make it. But you’re definitely going to want to go with salt and pepper as a base, and I use garlic in just about everything I cook. After that, you can just go with your gut. Some poultry seasonings are nice sometimes: a little parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (if you’re a folk rock fan). If you’re feeling spicy then hit it with Cayenne and chillis. I’ve also found that those Montreal Steak Spice combinations go well in there too. I’m sure you’ll come up with a good mix. Aye, there’s the rub.

Open the first beer. Drink it. This is the best way to cook. While you’re drinking try to find your chicken again. Once the beer is finished, drizzle or brush the chicken with your olive oil (extra virgin… obviously). Then you’re going to take your spice rub, and well, just rub it all over that chicken. Sprinkle some spice down into the cavity as well.

Open another beer. Drink about a quarter of it. Take a can-opener, jack open the top and dump any remaining spices into the beer. Now that your chicken is all rubbed down and lubed up, penetrate it gently yet forcefully with your can of beer. You may feel a little dirty doing this, but don't worry, you can't get arrested for it (well, except in Alabama). Stand the chicken upright so that it stands up on its beer can perch. Push the legs out forward so that they help balance. Throw the whole thing on the BBQ at a medium-high heat (like over 400). I usually put an aluminum plate or something underneath to catch the drippings and save the grill from becoming a god-damn disaster.

Close the cover and let her go. You’re probably looking at a half-hour to forty-five minutes. This is plenty of time to drink the two remaining beers. While you do that, the beer will be bubbling up inside that chicken like Vesuvius, keeping everything nice and flavourful and juicy. I usually put another tin of water in there as well to keep things extra moist.

And that’s all there is to it. I find it’s one of the moistest, tastiest ways to cook chicken. And good for you too, with all those fats dripping off. Plus, there is pretty much no real way not to drink beer while your cooking it. Ahhh… summertime.

Well, that about takes care of any future recipe requests I think.