Beer Can Chicken

Did I mention that Mrs. P and I like Jamie Oliver? Well, there we were, watching the latest series when all of a sudden, a chicken appears with a can of beer up the bum. Mr Oliver then proceeded to make a few claims about this method of cooking; for example, it keeps the bird 'mega juicy', and 'fills the meat with beery goodness'. OK so I may be guilty of paraphrasing the mockney geezer here, but it is true that Jamie was caught on camera extolling the virtues of this unusual cooking method.

In fact, I had heard of this type of recipe a year or so ago as it's been around the American BBQ circuit for a while and though it is usually cooked on a smoker, Mrs. P's imagination was fired by the sight of such a beast and I was instructed to go forth and insert.

And insert I did. A dry rub was created and rubbed, the beer was opened and drank and the chicken orifice was stretched and prepared. I'll just let that mental image sink in for a little bit while you look at this picture.

The process was simple - rub on the rub, drink most of the beer but leave about an inch in the bottom of the can then inject the can into the chicken and balance the whole damn thing on a tray. Then stick it in the oven for between one and a half to two hours depending on the size of the thing.

I'll leave you to do it yourself to make up your own mind as to the end result but Mrs. P and I differ slightly in our views. Personally I didn't see any advantage to the beer - but Mrs. P was rather impressed. One thing is for sure - it creates a talking point on the dinner table!

Dry rub - I make no apologies for the volume of sugar in this. Mrs P likes it sweet and I had reason to encourage Mrs P to enjoy the sweetness.

A lot of brown sugar
Some mollasses sugar
A bit of smoked paprika
Some cumin
A good mix of celery salt

Job done.