Post by danf on Feb 11, 2007 18:43:01 GMT -5
So it's not wild game.... But I think it's deserving of mention!!
I'll freely admit that this is simply a modified version of what Steven Raichlen authored in his cookbook: "Beer-can Chicken [and 74 other offbeat recipes for the grill]".
There's two parts to this: brining and cooking.
For the brine:
1 3-5 pound chicken
1 quart hot water
Cold water to cover
1 can of beer (your choice)
3/4 cup coarse (kosher or sea) salt
Small onion, quartered or in large chunks
3-4 cloves of garlic sliced and crushed with knife blade
3-4 bay leaves
Lemon zest peeled from a whole lemon
Mix the salt in the hot water in a large non-reactive mixing bowl. After most of the salt is mixed, add the beer and remainder of the ingredients.
After cleaning the chicken and removing any excess fat, put it in the bowl with the brine mix. Add enough cold water to cover the chicken. Put in fridge for 4-5 hours (no longer!).
For the cooking (amounts are approximate):
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
6-8 toothpicks
1 can of beer or soda
Drink ~1/2 of the beer/soda and cut the top of the can off. Using the oil, oil the outside of the can (it's not necessary, but it makes it a LOT easier to get the chicken off of the can). Take the chicken out of the brine, rinse it off. Set the chicken (cavity first) over the oiled can) Separate the skin from the breasts and put as much of the brown sugar between the two as you can. Using the toothpicks, pull the skin over the neck opening and pin it in place. Again, using the toothpicks, fold the wings tight against the body and pin in place.
Transfer the can and chicken onto the grill over low heat. Spread the legs out as needed to help stabilize the chicken. It helps to put down a sheet of heavy duty foil under the chicken to save some mess. I have a propane grill (I'd prefer a charcoal grill for this though), and set the chicken on one side with that side on low. The other side I usually put a chunk of apple (any good smoking wood is fine) wood on and set to medium heat. You want the wood to smolder as much as possible, not flame. Cook for 10-15 minutes per pound, checking occasionally with a meat thermometer in the breast. Cook to an internal breast temperature of 180 degrees.
After having cooked a lot of chickens whole on the grill, brining is a VERY important step, and well worth it. Also adding a chunk of wood for some smoke flaver helps a lot too.
Any leftovers and the remaining carcass usually gets frozen for later use in some GREAT homemade chicken noodle soup.
I'll freely admit that this is simply a modified version of what Steven Raichlen authored in his cookbook: "Beer-can Chicken [and 74 other offbeat recipes for the grill]".
There's two parts to this: brining and cooking.
For the brine:
1 3-5 pound chicken
1 quart hot water
Cold water to cover
1 can of beer (your choice)
3/4 cup coarse (kosher or sea) salt
Small onion, quartered or in large chunks
3-4 cloves of garlic sliced and crushed with knife blade
3-4 bay leaves
Lemon zest peeled from a whole lemon
Mix the salt in the hot water in a large non-reactive mixing bowl. After most of the salt is mixed, add the beer and remainder of the ingredients.
After cleaning the chicken and removing any excess fat, put it in the bowl with the brine mix. Add enough cold water to cover the chicken. Put in fridge for 4-5 hours (no longer!).
For the cooking (amounts are approximate):
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
6-8 toothpicks
1 can of beer or soda
Drink ~1/2 of the beer/soda and cut the top of the can off. Using the oil, oil the outside of the can (it's not necessary, but it makes it a LOT easier to get the chicken off of the can). Take the chicken out of the brine, rinse it off. Set the chicken (cavity first) over the oiled can) Separate the skin from the breasts and put as much of the brown sugar between the two as you can. Using the toothpicks, pull the skin over the neck opening and pin it in place. Again, using the toothpicks, fold the wings tight against the body and pin in place.
Transfer the can and chicken onto the grill over low heat. Spread the legs out as needed to help stabilize the chicken. It helps to put down a sheet of heavy duty foil under the chicken to save some mess. I have a propane grill (I'd prefer a charcoal grill for this though), and set the chicken on one side with that side on low. The other side I usually put a chunk of apple (any good smoking wood is fine) wood on and set to medium heat. You want the wood to smolder as much as possible, not flame. Cook for 10-15 minutes per pound, checking occasionally with a meat thermometer in the breast. Cook to an internal breast temperature of 180 degrees.
After having cooked a lot of chickens whole on the grill, brining is a VERY important step, and well worth it. Also adding a chunk of wood for some smoke flaver helps a lot too.
Any leftovers and the remaining carcass usually gets frozen for later use in some GREAT homemade chicken noodle soup.