A grilling season classic is beer can chicken. Cooking a whole chicken set over a beer can keeps the meat tender and infuses it with the beer’s signature hoppy aromas. In this rendition, cookbook author and regular Sip Northwest contributor Amy Pennington uses Seattle’s Papa Bueno Reposado tequila in the sauce recipe from Gravy Restaurant’s margarita wings to glaze the perfect bird. For the beer, choose a bright, hoppy ale to add flavor without going bitter, like the Vortex IPA from Fort George Brewery in Astoria, Oregon, and enjoy it alongside the grilled meat.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: About 1 hour, 20 minutes
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
1 4-5 pound chicken
1 can of beer, 1/3 of the beer poured out and wrapped with a layer of aluminum foil
1 tablespoon ground fennel
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup Papa Bueno Reposado tequila
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup lime juice
1 tablespoon lime zest
Directions:
Remove all but one rack from the oven, and set the rack on the lowest position. Preheat oven to 450° F.
Remove any giblets from the center of the chicken and set the entire bird over the aluminum wrapped beer can, with legs facing down, until firmly in place. (Chicken will sit about halfway down the beer can.) Rub chicken with fennel, paprika, coriander, salt and pepper until evenly coated, pressing spices into the skin.
Place in the center of a shallow baking dish. Put in oven and roast for 30 minutes.
While chicken is roasting, add tequila, maple syrup, lime juice and lime zest to a small saucepan and set over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce heat, keeping the liquid at a low boil until it is reduced to half. Remove from heat and set aside.
After 30 minutes of roasting, turn heat down to 375° and continue cooking for 20 minutes. Slowly pull out the roasting rack (so the chicken does not tip over) and use a basting brush to thickly brush the entire chicken with the glaze. Return the bird to the oven and cook 5 minutes. Again, slide out the roasting rack and use the basting brush to thickly coat the chicken, cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Continue this process several times until the entire glaze is used and the chicken is cooked and glossy.
Slowly remove the roasting pan from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes. To remove the can, use a large pair of tongs to hold the bird while using another pair of tongs to pull down on the can. Carve chicken as desired, or tear into strips for tacos, and serve immediately.
