INGREDIENTS
375ml can of beer
1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 whole chicken (about 1.8kg)
METHOD
1 Preheat a covered barbecue to medium heat (about 180°C). Pour half the beer from the can Into a glass. Mix the three sauces with a splash from the glass of beer. Drink the rest of the beer in the glass.
2 Rinse the chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towel. Insert the half-full can into the cavity of the chicken and stand it in a baking dish. The legs and the can should form a reasonably stable tripod so that the chicken will stand upright. Brush the beer and sauce mixture all over the chicken.
3 Stand the baking dish on the barbecue plate and lower the hood. Cook for 11⁄4–11⁄2 hours, basting regularly, until the skin is golden brown and crispy. The drumstick will move easily when the chicken is cooked.
4 Take the baking dish off the barbecue and set aside to rest for 5 minutes. Gently lay the chicken on its side and remove the beer can – be careful as the can will be hot. The meat should just about fall off the bone as you carve the chicken.
Tip: If for some inexplicable reason you don’t have a barbecue, you can cook this in an oven at 180°C. Seriously though, don’t you think it’s time you got a barbie?
Recipes courtesy of the Tooheys Cooking Handbook, $39.99, available from booksellers and online retailers.
