Summer Beer Can Chook

This recipe brings together two of my greatest food loves…roast chicken and lemons. But not in that typical ‘lemon chicken’ way.

For our delicious savoury curd recipe, check out: https://thedbkitchen.com/?p=898.

Tips and Tricks:

Now even though your chicken has a deliciously rich, zingy flavour, it pairs with a huge array of dishes. We’ve eaten leftovers as a soup topping, Asian noodle soup, British-style chook sarnies. You name it, we’ve probably eaten it!

Check out how we made it!

Print Recipe

Summer Beer Can Chicken

Bring your roast dinner into the summer with our delicious savoury lemon curd beer can chook!

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Resting Time10 mins

Course: Dinner, Family Meal, Leftovers, Lunch

Cuisine: British

Keyword: Chicken, Lemon, Lemon Curd, Roast Chicken, Roast Dinner, Savoury Sweet, Summer Meals

Servings: 4 people

Equipment

• 1 x 490ml / 17fl.oz. beer can (or other drink that comes in that size!)
• Baking tray (large enough to catch the drippings from the upright chicken).
• Tin foil
• Optional: pastry brush, standing beer can chook kit.

Ingredients

• Whole chicken; around 1.5kg See notes below for timing regarding chicken weights!
• 1/4-1/2 Cup Savoury Lemon Curd See link at the top of the page.
• Coarse black pepper
• Sea salt

Optional:

• Aromatics such as whole/juiced lemon, one stalk of lemongrass, fresh herbs.

Instructions

Prepare your chook.

• Preheat your oven to 200C/390F fan / 220C/430F / Gas Mark 7* see notes for cooking temps.
• Unless you're using a super duper organic or farm fresh chicken, thoroughly rinse inside and out and pat it dry. Set aside for a few minutes on a chopping board or in a large mixing bowl.
• Prepare your beer can and any aromatics/flavours (juice your lemon, crush the lemongrass, wash the herbs). If using the beer, tip out half of the contents (into your mouth??) or half-fill an empty tall can. Add in any of the optional aromatics.

Let's curd your chook:

• Going from the neck, gently lift under the skin and push 1- 2 tablespoons of your curd down to cover the breast meat, as far as you can without tearing the skin.
• Moving onto the thighs, create two tiny little holes in the skin connecting the thigh to the breast (don't worry the skin will hold up!) Gently push another 1- 2 tablespoons of curd over each thigh. Set aside (you can prepare this an hour in advance to get super well-flavoured meat).
• For a little extra seasoning, rub some salt and pepper into the skin.
• Create a little nest of foil – this will stabilise your can and chook – and tuck it tightly around the bottom of the beer can in a baking tray.

Cook the chook…

• Lift your bird up onto the can – inserting the top of the can, in the words of Mr. dB, "where the sun don't shine". It will be sitting upright. If it looks a little 'drunk', just jiggle it into place so he's nice and straight.
• Paint a little extra curd over the skin, making sure to get a nice coverage up and under the wings and across the thighs.
• Wrap a sheet of foil around the 'shoulders' of the chook, creating a little superhero cape, gently closing the foil at the top of the breasts.
• Place your baking tray into your oven (the breasts of the chook towards the back of the oven) and cook for 20 minutes.

Next up:

• Carefully open up your oven and slide your baking tray towards you. Turn the chicken to face you and remove its cape.
• Drop the oven temp. to 180C/360F Fan / 200C/390F / Gas Mark 6 and continue to cook for another 20 minutes (breasts facing the oven door).
• After your timer has gone off, turn your chook one last time, facing the breasts to the back of the oven, and cook for a final 20 minutes.

Rest it!

• Your chook is going to look super crispy and smell incredible BUT you have to be patient! Create a new little foil cape and let your chicken rest, atop the beer can, for ten minutes.
• The resting time is non-negotiable, unless you want to serve it too early and lose all of the chook's scrumptious juices!
• Gently remove your chook from its perch and serve up whole or chop into wings, breasts and leg segments for a truly impressive bowl of deliciousness.
• PS: don't forget to scrape out all of those amazing juices and fats (drippings) from your baking tray into a small tupperware. Even with the curd influence, this little box of golden goodness will live in your fridge happily for at least a week and will do your next roast potatoes or a slice of salmon some serious favours.

Video

Notes

If you have a lighter-weight chicken, start the oven temperature on 180C.

If you have a heavier chook, start the oven on 200C, turn after 20 minutes; cook for another 10 minutes, reduce the temperature to 180C; cook for another 10 minutes, then turn and leave for the final 20 minutes of cooking time.

If you use a meat thermometer, and you want to be sure that your chook has cooked through nicely, check in the deepest parts of the thighs and breasts for the following temperatures:

• Breast: 66C / 150F (rested)
• Thigh: 74C / 165F (rested)

We would love to hear what you think of our dish.

Please leave a comment below, or if you’ve given this or another dish a whirl, please tag us on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest so we can see your hard work!