Every once in a while I like to take a few of my favourite things… and cook them together. Tonight bird, beer, butter, bay leaves and spices come together in the oven (when conditions are too wet for the BBQ), and are baked into what is quickly becoming renowned as the “drunken chicken.” The final result: arguably the most flavourful and moist piece of poultry you ever may sample

I usually do this on the fly and without a recipe, starting out by “disposing of” half a can of beer (the coke can below does contain beer). Oh, and preheat the oven to 350C. I melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter and funnel it and choice seasonings (I like paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper) into the optimist’s half-full can. I also like to pre-baste the chicken in olive oil and lime and grind some pepper and salt over it. Last of all I drop the squeezed lime halves into the of the chicken followed by the beer can so that the chicken stands up on a pan as seen below.

Salted, peppered and ready for the oven.

When the oven is ready, you know what to do… it takes about 1.5 hours, the contents of the can will evaporate and permeate the chicken, so spoon some of the droppings that boil over into the pan back onto the chicken every once in a while to get a crispy flavourful coating.

Bird in the oven, almost ready!

Ready for Carving