AKA “Beer up the butt chicken”.
This recipe works for large oven stuffer (6-8 pound) chickens and the smaller fryer (3 to 4 pound). The recipe below is for the oven stuffer. For a smaller chicken, you can use a few less veggies around the chicken. Beer can holders can be found at most home stores much cheaper than you find on Amazon.
Ingredients:
- 1 6-8 pound Oven Stuffer roasting chicken (Use less veggies below for a smaller chicken)
- 2 Large carrots cut in large chunks
- 1 Large onion cut in quarters
- 2 Celery stalks cut in a few pieces
- 3 Cloves of garlic smashed
- 1 Can beer
- 1 Beer can holder
- 1 Very small potato
- 2-3 Tablespoons of your favorite dry rub.
If you don’t have a dry rub use a teaspoon of each: salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and 1/2 teaspoon of thyme or sage or bells seasoning. - Pam vegetable spray
Directions: Preheat oven to 325° F
Use a 10 X 12″ baking dish (or similar) with 1 to 2″ sides. Place the beer can holder in the center of the pan. Pour half to three quarters of the beer in the pan. Leave about 4 ounces of beer in the can and place in the holder. Load on the chicken with legs pointing down. Plug the neck hole at the top with a small potato. Spray the chicken with just a little Pam. Sprinkle the dry rub all over the chicken.
Place all the vegetables and garlic around the chicken. You can also place the emptied bag of giblets in the pan. All this is to help flavor the juices.
Cook according to directions that come with the chicken except I have found cooking at 325° F for just a little longer results in more tender chicken. Check a few times during cooking to be sure all the beer in the pan does not boil away (the beer in the can never boils away). If it does, keep adding water to the pan. It’s OK for the veggies around the bird to brown a little, but be carful they do not burn.
When done, remove the chicken from the pan. Add some more water and heat on the stovetop. Scrape all the bits off the pan and pour everything into a medium sized soup pot. I usually debone the breasts, thighs and legs of the chicken and throw the bones in the pot along with any skin I don’t think we will eat.
For a fryer add about 1 quart of water, for a stuffer add up to 2 quarts. Boil for at least an hour. Strain when done. A fryer will give you a full quart of chicken stock and a oven stuffer will give you 2 full quarts.
Don’t skip this step…. This will be the best chicken stock you will ever have.
