Beer Butt Chicken.

I made Jamie Oliver's Beer Butt Chicken tonight for dinner.

Very tasty it was too!

I decided to use Tennants as my beer of choice rather than the Bud Jamie recommended, really only because the can of Tennents was lurking at the back of my fridge!

It didn't go all smoothly, there was a lot of smoke coming from the oven, I think I left too much beer in the can! It overflowed and burnt at the back of the roasting tin!

Well worth it though, a truly tasty tea!

Edited to add the recipe, especially for Mr_Chips. I'm sure Jamie won't mind, what with his "pass it on" ethos!

You will need:

1 large chicken (approx 1.5kg)
1 can of lager

For the rub:
1 heaped teaspoon fennel seeds
1 level teaspoon cumin seeds
1 level teaspoon smoked paprika
1 heaped teaspoon brown sugar
1 level teaspoon mild chilli powder
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

It's pretty easy, pre-heat your oven to 200C/400Fgas 6. Drink half the beer, leave the can about half full. Make a rub by grinding up all the spices in a mortar, add the oil and make the spices into a paste. Drizzle the paste all over the chicken, inside and out, make sure you get all the nooks and crannies covered.

This is the tricky part - place the chicken's open cavity on the beer can so it looks like the picture! Stick it in the bottom of the oven for about 1hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until it's ready - check the juices run clear!

I believe you can also do this on the BBQ, I'm really looking forward to this next year!

Job done! Enjoy!