Ideal for dinner parties, this beer recipe keeps the chicken lovely and moist and if your guests are late you can turn the oven off and leave it to rest for a while.
Serves 4
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 45 minutes, plus resting
1 can beer – any size or kind you like
1 tbsp peeled and roughly chopped
fresh root ginger
grated rind of 1 lime, fruit halved for squeezing over
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 spring onions, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 red chilli, roughly chopped
a few rosemary sprigs
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp vegetable oil – I like rapeseed
1.5kg (3lb 5oz) chicken, spatchcocked, legs slashed with a knife
sea salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
Pour the can of beer in a deep roasting tray and add the ginger, lime rind and coriander seeds.
Make the rub for the bird. Using a food processor or pestle and mortar, grind up the cumin seeds before adding the spring onions, garlic, chilli and rosemary. Pulse or grind before stirring in the smoked paprika, turmeric, oil and a really good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well to form a paste and rub it all over the chicken, inside and out. There’s no harm rubbing some under the skin, too.
Lay the chicken cut-side down on a rack that will fi t over the roasting tray awash with beer. Place the rack over the tray and cook in the oven for 40 minutes (or longer if your chicken is larger) and until the juices run clear.
Turn the oven to grill if it has that function, or transfer to a preheated medium grill. Allow the skin to crisp up for 5 minutes. Rest the chicken for 10 minutes before serving with a squeeze of lime.
