Lemon, Garlic, Cherry Smoked, Guinness Butt Chicken

Now, we’ve done some great things with poultry orifices and canned beverages (?) but this one…hold the presses, is a winner by all rights. A mouthful to say (Lemon, Garlic, Cherry Smoked, Guinness Butt Chicken) the LGCSGBC is a great way to feed a hungry crew for less than a tenner.

It takes about 20 minutes to prep and the result is a tender, juicy, lemony chicken that will have your diners begging for more. The ingredients you’ll need include:

1. 1 whole chicken

2. 1 can of Guinness Stout

3. 1 whole lemon, cut in half

4. 1 head garlic, cut in half

5. 1 tablespoon good quality olive oil

Now for the magic…the rub.  Admittedly I’ve become a bit lazy in creating new rubs and for this bird, I decided it was time to venture a bit and create the following:

1. 2 teaspoons sweet paprika

2. 2 teaspoons Kosher salt

3. 2 teaspoons ground coriander

4. 2 teaspoons ground cumin

5. 1 teaspoon ground ginger

6. 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Combine all rub ingredients in a small metal mixing bowl and set it aside. Wash and remove the giblets and the neck/head from your $8 “Lucky” chicken (that’s the brand name…) Pat dry the bird and rub it all over with half of the garlic, half of the lemon, and some good quality olive oil. Apply about 3/4 of the rub onto chicken and make sure you get an even coating – even under the wing pits! Open a can of Guinness stout and chug half of it. (I actually remove the top off the can a standard can opener after I’ve had my half.) Place remaining rub into the can but do this slowly as the reaction is similar to your 4th grade science project when you add the vinegar to the baking soda. A volcanic eruption can take place so easy on the mixin’!

Place your chicken on your bird roaster and jam the can up into the poop chute. I also jammed the rest of the lemon into the body cavity along with some dry rub and garlic. Now preheat your grill to 375-400 degrees F and once your temperature is stable add a handful of cherry wood chips. Add the chicken during the smoking process and grill over indirect heat for about an hour (f0r a small bird), or until internal temperature of thigh is 170 degrees F. I sprayed the skin with olive oil every 25 minutes and that helped with a crispy and tasty skin that my son Alex and I fought over.

Once done, remove chicken and let sit (with beer can still intact) under a tent of aluminium foil for about 10 minutes before carving.

Result was amazing!  Possibly the best beer butt chicken we’ve made. The Guinness adds such a great “earthy” flavour and provides for all that lovely juiciness! To make things easy, I simply took my butcher’s shears and cut the bird in half whilst still on the roaster.  Then I simply quatered it and served it in 4 big chicken chunks. A very primal meal that left nothing but cleaned bones on the plate.

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Overall Heather Rating: 9/10 (though Roman and Alex would have settled for a 10)

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