Beer-Can Chicken - the best way to barbecue a bird!

One of the recipes in my book An Appetite for Ale for which I have the greatest affection is Beer-Can Chicken. Actually, I say recipe, but it’s more like a technique.

The basic idea is to prop a whole bird on a beer can and barbecue it. Sound impossible? In fact it’s ridiculously easy.

The only slight snag is that you need a kettle-style barbecue with a high enough domed lid to take the bird upright. You’ll also need a medium sized chicken (about 1.3-1.5kg/3lb-3lb 5oz), a couple of teaspoons of a good quality spicy rub like a jerk or Cajun seasoning (I like the ones made by Seasoned Pioneers and the South African brand, NoMU) and a small 330ml can of beer. Which doesn't have to mean lager - there are loads of great beers in cans nowadays.

Rinse the chicken inside and out and dry it thoroughly with kitchen towel. Remove any surplus fat from the carcass and sprinkle the inside of the chicken with about 1 tsp of the spice mixture, rubbing it in well. Sprinkle another teaspoon or so of the rub over the chicken and rub that in too. Leave the chicken to marinate for half an hour or so while you fire up the barbecue.

Pour half the contents of the beer can into a glass (cook’s perk!). Lightly oil the can and lower the chicken onto the can so that it stands upright propped up by its legs. Set the can on the barbecue rack and cook over an indirect heat for about 50 minutes to an hour until the juices run clear when you pierce the leg with a skewer. Holding the can with a pair of tongs very carefully remove chicken from the can and set aside on a carving tray. Rest for 5-10 minutes then carve and serve with a barbecue sauce or a salsa.

The point about the whole exercise is that the beer creates steam inside the chicken making the flesh wonderfully moist and the fat runs down the skin, basting it and making it beautifully crisp. I promise you it will be one of the best chickens you’ve ever tasted!

What to drink: Given that you’ll probably be serving it with an assortment of salads and relishes I’d serve it with a robustly hoppy pale ale or IPA. Or a rum punch.

10 great beer and food matches for summer

Picture © Brent Hofacker

Courgette and feta fritters with yogurt

For those whose courgettes (zucchini) just won't stop producing here's the perfect way to use them from Tom Hunt's lovely book The Natural Cook.

Tom runs a restaurant in Bristol called Poco which is based on making the best of what's available in the market - they don't have a fixed menu just cook from what's good on the day. The book tells you how to do the same.

Tom writes: "These are a wonderful Greek classic. They are easy to make, incredibly moreish and keep well, so can be made ahead, then reheated.

Serves 4 as a starter

200g courgettes

extra virgin olive oil

1 spring onion, finely sliced

3 sprigs of dill, chopped

9 mint leaves, roughly chopped

70g feta, crumbled

1 small egg, lightly beaten

2 tbsp plain flour

6 courgette flowers (optional)

light olive oil

80g Greek yogurt, to serve

For this recipe, pick the very freshest, crispest courgettes. Give them a wash, take a box grater and turn it on its side. Run the courgette along the grater, creating long strings of it. Keep going until the courgette loses its rigidity, then finely slice the leftover piece with a knife.

Spread the courgette spaghetti on a clean tea towel and leave for five minutes, then fold the tea towel on top and pat it dry.

Transfer to a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients, except the courgette flowers (if using), oil and yogurt.

Mix well and season with pepper; you probably won’t need much (if any) salt, as the feta is salty. If you have courgette flowers, stuff them with some of the mixture. Place a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat with a glug of light olive oil. Drop a small piece of the courgette mixture into the pan to test if it is hot enough: when it sizzles, the pan is at the right temperature.

First fry the stuffed courgette flowers, if you have them. Then drop large tablespoons of the rest of the mixture into the pan. Whether cooking flowers or fritters, allow them to colour to a light brown on one side, then flip and colour on the other.

When cooked, remove from the pan and rest on a clean tea towel or kitchen paper to absorb excess oil.

Serve with Greek yogurt, or make tzatziki by adding a little finely chopped cucumber, crushed garlic, extra virgin oil, lemon juice and seasoning to it.

What to drink: These need something light and fresh - and following Tom's philosophy, local. A crisp English white wine, a dry cider, or homemade lemonade would all be good choices in Bristol. Elsewhere think Sauvignon Blanc, Portuguese Vinho Verde or a dry rosé. Or a witbier.

Extracted from The Natural Cook by Tom Hunt (Quadrille, £20). Photograph: Laura Edwards.

Gin and cucumber sorbet

If you're looking to mark World Gin Day this weekend why not rustle up this refreshing gin and cucumber sorbet which was created by Simon Dawson of Bell's Diner in Bristol.

Gin and cucumber sorbet

(makes about 12 scoops)

200 g caster sugar

200 ml water

35 ml glucose syrup

1/2 tsp salt

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

16 mint leaves

2 cucumbers

100 ml gin (we use Beefeater)

Put the sugar, water and glucose syrup in a pan over a medium heat and bring it to the boil, stirring occasionally.

When all the sugar has dissolved, remove the pan from the heat, add the salt and lemon juice and zest and let it stand for five minutes.

Slice the mint leaves very finely and add to the syrup in the pan. Pour the mixture into a bowl, let it cool a little then cover and put it in the fridge overnight.

Peel and roughly chop the cucumber and blend in a processor until smooth. Add the pulp to the syrup mixture, strain through a fine sieve then add the gin.

Churn in an ice cream machine or pour into a shallow container and freeze, stirring with a fork from time to time to break up the ice crystals. It’ll take about 24 hours to freeze properly in a domestic freezer.

In the restaurant we serve the sorbet with a dash of frozen gin - generally Portobello Road. We also recommend it with a gimlet.

© Bell’s Diner & Bar Rooms 2014

Rare seared sirloin steak slivers with feta, charred lettuce and charred cucumber

If you're thinking of going in for our Le Creuset competition this month you may have been tempted by the rather gorgeous-looking cast iron square grill.

Well here's something delicious to cook on it from best-selling author Sabrina Ghayour

Sabrina writes: Although essentially a salad, this dish has great flavour and texture making it so much more than just a salad. Juicy steak slivers mingled with charred cucumbers, lettuce halves and salty feta, make this dish an indulgent yet virtuous pleasure to eat. The dressing finishes the dish off beautifully with a little chilli kick.

You can also make wonderful sandwiches using toasted pitta bread or warmed baguettes.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 35 minutes

Cooking time: Approx. 5 minutes

Ingredients

600g-800g sirloin steak

2 teaspoons of coarse black pepper

2 tablespoons of rose harissa

50g fresh rocket leaves

200g feta cheese, crumbled

1 whole cucumber, quartered lengthways and cut into 3 inch fingers

4 gem lettuce hearts, halved

Maldon sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the sauce (blitz the ingredients below with a hand/stick blender)

2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon of olive oil

½ packet of fresh coriander

½ packet of fresh mint, leaves picked

1 teaspoon of chilli flakes

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

1 tablespoon of rice vinegar

1 tablespoon of cold water

Method

1. Marinate the steak with the black pepper, harissa and a little olive oil and massage into the meat.

2. Brush the cucumber and lettuce pieces with olive oil.

3. Pre-heat the grill on a low to medium heat. Test the temperature of the pan (see Cook's Notes below) and when hot enough add the cucumber and lettuce for a minute or so until they begin to char. The lettuce will take less time as it is more delicate and needs only to be charred on the cut side. Once done, remove from the pan and set aside.

4. Remove the steak from the marinade and pat dry with kitchen paper. Test the temperature of the grill again and, if hot enough, begin searing the steak.

5. Sear the steak on both sides for about 2-3 minutes on each, or more if you wish to cook for longer (see Cook's Note below). Remove from the grill and allow to rest so the juices flow back through the meat to ensure it stays moist and juicy.

The recipe works equally well with chargrilled chicken breasts or pork escalopes.

Cook's Notes

• To check if the grill is hot enough add a few drops of cold water to the hot surface. If it sizzles and the water evaporates almost immediately, it is hot enough and ready for use. If the water produces steam and has no sizzle, heat the pan for a little longer and repeat the test again.
• You can check to see how the meat is cooked by pressing it with your finger; if there is a lot of bounce, then the meat is very rare. The less bounce you have, the more the meat is cooked. You are looking for the meat to have a bit of bounce in order to be rare. Cook for longer if you don’t want the meat rare.
• Do not heat the empty grill for more than two minutes to avoid overheating

What to drink: As the dressing has quite a kick I'd go for a juicy red that can handle a bit of spice, like a Chilean carmenère or a young rioja. You could also drink a strong dry rosé.

You can find more of Sabrina's recipe on the Le Creuset website