Thursday, February 10, 2011

World Cuisine Challenge: Week 2/Day 3: AMERICA Beer Butt Chicken

 

This will be brief as my attention span is quite short tonight and "2 Weeks Notice" is on...a very sad excuse given that it isn't a great film.

Tonight I tackled a meal that I first had while out in California staying with my oldest brother (circa 2003ish).  He had been raving about his new book that included a "Beer Can Chicken".  There are few meals that you remember but I distinctly recall having this amazing grilled chicken along with grilled asparagus.  I looked at him with wonder as if he was Bobby Flay...only he was my brother!  At the time,  I ate Raman Noodles and pasta with cheese in heavy roation as it was all I could make.   My other brother is also quite a cook so this experiment is a great way for me to get some skills so I can hang with them in the kitchen.  It doesn't hurt either I should to add....that I have no job at present and have a TON of time on my hands!!!  

For the American challenge version,  I go back to who is becoming one of my favorite chefs...Jamie Oliver.  I have those who I like but the proof is in the simplicity of the flavors with Mr. Oliver.  He is also providing me with a crash course in British/USA conversions when following his recipes!  This comes from his "America" book.

"Hello Bird,  I'm beer."
I started prepping my rub for the bird and thought of something that I wonder if others can relate to...Am I the only one who can eat brown sugar by the handful?  I know that is random but is it not the most amazing thing EVER!!!!!  Anytime it is in front of me...since I was 4 years old helping my mom make cookies...I have insisted on eating at least a tablespoon of the brown sugary goodness!!!  I guess you can guess that the rub for the chicken had...........can you guess?......BROWN SUGAR!
I'll leave you two alone.

I rubbed my bird and then introduced it to the Budweiser beer I was using.  I left the two of them alone for a few minutes so they could break the ice before getting VERY intimate prior to oven entry.  You will see from the picture what I mean.  I joined them together and away they went into the heat (va va VOOM!)!!!   

On the side I made Jamie Oliver's Grilled California Antipasti.  This, as a throwback to my memorable meal with my brother in CA,  and consisted of grilled asparagus!  I grilled the veg and then threw it into a dressing made of lemon juice, olive oil and fresh dill.....DELIGHTFUL!!!!!  

Overall,  I think the chicken was good.  I have to say that it didn't blow me away like I thought it would and for the next time I make it...I will add more rub so the flavors come out in a larger way.  I will also have a plan for when I remove the chicken from the oven...tonight,  I didn't have enough foil so I tried laying it on its side causing the budweiser to spill all over the place...not cute.




The Tester digs into his dinner.  Note the mac-n-cheese leftovers also.







Let's get The Tester**'s thoughts:

"Uhhhhhh.   It looked like a lot of fun in the oven when I first saw the Chicken.  It is really unique and a neat way to cook Chicken.  I have never had it before.  Uhhhhh.  I thought I might be able to taste the beer more uhhhh...but I could taste it in the skin and the meat stayed REALLY nice and moist...no dryness at all.  I loved the way you (that's me, Southern Stump) did the veg.  It was great...no massive effort to make them different but they, uh,  but it was good to try something new...nice and lemony.  For novelty value,  I give this dish a 9 (This is the first night he is rating...w/no prompting).  For taste,  I give the dish ...an 8  (These are all criteria he is just coming up with now.)  It's unfair...but dessert wins...Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream 10 out of 10."

Oh yeah,  I got him some Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream to rep San Fran.  He also didn't mention...but I think he enjoyed the Missouri produced Budweiser that he got to drink w/his meal!

If you want to try this recipe,  It can be found in Jamie Oliver's "America Cookbook", Follow this link to order a copy!!!:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/jamies-america/

If you want to try it but don't want the book just yet, here is another recipe w/the same concept:

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/beer_can_chicken/

The side grilled veggies are also found in the book at the link above.  I guess he can't give it all away for free ;)!









No comments:

Post a Comment