Friday, June 6, 2008

Beer Can Chicken

The greatest part about being home is seeing old friends. Especially friends that love to eat and drink just as much as you do. So when I got the invite from my good friends, Lindsay and Sean, to meet them in Napa for dinner, I didn't skip a beat. See you there. Bells and whistles.

Sure enough, our dinner rocked. In fact, I ran home to blog about the Bounty Hunter's famous beer can chicken. I mean, look at this sucker. How can it not be down-right delicious?

Let's just say that I am dragging a friend from out of town back there on Sunday. This chicken is worth writing home about. It's got a jerk rub that's got such a kick that I bought a bottled water for the car ride home. They wouldn't share the rub recipe with me but you can make it up as you go along. Here is the recipe from the manager of Bounty Hunter, Will Wright...

I would add some red chili flakes, cayenne pepper and why baste it a little with a mixture of Tabasco and Tecate... Also, you can pop in oven at 375 degrees instead of grill for hour and a half.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that Bounty Hunter is a SWEET wine bar with a bunch of high-top tables. So you may go for the chicken but leave with some pretty tasty wine finds...

Bounty Hunter Beer Can Chicken
Sunday, April 13, 2008

4 pound chicken
1 can of Tecate beer
1 lime
Upright holder for beer can chicken

Spice rub:

Chef’s notes: Makes enough for 20-40 chickens. Store it in a ziplock bag.

5 pounds pre-mixed Cajun spice
1 cup fennel seeds
1 cup coriander seeds
1/2 cup dried thyme
1/2 cup dried oregano
1/2 cup smoked paprika
1 tsp. Coleman’s dry mustard
1 tsp. tumeric

“And a few of our own secret spices. Feel free to add any of your own favorites.”

Toast all seeds until you can smell a strong aroma, then allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Grind in a spice/coffee grinder.

Add these and the additional spices to Cajun spice.

Clean and rub chicken with spice blend, 20 to 30 minutes before placing it on the grill.

Place aluminum foil on grill. Open and pour out about one-quarter of a can of Tecate, then place the can in holder.

Place the chicken, cavity down, over the can and holder and pin wings back so they don’t burn.

Squeeze half a lime in the neck of the chicken, and use it to cork the neck to trap in the moisture.

Grill covered on low-medium heat for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer placed between the thigh and backbone reads 165 F.

Pull chicken off and enjoy!

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3 comments:

Barry Martin said...

As another beer can chicken lover, let me point out that Will Wright who put the recipe in the Register is the manager at Bounty Hunter, not a Register writer, so that's the official BH recipe. I've taken to making the BC chicken at home with great success - so moist and tender! Lots of experimentation to come with the rubs and adding things to the beer itself. Yum.

Elizabeth said...

Berry, made he change in the post. Thanks! Elizabeth

Lydia said...

Sign me up for this one. If I make the Barefoot Contessa Roasted Chicken one more time, I think my family will run away. Might have to change out the can presentation to a coke can for the kids though! Site is looking great Lizzy.