×
Donal Skehan
Beer Can Chicken with Nam Jim Sauce | DonalSkehan.com, One of my favourite ways to eat chicken!
  • main-meals

Beer Can Chicken with Nam Jim Sauce

August 31

It might be easily dismissed as a crude method for cooking chicken but plopping the bird on an open beer can results in seriously tender chicken with crispy skin all over. When the chicken is this good serve it with a salty, sweet and sour Thai dressing and it needs nothing else. The nam jim dressing, a classic element of Thai cuisine, can be made up to 5 days in advance and it works wonderfully with meat, vegetables and fish.

 

 

  • serves Serves 4
  • time 90 mins

Method

  1. 1. For the dressing, whisk together the lime, fish sauce and caster sugar. Stir through garlic cloves, chilli and coriander.
  2. 2. Rub the oil all over the bird and season with a generous pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper along with a 1/3 of the nam jim sauce.
  3. 3. Open the can of the booze and sit the bird on top. It should now be standing to attention!
  4. 4. Stand the chicken upright on a hot barbecue at 200°C/400°F covered for about 1 hour and 10 minutes or until cooked all the way through.
  5. 5. Using a large pair of tongs, remove the bird and can from the barbecue and then remove the can from the bird and discard. Carve up and make sure everybody gets a piece of crispy skin when serving and serve alongside the remaining dressing for dipping.

Ingredients

2 tbsp sunflower oil

1 x 1.2kg chicken

Sea salt and ground black pepper

1 large can of either beer or cider

For the nam jim sauce:

1 lime

75ml fish sauce

2 tbsp caster sugar

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 green chilies, finely chopped

1 red chilli, finely chopped

Small handful coriander roughly chopped

You'll Need

Small mixing bowl

Whisk

BBQ

Tongs

 

If you liked this

You may also like

BBQ Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa | DonalSkehan.com, Ultimate summer food!
  • main-meals
  • →

BBQ Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa

June 20

The wonderful things about marinating meat is that you can prepare them so far in adavance. Pop the meat in the marinate in a releasable bag in the fridge overnight and the flavours will intensify. Marinated meat can also be frozen. This jerk chicken marinade is quite quirky and has lots of interesting flavours like lime juice, cinnamon, honey and ginger. It sounds like an odd combination but makes for many layers of flavours and served straight from the BBQ with this mango salsa, it’s total sunshine food.

 
Za’atar Chicken Drumsticks with Shaved Fennel Salad | DonalSkehan.com, These chicken drumsticks are as good cold as they are fresh from the oven! Perfect picnic food!
  • light-meals
  • →

Za’atar Chicken Drumsticks with Shaved Fennel Salad

July 07

Za’atar is a heady Middle Eastern spice mixture of toasted sesame seeds, oregano, cumin and sumac (which adds a wonderful unusual citrus flavor).  It can be used sprinkled on flat breads hot from the oven brushed with olive oil, over poached eggs with lentils or as a punch of flavor to grilled meats.  For a simple summer supper I like to roast or BBQ chicken drumsticks and thighs and roll the hot meat in the dry rub and serve it alongside a simple shaved fennel salad with toasted pine nuts.  It results in really electric bursts of flavor and textures.

 
Asian Aromatic BBQ Summer Lamb with Tangy Sesame Salad! | DonalSkehan.com, Because BBQ can be so much more than just burgers!
  • main-meals
  • →

Asian Aromatic BBQ Summer Lamb with Tangy Sesame Salad!

September 12

If you’ve never BBQ’d lamb before you are totally missing out on one of my favourite flavours. It works particularly well with the smokeyness the BBQ gives and the addition here of lots of wonderful Asian ingredients really heightens that flavour.  Lamb also BBQ’s equally well with a simple studding of rosemary and garlic.