Yesterday was national braai day, so we decided to invite a few friends around, and have a braai! We didn’t do a normal open fire braai, but we decided to cook a chicken on the Weber. This recipe slightly unusual in that you cook the chicken with a can of beer. The beer keeps the chicken very moist, resulting in a chicken that was really yummy, tender and succulent.  When I carved it, it just fell to pieces!

So, here’s the recipe (loosely based on Ina Paarman’s “What’s on the fire?”)
Ingredients

• 1x chicken
• 1x can of beer
• A selection of mixed fresh herbs (I used parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme – and I wasn’t going to Scarborough fair!)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Rind and juice of 1 lemon
• About 50ml Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• 1 cup Oak chips

Soak the oak chips in water for at least 1 hour
Prepare the Weber for indirect heat

Marinade

• Crush the herbs & garlic with a pestle and mortar.
• Add the lemon rind & juice
• Top up with about 50ml olive oil
• Add salt & pepper

Method

• Smear about ½ of the marinade on the inside of the chicken
• Drink about ¼ of the beer
• Remove the lid of the beer with a can opener
• Put the chicken onto the can of beer, and then on the Weber
• Put the oak chips directly onto the coals – about ½ each side
• Pour the rest of the marinade onto the chicken, and cover
• Cook for about 1 hour or so

Note: You can pretty much use what ever marinade you feel like making.

We also made a very simply baby potatoe, bean and pesto salad (from the same book). Here’s the recipe
Ingredients

• 500g baby potatoes
• 200g green beans
• 100ml pesto sauce
• Fresh Parmesan cheese

Method

• Steam the potatoes
• Cut the beans into 3cm length, and add to the potatoes
• Add the pesto and mix in
• Sprinkle fresh Parmesan shavings onto the salad
• serve hot or scold

And finally, what better way to finish off a great evening, than an expresso?

Related posts:

1. Garlic, herb and chilli ciabatte
2. The ten items that you will always find in my kitchen
3. National Braai Day (National Barbqueue Day)
4. Tomatoe Soup
5. National Braai Day (part 2)