Dancing Chicken

When you read cookbooks like a good fiction novel, you run across all sorts of strange things. Cooking a full chicken with a can of beer stuffed up its backside is one of the funniest things I have ever heard of, and I had to give this a try.

Last Monday, I played around with the dancing chicken. (That is what it looks like to me.) The preparation was simple. Rub seasoned salt and pepper on the outside of the whole chicken, drop 5-6 cloves of garlic into the can of beer (which had been half emptied) and perch the chicken on top of the beer can. The most difficult part of preparing this dish was finding a single can of beer to purchase. My normal grocery location doesn't sell singles, and a competing store only sold the beer silos. (20 ouncers) I was fearful my dancing chicken would be too tippy, but careful handling prevented any mishaps.

I removed the top rack of the grill, fired her up, and when it was properly warmed, placed my dancing chicken on the side opposite the flame. (Indirect heat) The work was done. Ninety minutes later we had a juicy chicken dinner.  Did the beer provide a special flavor? Nope, so I plan to try again with just Coca Cola. (a variation I have seen) Did the garlic provide a tasty flavor? Nope, so I plan to put more cloves in the can and a few under the chicken skin. Did the salt and pepper enhance the flavor? Not really, unless you eat the skin, which I tend not to do. I plan to rub the salt and pepper in the cavity of the chicken as well as on the skin.

You can see this was a recipe that earned the honor of being tweeked and tried again. It was fun and might be a good conversation starter if you prepared it for guests, however for flavor, I think our family is fully hooked on Julie's Chicken. The seasoning on the outside of the chicken is the same but produces a bit more flavor. Julie's Chicken is juicy and you don't need to own a grill to get that great taste.