Beer Can Chicken – Indian Style!

This dish is a spicy, savory, Indian play on the classic beer can chicken.  The chicken is rubbed with a spicy, flavor-packed Indian dry rub, and then smoked on the grill over a can of beer.  The result is chicken that's crispy on the outside and incredibly moist on the inside.  It’s served with a coconut and curry sauce that’s sweet and savory, along with some zucchini and some lightly grilled flatbread to soak up all the extra sauce.

And besides, who doesn’t want to try a recipe when step one is, “Drink half a can of beer”?

 
Ingredients (serves 4):

1 can of beer
1 whole chicken (4 to 4 ½ pounds)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
4 pieces flatbread

Indian dry rub:
3 TBSP curry powder
1 ½ TBSP coarse sea salt (substitute regular table salt if you don’t have sea salt)
2 TBSP red pepper flakes
1 TBSP ground cumin
1 TBSP ground coriander
½ TBSP dry mint
½ TBSP ground ginger

Coconut Curry Sauce with Zucchini:
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno chili, chopped
1 tsp lemon juice
2 TBSP olive oil
2 zucchinis, cut into bite-sized pieces (feel free to substitute other vegetables, like squash, carrots, etc.  Just be sure to adjust the cooking time as needed.)
¼ cup chicken broth
1 TBSP curry powder

Directions:

1.    Drink half a can of beer.
2.    Remove chicken giblets and rinse chicken inside and out.  Pat dry with paper towels – get it as dry as possible.
3.    Brush chicken with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4.    Combine dry rub ingredients, and coat chicken generously with the rub.

5.    Shove the beer can into the cavity of the chicken.
6.    Set up your grill so that the charcoal and some wood chips (pre-soaked in water to get the smoke going) are one side, and drip pan is on the other.
7.    Place the chicken on the opposite side of the grill from the coals, above the drip pan, so that it will cook indirectly.  Position the chicken so that the can and the two legs form a tripod to hold the chicken upright.
8.    Smoke the chicken, with the grill covered, for about an hour and fifteen minutes.  
9.    While the chicken is ready, go ahead and prep for your coconut curry sauce.  Puree the onion, garlic, jalapeno, and lemon juice in a food processor (or blender).
10.    When the temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees in the breast or 180 degrees in the thigh, and the juices run clear, remove the chicken and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.  This will give you time to put together your curry sauce.
11.    Place a cast iron pan on the grill directly above the coals.  Heat the olive oil.
12.    Add your pureed blend and stir for about 2 minutes.  Then add the zucchini and chicken broth and cook for another 2 minutes.  Stir in the curry powder, then the coconut milk, and cook until it begins to bubble.  Move the pan to the other side of the grill to simmer for about 10 minutes.

13.    Quickly heat the flatbread – about a minute on each side – while the sauce simmers.
14.    Remove the bread and sauce, serve with the chicken, and enjoy!

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