The Ultimate Beer Butt Chicken

I am sure a lot of you readers out there have done the classic Beer Butt Chicken, so we know how fantastic and juicy it is and how truly easy it is to make.  Well I have modified and perfected the way I do these chickens for ultimate flavor and juiciness!

Ultimate Beer Butt Chicken

• One Chicken
• one can of beer of choice
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, cut into chunks
• herb mixture (I use dried oregano, basil, thyme, garlic powder and a little salt this time, but you can use anything you prefer)
• optional: Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
• One of those Beer Butt Chicken roasters (you can get them everywhere these days)

First order of operations is getting the BBQ warmed up, I heat it on medium heat.  You really don’t want to have it too hot.

Next thing is to get your chicken prepped.  I mix my herbs into a bowl (about a tsp of each, really you can’t mess this part up) and cut my garlic.  Take your can of beer and pour half of it out (drink it silly!).  I once was told that when you make this the beer doesn’t actually boil, so that was when I thought to pour half of it out, so it can actually be brought to a boil and steam up that chicken!

Put your garlic chunks into the can of beer, if your opting for the rosemary sprigs, put them in the can as well.  (I have done this and have actually tasted the rosemary throughout the meat).  Rub your herb mixture all over the chicken, making sure to cover all areas. Set your can into the roaster and put your chicken on. I also pour a bit of beer into the bottom of the roaster. Set carefully into your BBQ.

As for cooking times, I usually go for 15-20 minutes per pound.  I make sure I have my meat thermometer on hand, as long as the chicken is at 180 degrees Fahrenheit.  The key during cooking is to baste every 10-15 minutes, this way you get a nice skin, very little burning and nice beer flavor on the outside.

Once your done, take the chicken off and let rest 15 minutes before cutting, this is very important!  Then enjoy your juicy chicken goodness!

I also make a beer gravy from the juices and some of the beer from the can.  Goes very well with this chicken on some garlic mashed potatoes.

I picked Black Label this time, different beers give different flavors so experiment!

 

Seedling Sunday, Rocking in the Sun!

Well hello there!  I can not believe I actually got to this today because it is seriously beautiful outside!  So beautiful we are inside now after too much sun!  Today I bought a few herbs (Parsley, Rosemary, Stevia, and Echinacea) and planted those in the herb garden.  Also, we got a huge load of soil for our backyard project!  I will do a before after situation, as John is now home all week to get that dirt all spread and ready for me to plant all those seedlings we’ve been paying so much attention to.

Check out those said seedlings, wow have they really popped.  Although we did have a man down this week, I believe we lost a long english cucumber due to my neglect.  I have to admit, one night this week I forgot to bring them in, fell asleep, woke up at quarter to 11 and shot up remembering that I forgot all about them!  Unfortunately it was a cold night, but I already have another long english germinated and on its way. I transplanted a bunch more of the seedlings that were still under the light today.

There are still a few little guys under that light, by next week they will be ready as well.

(well maybe all except little long english there)

Other than that, the spring garden is happy as ever with some coffee grounds added to it because it apparently keeps the cats away. Anything is better than sticking my hand in cat poo again!

Happy Sunday all, be prepared this week for my ultimate Beer Butt Chicken!

Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Often when I cook, I don’t really plan out what I am going to do.  I just sort of look in the fridge and freezer to analyze what I have on hand. Near the end of the week, my ingredients are starting to thin out, as I am due for a grocery run.  But somehow I manage to create the best meals this way! This just happened to be one of them, John and I struggled to not over eat with this meal (which we both did anyway). As always, the measurements aren’t exact because I rarely measure.  So just play around!

Garlic Shrimp Pasta

• 2.3 servings Spagettini
• 1 cup or a little more than a cup of peeled Shrimp
• Olive Oil
• 2 cloves of Garlic, minced
• White Wine
• 1/2 sweet Pepper (use whatever color you have, I had yellow), diced
• 1/4 cup Peas (I used frozen, but fresh would be better)
• 2 Shallots, sliced thin
• handful Grape Tomatoes, halved
• fresh Thyme, chopped
• fresh Oregano, chopped
• Pepper
• Sea Salt

First of all, get your water on the burner for your pasta, add some olive oil in the water to prevent the noodles from sticking together.  Chop up all your veggies in the meantime, so they are ready to go.

Heat a pan on medium heat and drizzle olive oil on the bottom and let the pan get hot.  Add your garlic and let fry for a little bit before adding the shrimp, be careful not to burn your garlic!  Add the shrimp and pour enough wine so it covers the whole bottom of the frying pan, throw in a pinch of salt at this point.

Let the shrimp cook for a couple minutes (until the shrimp are starting to look pink), by this time you may have some boiling water on your hands.  Add the spagettini and let boil 5-6 minutes.

Going back to your fry pan, add your peppers, shallots and peas, cook for a few minutes.  Drain your pasta and put aside. Add your tomatoes to the frying pan, and only cook for 30 seconds or so.

Start adding the pasta to your frying pan with a pair of tongs, a bit at a time.  Once the pasta is all in, start adding more olive oil and mixing the pasta so that the pasta is easy to manipulate in the pan but not getting too greasy!

Add some wine, just so nothing is sticking to the pan and the pasta can absorb some of the wine flavor. Toss in your fresh herbs next.  Keep mixing as you go, this time adding fresh ground pepper so its evenly distributed in the dish.  Use your discretion with the pepper, we used a lot because we like heat.  If you want it more mild, just add a bit.  Add salt in the same fashion, once again using your discretion.  I only added another pinch, we don’t eat a lot of salt in our food.

Now that all the ingredients are in, the pasta should have absorbed flavors, the tomatoes cooked but not over cooked and your shrimp shouldn’t be rubbery.  Toss in some Parmesan when you eat and voila!

Fantastico!

Seedling Sunday, on time and growing like mad!

We finally had some fantastic weather this week!  Lots of sun and it even reached past 20 degrees!
So we have some very happy seedlings!  On Tuesday I finally got around to transplanting a bunch of my babies.  Turns out the pots John brought me were the sort of paper kind, great!  That will work excellent!

Check out how much they have cranked right up, as I am officially letting these plants out in the day but bringing them in at night.

Those tomato plants really grew and the stalk thickened up nicely.  Some of these will be planted into the ground soon.

Let us check up on my spring garden, the radishes are really coming up now and I am salivating thinking about eating those delicious roots!

Everything is really coming up nice, hopefully in a couple weeks I will have some spinach and lettuce to chow down on.

Now, we can’t forget about the little guys under the light still.  A couple of these plants were a little sad because the big plants I transplanted were blocking out their UV goodness.  They are happier now, I just have to baby them a little.  Today, I am going to transplant the nasturtiums.  They could go into the ground, but I am not too sure yet where I am going to place them so they can be in a pot for a little while. I also put a couple of the scraggly tomatoes back under the light to revive them!

What isn’t pictured is my herb garden, it is really starting to flourish!  The oregano, thyme, lemon thyme, parsley, mint, marjoram, and sage have all come back from last year with vengeance!  I also planted my cilantro and lemon balm, as I figured they could handle the cold. So far, so good. Also, I put some sunflower seeds into the ground, it’s my first time trying them!  My main worry is all the birds we have around here snacking on them.

Yesterday was the first day this year I used fresh herbs out of my herb garden! I made an excellent shrimp pasta last night that I will share with you tomorrow!  I used the fresh thyme and oregano, and man it was so yummy!

Well now I must get my shoppping done so I am can get out there, as its a beautiful day today and there is always something to do in the garden.