Sumac Baker's Beer Can Roast Chicken

Name: Sumac Baker's Beer Can Roast Chicken
Yield: 4
Ingredients: One 5-to-6 lb roasting chicken (I use Misty Knoll Farms Chicken, from New Haven, VT); 2 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp ground sumac; 1 tsp paprika; ½ tsp sugar; 2 tsp kosher salt; Freshly ground black pepper; One 12 oz can Vermont IPA; 2 garlic cloves

Image of Sumac Baker's Beer Can Roast Chicken — Photo by Raymond Prado

Servings

Prep Time

12-24 hours

Cook Time

75-90 minutes

"Ground sumac provides this chicken with a citrusy zing and also gives it a gorgeous color. The baking powder (the "baker's" part of the recipe) produces a super crispy skin. The beer brings flavor and moisture to the chicken as it cooks and kids think it's hysterical when you plop the beer can up the chicken (and you get to take a few slugs of beer before dinner to get the level in the can just right). In other words, everyone wins with this delicious and easy roast chicken."

Gesine Bullock-Prado is a pastry chef, instructor, and author of six books. She is the host of Food Network’s Baked in Vermont and has appeared as a judge on several Food Network competitions. She lives in White River Junction, Vermont.

Excerpted from MY VERMONT TABLE: Recipes for all (Six) Seasons by Gesine Bullock-Prado Copyright © 2023. Used with permission of the publisher, Countryman Press. All rights reserved. Raymond Prado photo credit.

Author:

Gesine Bullock-Prado

Ingredients

One 5-to-6 lb roasting chicken (I use Misty Knoll Farms Chicken, from New Haven, VT)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground sumac
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
One 12 oz can Vermont IPA
2 garlic cloves

Directions

Stir together the baking powder, sumac, paprika, sugar, salt and a bit of pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
Remove the giblets from inside the chicken. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
Sprinkle the chicken evenly with the spice mixture. Chill the chicken, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 house, to dry brine.
Place an oven rack on the lower third of the oven; remove other racks. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Pour about half of the IPA into a glass (that’s your chef’s treat). Place the half-empty can on a baking sheet or roasting pan and drop the garlic cloves into the can. Place the chicken on the can so it’s “standing”. Bake until an instant-read thermometer registers 165° to 170°F when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, 75 to 90 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest, covered with foil, for 20 minutes before serving.