Beer Chicken Recipe

This is a recipe i wrote for a student magazine, it had to be affordable but also taste good and feed a lot of people. This is what i came up with, taking inspiration from jamaican, french and american recipes.

Poulet à la bière jusqu’à ce cul (chicken with beer up its arse)

Lager chicken with jerk rub, sweet potato wedges and a creamy mushroom beer sauce

Serves 6

Preparation Time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 1 hour 30 mins

Ingredients:

1 whole large chicken

1 can of lager

Olive oil

Cumin

Paprika

Chili Powder

Sweet potatoes (about 1.2kg)

2 Limes

Mushrooms

1 Clove Garlic

150ml Double Cream

Butter

Sugar

Salt & Pepper

Rocket or Salad

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 200˚C or if using BBQ wait till flames have just settled

Step 1: Mix together in a small bowl or mug 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon sugar, half teaspoon chili powder with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Rub this mixture all over the chicken. Season chicken with pinch of salt and pepper.

Step 2: Crack open can of lager and pour half into a glass, reserve this for later (don’t drink it), insert the half full can into the chicken, it should just be poking out of the bottom.

Step 3: If using BBQ wait till flames have died down, and if chicken doesn’t fit in standing upright wrap it in foil and lay it flat on the rack. If using oven place chicken standing upright in a oven tray lined with foil. Cook for around 1 hour to 1 and a half hours or until chicken is tender and the juices run clear.

Step 4: Meanwhile wash and peel the sweet potatoes and cut into orange segment size pieces. Place in a roasting tin with 2 large knobs of butter and 5 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss the pieces so they are coated in the oil. Scatter over 3 teaspoons of sugar and squeeze over juice of 2 limes, place the squeezed pieces of lime into the tray with the potatoes. Season with a pinch of salt and a twist of pepper. Cook in the oven about half an hour before chicken is ready. Turn the potatoes once during cooking.

Step 5: When the potatoes have gone in the oven, fry a handful of sliced mushrooms in some butter, a clove of crushed garlic and a teaspoon of sugar. When browned pour in the reserved glass of lager and simmer for 10-15 mins until it has reduced by half. Add 150ml cream and simmer gently for another 10 mins or until the sauce has thickened to a gravy like consistency.

Step 6: Take out chicken and leave to rest for couple minutes, transfer to board and carve put a couple of spoonfuls of the juices from the tray into the sauce. Take out potatoes and put them onto the plates. Place chicken on top of potatoes and pour over as much of the sauce as you want. Garnish with a small bunch of Rocket or some salad.

Step 7: Serve with a glass of cold lager!!

My guide to the best street food in London

This is what i think are the best stalls and street food that you can get in London. I have tried and tested about half of these and the rest have been from recommendations or research i have done into this exciting and adventurous genre of the food world. I wanted to discover top quality ingredients cooked with flair, creativity, tradition and that reflected a cultural buzz. I urge you to get out into our capital and discover some of the truly wonderful produce and flavours on offer, it’s on our doorstep and i think street food gets overlooked far too much in Britain. It’s not as big a part of our lives as it should be, big name supermarkets and expensive accolade restaurants (although i do like these very much, i’ll take any invites!!) overshadow the truly exquisite and affordable delights in the vibrant world of street food, enjoy...........

Luardo’s

Location: Whitecross street

Nearest Tube: Barbican/Old street

Opening Times: 11am-5pm Thursday & Friday

Website: www.luardos.co.uk

This brightly coloured turquoise van serves up the best hearty sized burrito’s in london that pack a punch of big flavours. They come in 12 inch long tortillas with a choice of chicken, slow cooked pork or beef cooked in chipotle, these come with an array of other fillings and optional extras of chorizo or guacamole for 50p, the burritos range in price from £4-£5 and at that price are incredibly good value.

Veggie Table

Location: Whitecross street

Nearest Tube: Barbican/Old street

Opening Times: 11am-5pm Thursday & Friday

Website: www.theveggietable.co.uk

Husband and wife duo Adam and Anna created this wholesome, simple and fresh vegetarian stall that re-invented the veggie burger. All there ingredients are sourced locally and they don’t use any ‘fake’ meat products such as quorn to create their burgers. Go for the Heavenly Halloumi burger, a combination of halloumi cheese, carrots, courgettes, fresh mint and coriander. They also have a variety of home-made relishes, pickles and sauces, i like their chili chutney and red cabbage relish.

Rainha Santa

Location: Broadway Market

Nearest Tube: Cambridge Heath/London Fields station

Opening Times: 10am-5pm Saturday

Website: www.roasthog.com

Probably the best roast hog you’ll be able to munch your face on in london and at a very reasonable price considering the pigs are organically reared outdoors, so top quality doesn't come at a top price. They marinate their pigs in garlic, fennel and rosemary and this gives it a little bit of an iberian flavour to the tender meat. A good portion size roll will set you back £4.80. And if you still have space try one of their Portuguese cream tarts for a £1.

Tagine Fish

Location: Portobello & Golborne Road

Nearest Tube: Ladbroke Road

Opening Times: 11am-4pm Monday-Friday

At the end of Golborne road is the best place to experience skillfully grilled, fried and tagine cooked fish. This stall has a very vibrant moroccan feel and this is clearly seen through the delights on offer. Mini tagines, platters of calamari, and salmon steaks smoked with moroccan spices all at £5. If you don’t fancy fish there is also traditional Moroccan soup on offer at a very attractive price of no more than a couple of pounds, try the lentil and lemon soup.

Jerk Shack

Location: Portobello & Golborne Road

Nearest Tube: Ladbroke Road

Opening Times: 11am-4pm Monday-Friday

This stall, originally started at the notting hill carnival, serves up all the classic jamaican dishes. Jamaican food is definitely up there with some of my favourite comfort food. Jerk Chicken, grilled red snapper, curried goat with all the trimmings of rice and peas, plantains and coleslaw are on offer. You’ll be looking at something like £5 for a main dish with all the trimmings. Not bad for a good array of highly addictive grub.

Son of Pampa

Location: Greenwich Market

Nearest Tube: Cutty sark DLR

Opening Times: 11am-6pm Wednesday, 10am-5.30pm Saturday & Sunday

Website: www.sonofpampa.com

Argentinean grill and BBQ stacked full of some of the juiciest and most tender meat available and that i have seen cooked on a stall. Chivitos ciabatta full of grass fed beef steak or free range marinated chicken with chimichurri sauce and some crisp salad for £4. For pudding a traditional fresh churros filled with caramel or chocolate and rolled in cinnamon and sugar for £2. This stall gets very busy at weekends so to beat the queues get in early, it’s definitely worth it.

Juicy bar

Location: Greenwich Market

Nearest Tube: Cutty sark DLR

Opening Times: 11am-6pm Wednesday, 10am-5.30pm Saturday & Sunday

Just off Turpin Lane you are met with a big pile of fruits and vegetables on a greengrocer style display. You choose the fruit or vegetables you want and it gets blended up for you and served in a glass or to take away. There’s no menu you decide whatever you want to have for a price of £3 a glass.

Little oranges

Location: El’s Yard,Old Truman Brewery

Nearest Tube: Brick Lane

Opening Times: 11am-4pm Friday, 11am-6pm Saturday, 10am-5pm Sunday

This is no ordinary italian street food, don’t be fooled! They produce quite unusual and interesting delicate dishes with inspiration from traditional italian cookery. Here’s a few examples anchovy and dill fritters (£3), potato and cheese croquettes (£3.50) and deep fried rice balls (two for £4).

Lipsmackers

Location: El’s Yard,Old Truman Brewery

Nearest Tube: Brick Lane

Opening Times: 11am-4pm Friday, 11am-6pm Saturday, 10am-5pm Sunday

If you fancy a little treat to go with your ethiopian coffee (which can be found easily in brick lane market) then try these freshly fried squidgy and sweet doughnuts for a very reasonable 50p, bargain!! Great if your on the go as well and need a quick fix.

Rootmaster

Location: El’s Yard,Old Truman Brewery

Nearest Tube: Brick Lane

Opening Times: 11am-4pm Friday, 11am-6pm Saturday, 10am-5pm Sunday

Website: www.root-master.co.uk

This street side stall is actually a converted old routemaster bus or as many like to call it a ‘bustaurant’. They serve healthy vegan food and wine. Lunch and dinner are both on offer as well as light bites and nibbles, you can eat on the bus or off it. I had the Panissa which is savory cubes of chickpea puree infused with rosemary, rolled in polenta then fried and served with olives, sundried tomatoes and a fresh green salad. Or if your looking for something more substantial try their speciality vegetable curry, the bloke next to me on the bus had it and it looked jolly lovely.

Tubby isaacs

Location: Goulston Street (petticoat lane market)

Nearest Tube: Aldgate/Aldgate East

Opening Times: Monday to Sunday 10am-8pm

Website: www.tubbyisaacs.co.uk

This is by far the best place to get jellied eels (a big pile of em’ fer 4 paand with chili vinegar) in London and in fact probably the world, and if your not so keen on that then there are also whelks and cockles on offer. As well as having several stalls they also deliver (and have been since 1919) a whole plethora of seafood across the capital including octopus, ocean pinx, crabstix, winkles, kippers and squid tubes. And if your having a cockney gathering they are available for parties. Proper Bleedin Robin Hood.

Brewed Boy

Location: Between Rupert street and Brewer street

Nearest Tube: Piccadilly Circus

Website: www.twitter.com/brewedboy

This one man bean machine provides the best coffee you can get on the streets of london, he’s quite hard to catch in his little van he zooms about town in, but if you do it’s well worth the chase. He serves up the highest quality square mile coffee and with a price tag of just £2 for a proper decent steaming cup of joe you can’t go wrong. It also doubles up as an informal book exchange, which is a novel (no pun intended) and genuinely brilliant idea.

London Food Festival Guide

Here are a few food festivals happening in London over the summer, i have picked these four out as my favourites, as well as being the biggest ones. I urge you to try and go to one if you have any interest in food whatsoever, it’s a great and different day out, an alternative to the norm of going to a music festival.

Taste of London

Date: 17th-20th June

Location: Regent’s Park

Ticket Price: £22 (standard ticket)

Summary: An array of the finest restaurants in London, each with their own sample menus that you can taste at the festival. There is also a demonstration theatre with top chefs displaying their culinary skills, trade stalls, wine tasting, champagne master classes and new for this year a taste of malaysia with three of the best malaysian restaurants in London.

Highlights: Tom Aiken’s demo on thursday, Atul Kochhar’s on friday, Gary Rhodes, Giorgio Locatelli, Heston Blumenthal and Jason Atherton’s on saturday and Michel Roux snr on the sunday

Rating: Having gone to this last year and having the opportunity to talk with Anthony Worrall-Thompson and Michel Roux jnr was a highlight of my year so its got to be a 10/10

Great British Beer Festival

Date: 3rd-7th August

Location: Earls Court

Ticket Price: £8 in advance £10 on the door

Summary: If you like quality and well produced beer then this is the event to go to. Over 450 real ales, ciders, perry’s and beers from around the world. Its Britain’s biggest beer festival with breweries from all over the world serving their finest brews. There’s live music, food and traditional pub games as well as tutored beer tastings.

Highlights: There’s quite a lot of beer!! ‘Meet the brewers’ tasting session on the friday where you can meet the head brewers of some of the top breweries in Britain and try their produce.

Rating: I’m going this year and i reckon it’s gonna be an 8/10 (if i can remember any of it)

Feast On The Bridge

Date: 12th September

Location: Southwark Bridge

Ticket Price: Free

Summary: Part of the Mayor’s Thames Festival, Southwark Bridge get’s transformed into a community feast with huge banqueting tables, food from some of the best UK sustainable producers, butter churning, foraging along the thames, treading grapes and baking a 6 metre long cake.

Highlights: ‘The sacred Mayonnaise ritual’ at low tide and who wouldn’t want to go to a banquet on a bridge in the middle of london on a summer’s day?

Rating: 7/10

Notting Hill Carnival

Date: 29th-30th August

Location: Notting Hill

Ticket Price: Free

Summary: It’s the largest street festival in Europe, 40,000 volunteers and over a million carnival revellers. It’s one of London’s most vibrant and exciting events of the year.The carnival stretches for 20 miles with over 40 sound systems and hundreds of food stalls.

Highlights: Try and find Levi Roots’ Caribbean food stall and get some barbecued jerk chicken with a big glug of his reggae reggae sauce

Rating: 9/10