Beijing Chicken Recipe - Food & Drink Recipes

1 can (12 ounces) beer, preferably Asian, or ½ cup bottled Asian beer
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Asian (dark) sesame oil
1 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick (3 inches)
2 scallions, trimmed, white parts cut into 1-inch pieces, green parts finely chopped
1 slice peeled fresh ginger (1¼ inches thick), flattened with the side of a cleaver
1 clove garlic, flattened with the side of a cleaver
1 tablespoon coarse salt (kosher or sea)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 chicken (3½ to 4 pounds)
2 cups wood chips or chunks (preferably oak, maple, or cherry), soaked for 1 hour in water and/or beer to cover, then drained
1 clean empty 12-ounce beer can (optional) or a vertical chicken roaster (optional)

Pour ½ cup beer into a nonreactive mixing bowl. Pour the remaining beer, if any, over the soaking wood chips or chunks or reserve for another use. Add the soy sauce, rice wine, honey, and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil to the beer in the mixing bowl. Gently stir the ingredients to mix.
If cooking on a can: Use a church key-style can opener to make 2 additional holes in the top of the can. Using a funnel, pour the flavored beer back into the can.
Add the star anise (you may need to break it into pieces), cinnamon stick, scallion pieces, ginger slice, and garlic to the beer can, if using, or to the ingredients in the bowl. Set aside the flavored beer.
Make the rub: Put the salt, sugar, five-spice powder, and pepper in a small bowl and stir to mix.
Remove the packet of giblets from the body cavity of the chicken and set aside for another use. Remove and discard the fat just inside the body and neck cavities. Rinse the chicken, inside and out, under cold running water and then drain and blot dry, inside and out, with paper towels. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the rub inside the body cavity and ½ teaspoon inside the neck cavity of the chicken. Drizzle the remaining 2 teaspoons of sesame oil on the outside of the bird and rub or brush it all over the skin. Sprinkle the outside of the bird with 1 tablespoon of the rub and rub it all over the skin. Spoon the remaining rub into the beer through a hole in the top of the can.
If cooking on a can: Hold the bird upright, with the opening of the body cavity at the bottom, and lower it onto the beer can so the can fits into the cavity. Pull the chicken legs forward to form a sort of tripod, so the bird stands upright. The rear leg of the tripod is the beer can.
If cooking on a roaster: Fill it with the flavored beer mixture and position the chicken on top, following the manufacturer’s instructions.
Tuck the tips of the wings behind the chicken’s back.
Set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium. If using a charcoal grill, place a large drip pan in the center. If using a gas grill, place all the wood chips or chunks in the smoker box or in a smoker pouch and preheat on high until you see smoke, then reduce the heat to medium.
When ready to cook, if using a charcoal grill, toss all of the wood chips or chunks on the coals. Stand the chicken upright in the center of the hot grate, over the drip pan and away from the heat. Cover the grill and cook the chicken until the skin is a dark golden brown and very crisp and the meat is cooked through (about 180°F on an instant-read meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh, but not touching the bone), 1¼ to 1½ hours (see Notes for tests for doneness). If using a charcoal grill, you’ll need to add 12 fresh coals per side after 1 hour. If the chicken skin starts to brown too much, loosely tent the bird with aluminum foil.
. If cooking on a can: Using tongs, hold the bird by the can and carefully transfer it in an upright position to a platter.
If cooking on a roaster: Use oven mitts or pot holders to remove the bird from the grill while it’s still on the vertical roaster.
. Present the bird to your guests. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, then carefully lift it off the support. Take care not to spill the hot beer or otherwise burn yourself. Halve, quarter, or carve the chicken and serve.