Cooking Notes: Chicken in Lager

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Chicken in Lager[/caption]

This is my attempt at "Chicken in Lager" from the classic Italian cookbook, The Silver Spoon (preparation time 25 minutes, cooking time 1 hour and 10 minutes). It is rather simple, but it sure was a winner!

Ingredients:

1 x free range chicken. I bought mine from www.MyFarmShop.com.au - perfect!

1 leek, trimmed and finely chopped

3 French shallots, finely chopped

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 litre of Birra Moretti Premium Italian Lager. I bought mine from Plonk at the Fyshwick Markets

Maldon sea salt flakes

Fresh ground black peppercorns

Serve with Deliciosa Manzilla Spanish Sherry while listening to Italian Anthems

Method:

Season the cavity of the chicken with salt and pepper. I used Maldon sea salt flakes with freshly ground black peppercorns.

Place the chicken, breast down, in a pot with sides high enough to cover the chicken. I used my 26mm Le Creuset round pot but the Le Creuset 25cm oval casserole pot would be ideal. It is on the shopping list (and now I understand why you would bother with an oval pot).

Add the carrot, celery, shallots, and leek to the chicken and pour the beer into the pot until it almost covers the chicken. (My mistake with the round pot was that I needed to use 1.6 litres of beer. This was a significant reduction in my beer-while-cooking allowance. The oval pot would solve this problem. I had to remove the chicken after the required time and then reduce the liquid for a further 15 minutes. No big deal, but far from ideal if you are hungry.)

Bring the chicken to the boil, then simmer for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Turn the chicken after 35 minutes.

Reduce the beer until it is almost evaporated. Serve with vegetables in season. I used broccoli, squash, small Desiree potatoes, fresh beans steamed with a crushed clove of garlic