Enthroned Chicken

Continuing in the spirit of the banana recipes in the AIPS cookbook we present here the first official MeqTrees-endorsed recipe: 'Enthroned Chicken'.

You will need:

1 (or two) whole chickens

1 (or two) 330 ml cans of beer (your choice)

1 bottle of 'deluxe' beer (we respectfully suggest something originally brewed by Belgian monks which is very dark and over 10% abv)

An onion (or two), finely chopped

Lots of garlic, finely chopped

Spices of your choice, anything fragrant (cloves, ginger, bay leaves all work well)

A sturdy aluminium tray

The side dish(es) of your choice

You will also need a barbeque with a large dome lid. Large enough to provide head room for a squatting chicken (or two).

Before you do anything, light the barbeque.

Open your 330ml can(s) of beer and drink the contents. Use a tin opener to remove the top of the can.

Open your bottle of "deluxe" beer and fill the can about 2/3 of the way up, or divide it up if you're making two chickens, as demonstrated below by our Head Chef, Oleg.

Take your finely chopped onions and garlic and add it to the beer. Add the cloves, ginger, or whatever fragrant flavours you have in mind. This might cause the beer to become agitated, but fret not; this is nothing compared to the agitation your chicken(s) will shortly be experiencing.

Take some oil and lubricate your beer can. Place the can on the aluminium tray and perch your chicken on top, taking care not to spill anything. Repeat if you're enthroning two birds.

Hopefully your barbeque will be nice and hot at this point so transfer the tray to the grill. This will probably be a two-person job for anything but the sturdiest of aluminium trays. Cover those little beauties with the dome lid and leave them for about 1.5 to 2 hours. Don't poison yourself.

Ensure the birds are cooked thoroughly, then serve with your side dish of choice, and more beer.