I am not much of a meat eater, but I love chicken.
Maybe because I was born in the year of Rooster (well, Chinese people like to call it a Phoenix, but I’m good with just the ordinary chuck).

Every since I was taught how to make roasts I have been making it like a mad person. I make it because it is so fun and so easy.
No wonder English people like to have roasts on Sundays, they really don’t have to do much!

We love food but all these lavish eating frenzy have started to (for a while now) show in our waists (but sadly for me and thankfully for Robert, never around the chest).
After a discussion, we have decided to go on a diet, yet again. But this time on a serious one because the scale showed the sign of horror number 5! I try my utmost best not to go anywhere beyond 50kg but this morning I was 100g away from that. If I had a pint of beer now that would be it!!! We must go on a diet! Christmas is coming! New Year is coming!! It’s the only time of the year you should skip the calorie counting!

Robert has lost nearly 20kg from Herbalife shakes so we decided to try that from today on. We have shakes instead of breakfast and lunch and have one meal for dinner. Sounds terrible, doesn’t it? I am not really into this because for one, I do not eat breakfast and for two, I believe the biggest meal of the day should be lunch, not dinner. My problem is, I do not have time to complain about any of these. We will be leaving for Japan in 4 days, and eating must start again! I need to lose 2, ideally 3kg in 4 days!!!

I thought I would toss about in hunger and anger but at 4:35 in the afternoon, I am quite alright!
This might work.

Since we can eat as usual for dinner, I am making a roast tonight. I learnt this recipe on some Japanese TV. It is bizarre, but you must believe me, it is GREAT.

You will need;

Whole chicken (neck must be chopped off)
A can of beer (bitter one is better but Robert is Dutch so I had to use Heineken :] )
Brussels sprouts
Half a lemon
Olive oil
5 cloves of garlic
Handful of Basil
1 Tablespoon of rosemary
Oregano orano herb of your choice
Black pepper and salt

I first boil some water and heat the can of beer. while that is being done I wash vegetables and clean the chicken. If your butcher is kind enough to leave the neck and guts, put it aside, do not throw it away. I place the sprouts and citrus on the heat resistant plate and start mushing the garlic, basil, rosemary, salt and olive oil together. I am quite generous with the amount of oil here because the beautiful oil that contains herb extract will be poured into the beer that will be roasted with the chicken. If you do any cooking at all, it is worthwhile having your own garden, even if you do not have a garden or balcony. I do not have neither but the herbs grow happily in the apartment. All they need is adequate sunlight and water.

I need you to be very careful here. Take the can of beer and open it in the clean sink. The beer will overflow and it is hot so be careful, ideally let your man do it. throw a quarter away, pour the beautiful oil I was talking about and place it in the centre of the plate. In the past I have massaged the chicken with the oil, but it does not work here. You are about to know why now.

Now, very, very carefully insert the bottom of the chicken onto the can. Do not laugh because it is good. Toss the remaining garlic and herbs onto sprouts, oregano and black pepper, put the neck or guts in if you have them, and in the shameful position, the chicken is roasted for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

I am sure her mother expected her to be cooked in a more dignified way, but you must be sure to really stick her butt into the can well so it will not tip over in the oven.

What happens is that the hot beer in the oven bubbles away (this is why you heat it first) and through the neck basks or coats the chicken (this is why you cut off the neck). The beer makes the skin crunchy while alcohol tenderises the meat. How smart. The reason why you should not massage the chicken with oil is because it defeats the whole purpose as the oil does not allow beer to get into the chicken.

While chicken is rocking, our sweet Scruffy offers himself…

We use a microwave oven so I try to stay as far as possible from it, because I have a great phobia for electromagnetic, but for this roast I like to watch the chicken sweat with beer.

And this is what you get!

Skin is crispy and the meat is unbelievably soft. And make sure you keep the left-over in the fridge (ideally breast) because it makes awesome sandwich the next day! Yum!