Beer-can piri piri chicken with garlic butter jacket potatoes

Cooking on a beer can is nothing new: in Australia they’ve been doing it for years. The secret is that the beer keeps the inside of the chicken nice and moist while it’s cooking on the barbecue. You’ll need a barbecue with a lid.

SERVES 4 PREP 20 MINS COOK 45 MINS

✱ 1½tbsp sweet smoked paprika

✱ ½tbsp hot smoked paprika

✱ ½tsp chilli flakes

✱ 2tbsp Dijon mustard

✱ 1tbsp red wine vinegar

✱ 3 limes

✱ 3 lemons

✱ 5tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

✱ 2kg whole chicken

✱ 4 baking potatoes, scrubbed

✱ Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

✱ 2 garlic bulbs

✱ 1 can of beer, half full

✱ 3tbsp finely chopped chives

✱ 250g unsalted butter, softened

✱ 1 head of lettuce, root removed and leaves separated

✱ 4 ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks

✱ ¼ cucumber, cut in half lengthways, then into slices

✱ 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Put both the paprikas, the chilli flakes, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar and the juice of 1 lime and of 1 lemon into a bowl and mix to a paste. Pour the paste into a large plastic bag, then add the olive oil and the chicken. Seal at the end and shake around so that the chicken is covered in spices.

2 Prick the potatoes, then rub them with a little oil, salt and black pepper, and wrap each one in foil. Place 1 of the garlic bulbs on another sheet of foil and drizzle with oil, then twist tight.

3 Cut the second garlic bulb in half and place inside the chicken, then manoeuvre the half-full beer can into the bottom of the chicken too. The beer will bubble up and create steam inside the chicken, keeping it moist as it cooks, but you only need the can to be half full otherwise it will spill over.

4 Put the potatoes and garlic on a barbecue, then place the chicken upright, standing on the beer can in the centre. Make a silver foil collar for the base of the chicken to protect it slightly, then cover with a lid and roast for 15 mins. Remove the garlic bulb and roast for another 30 mins, until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender.

5 Take the cooked garlic out of the foil and allow to cool. Cut the top off the bulb and squeeze the cooked garlic out into a bowl. Add the chives and the softened butter, and mix together.

6 Toss the lettuce leaves, tomatoes and cucumber together in a large serving bowl, and drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil. Cut the remaining limes and lemons into chunks.

7 Place the cooked chicken on the beer can in the centre of a serving platter. Loosen the foil from the potatoes, cut a cross in the top of them, squeeze gently and spoon the garlic butter on top. Place the potatoes around the chicken and garnish with the lemons and limes.

Per serving: 1,280 cals, 89g fat (41g saturated), 42g carbohydrates

These creamy brioche leeks make a great side for any meat – try them with roast chicken or a pork chop.