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Chicken roasted in the Man-Oven
This recipe is so easy that I almost didn’t put it in the book. But I get asked about it a lot, so here it is.
RECIPE BY JAN BRAAI
Ingredients:
(feeds 4)
1 chicken
1–2 tots of your favourite chickenspice or rub
1 can of cider, ginger beer, beer, coke, apple juice or grape juice
4–8 medium to large potatoes
Method:
1. Open the chosen can of soda/cider/beer/juice and throw a third of the contents down your throat. Now let the remaining contents in the can reach room temperature. (A can at room temperature is better than an ice-cold can as the liquid will steam sooner.) If you feel like it and have an old-style tin opener, make a few additional holes in the top part of the can. Alternatively use some part of your multi-tool to make those holes but be careful not to injure yourself.
2. Light the charcoal fire and set up your Man-Oven for indirect grilling. In a Kamado-style oven this means using the deflector plate; in a kettle braai this means having two heaps of coals on the sides of the bottom grid and leaving the middle of the bottom grid open.
3. If relevant, ensure that you remove the little bag of giblets from the cavity of the chicken.
4. Rub the chicken inside and out with the braai spice.
5. Push the can prepared in step 1 into the cavity of the chicken.
6. Place the chicken standing upright (with the can inside also facing upright) into the middle of the top grid of your Man-Oven and pack the potatoes around it.
7. Close the lid of the Man-Oven and bake the chicken for 1 hour at 180°C. Make sure that the bottom and top airvents are open, otherwise the coals will smother and die.
8. Do not open the lid for the next 50 minutes.
9. After 50 minutes to 1 hour the chicken will be ready. The skin will be crisp and some of the liquid from the can will have steamed into the chicken making the meat moist and also giving it more flavour. Chicken is done when its internal temperature is 77°C on your meat thermometer.
10. Remove the chicken from the Man-Oven, discard the can and its leftover liquid, and let the chicken rest for a few minutes before carving it.
11. Serve with the potatoes, which will by now have crisp skins and be completely soft inside.
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