More Beer is the Best Beer! Beer Roasted Chicken and Beer Braised Collards

Beer and chicken: Best friends forever!

If you don't drink, or are under 21, don't read this post. Because everything has beer. Tasty, amber alcohol, full of barley goodness. While you may enjoy drinking beer, you may never have had the pleasure of eating it. Okay, maybe you've tried beer bread, or maybe beer battered something or other, but I feel like those just scratch the surface of the wonders of cooking with beer. Both of these recipes are easy and go great together or on their own. They are even fairly healthy! Just make sure you actually use the beer in the recipe and don't just drink it.

Get that butter mix under the skin.

Mmmm...beer bath for my chicken.

While visiting family for Thanksgiving, I went and visited a local (here), and is seriously easy to do. You don't actually need to use Sam, but definitely use a lager of some kind. I've used Third Shift, and it worked out great. Don't ruin your chicken with IPA or some other sorry excuse for beer. Use good beer, because it will taste so much better.
brewery. We were discussing our favorite ways to cook turkey. Mine is hands-down deep fried turkey, while my husband tends to like turkey baked with stuffing in the bird. The bartender chimed in to tell us he actually braised his turkey in beer. While I won't give up my fried turkey for anything, I had to try this bird-booze combo. A bit of internet searching and a small amount of trial and error resulted in Beer Roasted Chicken. My bird is based off of the Samuel Adams recipe

Keeping Sam Adams in business.

If you are eating boozy chicken, you probably need an alcoholic side to go with it. In an effort to find dark leafy greens that I actually like (full of antioxidants...or something...I guess) I discovered Beer Braised Collards. Collards are much better than kale in my opinion, and you can buy them in bulk at Safeway. Winning! My recipe is roughly based on the Bon Appetit version, (here), but I don't go all out with it. Mine is much simpler. Serve the collards with your Beer Roasted Chicken, or maybe with steak.

Put it all together! And serve with beer. Obviously.

Beer Roasted Chicken
1 3-4 lb chicken
3 tbl lemon juice 
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp pepper
4 tbl butter, softened
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbl dried thyme
1 1/2 cup lager beer

Preheat oven to 425 deg F. 
Rinse chicken well, removing gizzards. Pat dry with paper towels and place in a roasting dish. Rub with lemon juice outside and inside the cavity. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp salt and all of the pepper over bird. Combine softened butter, garlic, thyme, and 1 tsp salt. Raise the skin carefully and put some butter mixture it. Repeat over all of the bird. Spread the remaining butter mixture over the outside of the skin. Pour beer over the bird.
Roast bird breast side down for 40 min. Baste with beer every 10 minutes. Turn bird, and roast breast side up for an additional 25 min. Baste every 8 minutes. The chicken will be done when the temperature of the thigh reaches 165 deg F. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 min. Carve and enjoy!

Beer Braised Collards

5 pieces bacon
3 cups coarsely chopped collards
1 12 oz lager beer
2 tbl balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon in a large skillet until done but not crispy. Remove bacon, but leave grease in the pan. Add collards and saute in bacon grease until collards are bright green and wilted. If there is not enough grease to wilt the collards, add a small amount of vegetable oil. Add beer and simmer until collards are tender, about 20 min.  Chop up cooked bacon and add to collards. Add balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to collards and serve warm.