The beer chicken is a very tasty main dish and easy to prepare, which you can make with chicken pieces, or using only thighs and drumsticks (as I did), or even just drumsticks. Quick and tasty, the chicken cooked in a pot with beer is very flavorful because the beer gives the meat a unique taste and makes it tender and succulent.
To prepare beer chicken, you need only a few simple ingredients: chicken, beer, and herbs like garlic, onion, rosemary, and sage. The chicken pieces need to be browned well on all sides and then deglazed with a 33 cl bottle of beer; I used light beer (gluten-free), but if you prefer, you can use red or dark beer to get a slightly different dish each time.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for Beer Chicken
For the gluten-free version, I used a common gluten-free light beer
- 2.2 1 lbs chicken (in pieces)
- 1/2 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 sprig rosemary
- Few leaves sage
- 1 cup beer
- 4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
Tools
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- Paper towels
- 1 Pot large non-stick and with lid
How to prepare beer chicken cooked in a pot
For the English version of this recipe click here!
To prepare chicken cooked in beer, start by rinsing the chicken pieces thoroughly and drying them with some kitchen paper. Make sure there are no feather residues on the skin and, if so, briefly singe them over the stove flame to remove them.
Then place the chicken on a cutting board and generously salt it on both sides. Also season it with some pepper (1). Finely chop the onion (2) and set it aside.
Take a large non-stick pot big enough to comfortably contain all the chicken pieces and pour the oil into it (3). Heat it well, then place the chicken pieces with the skin in contact with the bottom of the pot (4).
Brown them over medium heat for about 5 minutes, then turn the pieces to brown them on the other side as well (5). When the chicken is nicely colored on all sides, add the garlic, chopped onion, rosemary, and sage (6) and continue cooking for a couple more minutes until the onion is golden.
At this point, raise the heat and deglaze the chicken with the beer (7), letting it evaporate for a couple of minutes. Remember that to deglaze meat with beer or wine, it is best if they are at room temperature and never cold from the fridge.
Then cover the pot with a lid and cook the beer chicken for 30-40 minutes over low heat, turning it occasionally. At the end of cooking, remove the lid: the meat will be tender enough that it begins to fall off the bone. Reduce the sauce well by continuing to cook over high heat for about one minute without the lid (8). Then turn off the heat.
Serve the beer chicken immediately, accompanied by a tasty side dish like bacon-wrapped potatoes or pumpkin and potatoes in a pan.
A video recipe of the pot-cooked beer chicken is also available, follow me on my YouTube channel!
How to store cooked chicken
If there are leftovers, you can store the chicken in the refrigerator, closed in an airtight container, for a couple of days. You can then briefly heat it in the microwave or traditional oven. If you have a good amount of sauce left, you can also heat it in a pot over low heat.
Tips and variations
For a lighter dish, you can remove all or part of the skin. If you want to add even more flavor to your beer chicken, you can wrap each piece in a couple of slices of bacon or thinly sliced pork cheek.
