Like roast pork and apple sauce, chicken and beer go very well together and this excellent barbecue beer can chicken recipe not only helps to keep the meat nice and moist when cooking it on the braai, but the beer, herbs as well as the smoky flavour that you only get from a “weber roast” make for a unique and very tasty roast chicken.

Only on a Weber Barbecue?
You don’t have to use a Weber braai, any kettle type barbeque will do with lid large enough to cook a chicken standing upright and I suppose you could use a covered roasting tin on the grill of a standard braaivleis. Of course you do not even have to cook this recipe on the barbeque, as “beer can chicken in oven” works well although with most ovens you will have to lay the chicken on it’s stomach and you will miss out on the unique BBQ smoky flavour.

Ingredients

2 kg / 4-5 lb whole chicken
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 can of beer – brand at the discretion of the chef!

For The Rub
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried garlic, you can use crushed garlic
1 tsp granulated onion
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Optional
Add Flavoured Wood Chips to the barbecue for additional smoky flavours.

Indirect Cooking Method

To cook this beer chicken recipe or most roasts in a kettle barbecue, you will use the “indirect cooking method” and to do this you pace two heaps of charcoal on opposite sides of the bottom grill, with a gap in-between. Weber bbq’s come with special grates or charcoal holders for this. In this way, the coals providing the heat are placed out to the side. When roasting or baking, the food is placed on the upper grill between the two fires, directly above a foil drip pan. This method of cooking is known as indirect cooking.

When you are almost ready to cook the meat, place a drip pan on the grate under the grill in the centre of the bbq between the two fires. This way the heat of the charcoal will not be directly under the chicken which would make it burn.
The pans will catch any fats, juices and bastes which fall from the chicken during cooking. When selecting a drip pan, it is important that the pan be large enough to catch all of the drippings from the food above.

Prepare The Chicken

1. Combine the rub ingredients in a bowl
2. Rinse the chicken inside and out under water and remove and discard the neck, giblets, and any excess fat. Pat dry the chicken with a paper towel.
3. Lightly brush or spray all over with the vegetable oil and season, inside and out, with the rub.
4. Open the beer can and drink half of the beer then place the half-full can on a flat surface and slide the chicken over the top so the can fits inside the cavity.

Cooking the Chicken

Keeping the can upright, balance the chicken on its two legs on the grill of your barbecue. You can get special beer can chicken roaster grills (see image below) or ChickCAN Rack’s (see accessories at the bottom of the page) that help to keep the chicken steady whilst cooking, but if you are careful you can get away without using one.

Barbecue over indirect medium heat until the juices run clear. During the cooking, try and keep the lid closed as much as possible.

Once cooked, carefully remove the chicken and the can from the braaivleis, being careful not to spill the beer as it will be hot. Let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes before lifting it from the can. Discard the beer.

Cut the chicken into serving pieces and serve warm.

Weber Barbecue’s for Beercan Chicken

To cook beer butt chicken on the braai, the most important piece of equipment is the actual grill itself, I highly recommend a Weber. Amazon have a huge selection of Weber Barbecues and Accesories both in the US and the UK:

UK
Weber Barbeque’s on Amazon.co.uk

USA

Weber Bbq’s on Amazon.com

Beer Can Chicken Roaster Grills

Not essential, but a these purpose built stainless-steel racks, or ChickCAN’s let you cook a chicken via the beer can method with less worry about the hot can spilling or getting knocked over. A 12-ounce can of beer or soda fits securely in the stand’s center (which protrudes into the bird’s cavity), while the circular wire base spans a wire grill more securely than individual "feet" and supports a chicken up to four pounds in weight.

UK
Beer Can Roasters on Amazon.co.uk

USA

ChickCAN roasters on Amazon.com

Flavoured Wood Chips

Alder, Apple, Cherry, Hickory, Mesquite, Pecan, Oak, Tobasco and even Jack Daniel’s! Wood chips for the barbecue come in many flavours and add a fantasic and completely unique flavour to your roast chicken or any other meat.

UK
Wood Chips on Amazon.co.uk

USA

Wood Chips on Amazon.com

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Ok, so the above example of an “Extreme Braai” would probably not make it into everyone’s top 10, but what does make the best braai? There are probably as many answers to this question as there are opinions as to the best way to make boerewors.

I know that there will be many of you that swear by your 44 gallon drum, cut in half to make a braai, or that your gas skottel braai is the best and yes I too love my parents half drum braai back home in Zim and the skottel has to be one of the best gas braai’s especially for breakfast fry-ups, but what is that saying: “when in Rome do as the Romans do”, and in my case it was more of “when in the UK” and here drums and skottel’s can be hard to find (although not impossible).

Weber Charcoal Barbecue

I have had my Original Weber charcoal barbeque for over 5 years now and still use it and in my opinion they must be one of the best charcoal braai equipment that you can get and here is why:

Flexibility
You can just use the grill to cook old favourites like boerewors and steak, but then use the cover and a whole new world opens up. I have cooked many fantastic roasts on the Weber and there are many in the southern hemisphere, that them to cook their Christmas turkey.

Durability
As you may have heard the UK weather is not the best! Yet I have left my Weber outdoors with no cover on every summer, only taking it into the shed in the winter and yet there is still almost no sign of rusting. I am still using the original grill and everything still works 100%, so whilst you can get cheaper imitations, I would recommend against it unless you only need it to last for a single summer.

Portability
Some people swear by their brick braai and yes, they can look and work great, but just make sure it is located in a good spot. I like the fact that I can move the Weber, following the sun throughout the day, which is very important here in the UK!

Where to Buy Weber Braai’s

Amazon have a huge selection of Weber Barbecues and Accesories both in the US and the UK:

UK: Amazon.co.uk
Weber on Amazon.co.uk

USA: Amazon.com

Weber on Amazon.com

Your Opinion

I would love to get your opinion and photos of your favourite braai, just leave comments below or contact me.

More Information

• Braai Recipes
• Make your own Boerewors
• The Main photo in this article is of the “Extreme Braai” – the multi functional braai, made from recycled metal found on the scrap metal yard, carefully put together to make everything functional!

Ogh and before I forget, a BBQ/Barbecue should be something you wait in line for to get your hair cut and has nothing to do with cooking great food outdoors

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Whatever the case BBQ’s are really popular in Australia which like South Africa has loads of sunshine and a laid back way of life perfect for barbecuing.

This article is part of my best BBQ sauce recipes from all around the world, so also check out the best braai sauce recipe from South Africa, best barbecue sauce recipe from the UK, best BBQ sauce recipe from Australia and the best barbeque sauce recipe from Argentina.

Lets get cracking, here are my best BBQ Sauce Recipes:

BBQ Sauce Recipe for Beef Spare ribs

A really simple bbq sauce, in fact to make the sauce there, no actual cooking is required! It is perfect as a marinade or for basting onto beef spare ribs.

BBQ Sauce ingredients

• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• I teaspoom of ground mace
• Half a teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons each brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

To Make the BBQ Sauce:
Super simple to make, just place all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir together.

Beef Spare Rib marinade
To marinade the spare ribs, pour the BBQ sauce into a large shallow non metallic container and then add the ribs, mix together, cover and refrigerate overnight, turning the ribs a few times. Cook on the BBQ and enjoy!

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In Argentina, they serve Chimichurri barbeque sauce alongside their famous flame grilled steaks and tastes great on on rare, char-grilled, flank steak. It can also be used as a marinade and is very popular in many Latin American countries.

Chimichurri BBQ Sauce ingredients

• Half a cup of olive oil
• Quarter Cup of Red Wine Vinegar
• Quarter Cup Water
• 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 Tablespoon paprika
• 1 Teaspoon bay leaf (laurel); very small flakes
• 1 Tablespoon coarse salt
• 1 Teaspoon ground black pepper
• Half a cup of chopped leaf-parsley (fresh)
• 1 medium onion; finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic; finely grated
• Half a red bell pepper, de-seeded and finely diced
• 1 tomato, peeled, de-seeded, finely chopped
• Some hot chili flakes to taste

To Make the Chimichurri Sauce:

• Combine all of ingredients in a large bowl except for the oil and vinegar. Toss well to make sure that the salt is spread evenly around the ingredients. Leave to stand for 30 minutes.
• The next step is to mix in the vinegar and water, again leave for 30 minutes.
• The last step is to add the oil, mixing well. It is important to ensure that the liquids cover the rest of the ingredients. If they do not, add equal parts of oil, water, and vinegar until they are covered. Transfer the sauce to a non metallic bowl or jar that can be covered and put in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to marinade overnight. For the ultimate sauce, prepare at least two or even three days ahead.

This recipe is part of a series of the best barbecue sauce recipes from around the world, including the USA, the best braai sauce recipe from South Africa, best BBQ sauce recipe from Australia and the best barbeque sauce recipe from Argentina. View all BBQ Sauce Recipes >>

The best BBQ Ideas…
If  you have another BBQ sauce recipe, please send it in and help make this the ultimate braai / bbq / barbecue / barbeque sauce recipe resource ever!

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In Zimbabwe as kids, we often called them skewers, here in the UK they call meat on a skewer a kebab. They call a braai a barbeque (BBQ) but what ever the name, it is hard to beat the traditional South African Lamb Sosatie on a real charcoal or wood braai!

Lamb Sosaties on the braai
Below are the ingredients and the method to making the perfect Lamb Sosatie for the braai. You can use other types of meat like chicken or beef, but lamb always seems to taste the best.

Lamb Sosaties Recipe

Lamb sosatie Ingredients, To make traditional South African Lamb sosatie you will need:

• 500g Lamb (boned shoulder or leg of lamb)
• 2 large onions
• 50ml olive oil
• 4 cloves of gralic
• 1 tablespoon of curry powder
• tumeric 1 x teaspoon
• brown sugar 1 x tablespoon
• 4 crushed bay leaves
• 1 x tablespoon of lemon juice
• 2 x lemons cut into small wedges
• 120ml meat stock
• 125g dried apricots
• 1 x green pepper cut into bite size pieces to fit onto the kebab
• butter
• Skewer sticks

To make the Lamb Sosaties, first cut the lamb up ito 25mm cubes, slice one onion into wedges (for the skewer – you could use shalotts) and the other chop finely, peel and crush the garlic. Heat the butter in a saucepan and sauté the chopped onion, garlic and curry powder for a few minutes. Add the tumeric, lemon and meat stock, bring to the boil.

The put the meat in a non-metal bowl with the bay leaves at the bottom. As soon as the marinade comes to the boil, pour it over your meat mixture and then allow it to cool and place in the fridge to marinade overnight.

The next day when you are ready for the braai (barbeque), skewer the meat, apricots, green pepper and onion wedges (shallots) onto the sticks.

For the sauce, pour the leftover marinade into a saucepan, add some butter and salt and pepper to taste, bring to the boil and serve warm with the sosaties and lemon wedges.

The best way to cook the sosaties is over a hot braai (barbeque) turning them as you go, but you can also cook them under a grill.

As a variation, and if you like hot food, why not try adding crushed chillies, more garlic and some peri-peri to the marinade.

UK – Southern Africa Cookbooks on Amazon.co.uk

USA – Southern Africa Cookbooks on Amazon.com

Ok, that’s it for now, if you would like to contribute to this section, check out the page on writing for Chirundu.com otherwise check back soon for some more African Food Recipes and Ideas.

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Because the UK has such short and unpredictable summers, when the sun does shine, people really appreciate every second and so barbecues are very popular. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy a perfect summers day in England than with a group of friends enjoying good food on the bbq. Part of the good food is having tasty succulent meat so here are some of the best British barbecue sauce recipes.

You may be wondering what the best British barbecue sauce recipe is doing on a site about African food, well this recipe is part of a section on the best BBQ sauces from around the world, others include the best braai sauce recipe from South Africa, best barbecue sauce recipe from the USA, best BBQ sauce recipe from Australia and the best barbeque sauce recipe from Argentina, you can then try them out and let me know which you think is best! View all BBQ Sauce Recipes >>

Right, enough talk, here are the best British Barbecue Sauce Recipes:

British Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Spare Rib Barbecue Sauce
This barbecue sauce is really simple and takes less than half an hour to make and is perfect for coating / basting spare ribs and bland sausages. You can also use it as a dip.

Barbecue Sauce ingredients

• 3 crushed cloves of garlic
• 1 finely chopped small onion
• olive oil
• 1 finely chopped red chilli
• 1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
• 50ml dark soy sauce
• 300ml tomato sauce (ketchup)
• 55g dark brown sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

To Make the Barbecue Sauce:
Really simple, as all you need to do is fry off the onion and garlic in the olive oil adding the fennel seeds, chilly and sugar. You then add the soy sauce and tomato sauce and season with your salt and pepper. Let it come to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and leave for a few minutes for the flavours to mingle.

View all BBQ Sauce Recipes >>

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The southern African Braai (barbeque) is more than just eating food cooked on a grill outside. In South Africa, Zimbabwe and many other places in Africa it is a way to get together with friends and enjoy good food, good weather and a few cold beers.

These are some of the best braai recipes that we have collected and used over the years. and I hope you enjoy them, If you have any recipes that you would like to add a recipe,  please feel free to contact me.

All you need for the perfect rugby braai

Braai Equipment

• The Best Braai

Main Courses on the Braai

• Make your own Boerewors
• Barbecue Ribs Recipes
• Sosaties Recipe
• Barbecue Beer Can Chicken Recipe

Side Dishes

• Mielie Pap and Sadza Recipes

Sauces and Relishes

• Chakalaka
• South African Braai Sauce Recipe
• BBQ Sauce Recipe from Australia
• Chimichurri: Argentina Barbeque Sauce Recipe
• English Barbecue Sauce Recipe

View all Braai Recipes >>

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BBQ ribs are one of my favourite meats for the braai (barbeque), coated in a thick tasty sauce and served with sadza (pap). The meat is usually much cheaper than steak, best eaten with the hands and so is perfect if you are having a bunch of kids around (big or small!)

Pork BBQ Ribs
The trick to great pork ribs on the barbecue is the thick sweet sauce, I mostly use honey to add sweetness and for the texture, it is important not to put it on too soon or it will burn, turning your bbq ribs into charcoal!

Ok lets get started on this recipe for Pork BBQ Ribs:

BBQ Pork Ribs Recipe

A simple to make bbq ribs recipe for pork, with a marinade that is later used as the source for the ribs, there are no specific quantities for the recipe as most of it will be personal preference… typical man barbeque recipe then!

BBQ Ribs ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1.8 kg (4 lbs) of thick and meaty pork belly ribs
• bbq sauce (your own or comercial version)
• Tomato Sauce (ketchup)
• Worcestershire sauce
• Red wine
• Honey
• Rosemary (fresh)
• Oregano flakes
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Flour or corn starch

To make the marinade for the BBQ Ribs:

To make the marinade for the ribs, use a non-metal container, some people also use a plactic bag and place the ribs into the container. Add the fresh rosemary, oregano and pepper. Then add plenty of honey, your barbeque sauce, tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce.

Make sure the ribs are completely smothered in your marinade, then carefully add the red wine, making sure not to remove the coating on your ribs (pour the wine into the corners of your container). Add enough wine to cover most of the ribs then place in the fridge and leave to marinate overnight.

Barbecue the Ribs

I wont tell you how to make a good braai (barbecue) here, but it is important to make sure you have enough coals- without flames, as pork takes longer to cook than beef. Cook the ribs, salting and seasoning them a few times as you turn them make sure you turn them often enough so as not to burn them. A few minutes before the bbq ribs are done, pour some more honey over them, allowing it to melt.

Make the BBQ Sauce for the Ribs

Whilst the bbq ribs are cooking add your saved marinade sauce to a pan, add 2 or 3 teaspoons of flour or cornstarch to thicken the sauce. Bring the marinade mixture to a boil, season to taste with salt and pepper, checking the thickness, you can add more flour that has been dissolved in warm water to prevent lumps. Make sure to simmer your sauce for at least 5-10 minutes to get rid of that uncooked flour taste.

That’s it, serve the bbq ribs with the sauce in a separate bowl and some traditional Zimbabwean sadza on the side.

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