Giving you the bird

Seemed like an appropriate title for the classiest of all poultry preparation - beer can chicken. This dish is slightly more refined though, featuring Guinness and a sauce made with fig jam. I actually had a huge post written up with the recipe and my notes. And then Blogger ate it. And I cried. And then I drank a glass of wine and realized that I might as well just link you on over to the original version at the Real Martha Stewart.

My adaptation put the softened butter (mixed with fresh rosemary, salt and pepper) under the skin of the bird, rather than on top. That's a great trick for extra flavor and moisture in any variation of roast chicken. Chris loooved the fig sauce. I thought it was a bit sweet and in retrospect probably could have benefited from some Dijon mustard.

Happy Saturday! Now, where did I put that wine?