Beer Can Chicken - The Feast at The Farm

Almost everyone who calls us for a reservation asks for the Beer Can Chicken. The first timers to The Farm are fascinated by it and ask for it during their next visit or while making reservations. With the dish so frequently requested (its shares the number one spot with our Pizzas, but more about that in another blog), we have decided to make it a permanent part of the Weekend Feast at The Farm.

The Beer Can Chicken is probably the juiciest grilled/barbecued chicken you will ever eat. We don't use any tenderizer to soften the meat. The meat drips juices and cooked evenly through and just slides off the bones. All this with a very crusty outer layer. Squeeze some lemon onto it and have it with raw onions or our grilled salad and you have another favorite dish added to your list.

The recipe and method is simple and no secret. Google 'Beer Can Chicken' and the search will retrieve thousands of results. Here is what we do:

Take a cleaned whole chicken (about 800-900 gms) with skin. Use your preferred flavour or masalas as a dry rub. Take some time to rub the masala well into the skin (be careful not to tear the skin) and keep aside for 30 minutes. You can stuff the inside of the chicken with minced ginger, garlic and coriander (or any other herbs for the flavours you like). Now comes the most interesting part - pop open a can of beer, take a swig, and insert the can into the chicken. It will fit snug in the chest cavity. Using the chicken legs and the beer as a tripod, stand the chicken on a grill over medium to low heat and cook covered for 1-2 two hours depending on the heat. A half an hour after the chicken is put to cook, baste it will a little oil or butter. On an average it takes and hour and a half to cook - or putting it another way - keep the heat to a temperature at which it will take 90 minutes to cook the chicken over indirect heat. After a couple of attempts, you will get the hang of it.

Since canned beer is not available in Chennai, we fill up a soft drink can with bottled beer. So don't be surprised if you see our Beer Can Chicken on a Coke or Pepsi can.

Since the chicken is covered, the residual heat will cook the skin to a crispy crust full of flavour of your dry rub. The basting with oil helps in the crisping of the skin. Meanwhile the beer keeps spewing inside the chicken and keeps is moist and the herb stuffing adds a nice flavour to the juicy meat.

So if you have a grill, I say go for it today. Pop open two cans of beer - one for the chicken and one for yourself and invite a few pals over. A simple easy way to feed your friends some delightful chicken to go with the beer at the next party and claim bragging rights. Or, bring them to The Farm and leave the "hard work" to us. You still earn bragging rights!

Cooking on Pathar (Stone)

There has been a lot of buzz around stone grilling/cooking recently, and a couple of restaurants are now based on this concept. A lot of restaurants in North India offer Pathhar Kebab - meats cooked on a hot stone. Naturally, excitement and curiosity kicked in big time and we decided to find out more. There is a lot of information on the internet on this topic. In the US you can buy a lava stone - which is the preferred stone - for your restaurant or for your home.

First we had no idea where to get a big enough lava stone from. So we decided to try the stone that is available to us - granite. We mounted it on our charcoal grill. Next dilemma, what would we cook on it? In a simple experiment, we put our current meat recipes on the stone, heated up with coals and wood fire. Lo behold - it worked. It worked better than our skillets.

It takes a couple of hours to get the stone hot enough to cook (given the size of the stone) but it retains heat evenly and for a longer time. It took us a while to get to the right thickness of the stone. The first few were too thin and cracked on heating. Now that we have the right thickness, cooking on the stone is a breeze. The rise and fall in temperature in never sudden and hence easily controlled. You can leave food on it unattended without the fear of it burning. Over prolonged use, the stone blackens. This we realized is called seasoning, which imparts better flavour and reduced cooking time.

We now make our Mutton Chops & Steaks, Pork Chops and Beef Steaks on the stone. We don't call these 'pathar kebabs' or any other fancy name. Instead on one big stone, we've ordered three small stones. They will heat up quicker and people who are averse to eating beef or pork are assured that the meats are cooked separately.

So come and enjoy these flavoured meats at The Farm. In the meantime, we'll figure out if we can do veggies on the stone.

Our Food - The Feast at The Farm

Gluttony is the sincerest form of flattery at The Farm, and that’s exactly what 'The Feast at The Farm' makes you want to do. The Feast runs only on the weekends, that is Friday and Saturday nights.

We start you off with refreshing chilled tender coconut water and Farm fresh garlic bread, chips and dips while you wait in the lounge for your table. The main course consists of a variety of mouth-watering meats and veggies thrown on the grill served with chutneys dips and grilled salad.

There is also delicious hand spread pizzas fresh out of our wood-fired brick oven, stuffed Parathas and Naans served hot from our Tandoor with butter made form our own dairy.

If you still have space in your stomach and crave to end the feast with some roti rice and dal, help yourself to home cooked dal and curries. We cook our rice, dals and curries over our smokeless chulha. Condiments like the famous Farm made pickles and curds are served with hot Tandoori Roti and Lachcha parathas.

Then there is desert served in the lounge with tea/coffee to get you back on your feet again. Eat all you want of any one course or all of it.

A feast by definition is a sumptuous entertainment or meal for many guests. And here at the farm guest are welcome to do precisely as they want. Mingle with other guests, get behind the grill and grill your own food. Or you could even make your own pizza. Once you are full, there's always a mattress in the lounge for you to lie down and chill till you are able to move again to your car to head back home.

Of'course we do not charge for mineral water and refreshments are included in the price.

'The Feast at The Farm' is by reservation only, priced at Rs 500.00 (plus taxes) per person. For RS 500, you choose what you want to eat and how much. Stay as long as you want to in the lounge (11:00 PM is closing time). So give us a heads up on +91 9176050562 and drop in. We recommend making reservations at least a day in advance. Whether you come alone or in a group, come hungry, very hungry.