First things first! If handling raw chicken bothers you, wear disposable gloves.
Make sure that the area you are pepping the whole chicken is free from any dishes and that your counters have nothing on them. The goal is to avoid cross contamination from inadvertently splashing raw chicken juice on other food, dishes, or utensils. Everything the chicken touches or may have touched will need to be bleached down or washed with hot soapy water after use.
Open the chicken cavity and remove the giblets. Remove the butt fat! Yep, we went ahead and said it. You know, cut that little flap off. If the butcher left on some of the neck bone, cut that off as well.
Carefully remove the weird things inside (like kidneys, blood vessels and such) that the butcher left behind inside a whole chicken. It is your job to clean it up.We will leave this up to you but we like wash our whole chicken inside and out with a little abrasive salt and water. You just cannot get it properly cleaned unless you do. Put a little salt in your hand. This works like an abrasive and rub it all over inside and outside the bird. Then, rinse and dry the whole chicken with paper towels. Drying is super important. It ensures that you will get a crispy skinned chicken. REMEMBER: Wash everything that your chicken may have touched and your hands well! Preheat your gas or charcoal grill to a very low setting about 250 degrees F (121 degrees Celsius). If you do not have a grill then you can make Peking Beer Butt in the oven preheat your oven to about 350 degrees F (176 degrees Celsius).
Make the herbed butter mixture. In a small bowl place butter, salt and pepper, 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 teaspoon fresh ginger and 1 teaspoon of paprika. Mix to combine and set aside. Set aside in a clean bowl the remaining chopped garlic and ginger and spices for later use.
Rub your fingers on the inside of the chicken between the breast meat and the skin to make a pocket to place the butter herbed mixture. Stuff the butter herbed mixture with your fingers into each side of the breast and flatten and smooth with your fingers.
Season the chicken well inside of bird with salt and pepper. Take a little olive oil, 2 cloves minced garlic and 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger on your hands and massage your chicken well all over. Season the outside of the chicken with salt and pepper. (Remember to reserve garlic and freshly grated ginger for the beer and Peking Sauce)
Open the can of beer (or dry ginger ale), either drink 2 ounces or pour out 2 ounces. Add 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger, black peppercorns and Sichuan peppercorns. The beer will fizz and bubble. Push the opened end of the beer can first into the bottom of the chicken (chicken's butt) and set the chicken into a aluminum disposable baking tray. Make sure that the beer can is deep into the cavity of chicken so that it sets stable and upright on the aluminum pan. Wash you hands and everything that came in contact with the chicken very well.
Make your Peking glaze: In a small frying pan, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 cloves minced fresh garlic and 2 teaspoons of fresh ginger and fry until it becomes aromatic. Add hoisin sauce, soya sauce, oyster sauce, honey and Chinese five spice. If gluten intolerant or diabetic please read our substitution suggestion in the notes below. Cook over low heat for about 5-10 minutes until thick and caramelized. Set aside.
Place the chicken on the grill and carefully cover the lid of the grill. Cook the chicken low and slow. Enjoy a beer or a ginger-ale. About ¾ of the time in your cooking process or when the internal meat thermometer reads about 150-155 degrees F (65 to 68 degrees C) in the thigh of the chicken, start brushing your chicken all over with your thick and delicious Peking sauce. We brushed the chicken twice all over before taking the chicken off the BBQ grill. (Please remember to use indirect heat on the grill. do not place the chicken directly over the flames) However, because the temperature is very low and it is cooking in a aluminum pan it will still be okay. Our grill is quite small so we had to place the chicken in the center for it to fit.
How to know when your chicken is ready to eat? Your goal is to have the internal temperature with your meat thermometer read at least 165 degrees F (73 degrees C) in the meaty park of the thigh. The juices should run clear and the chicken should be a beautiful dark red bronze color . Depending on the size of your chicken (about 5 pounds) took about 2 hours on the grill. It takes roughly about 20 minutes per pound. Do not trust time, trust your meat thermometer as this is the only true way to know that your chicken is cooked perfectly.
Let your chicken rest for about 10 minutes. Lay your chicken on its side and carefully remove the beer can from the bottom of chicken. A pair of tongs, a fork and a second pair of hands is helpful. Wear kitchen gloves and be careful as the chicken and the beer can are very hot!
Place your Peking style beer butt chicken on a carving board and cut into servings and enjoy this delightful fall of the bone tender meal. If you happen to have thin Mandarin pancakes, sliced spring onions, cucumbers and hoisin sauce this would be fantastic to serve up just like Peking duck. Otherwise just delicious as it is with a side a Hong Kong fried rice and Chinese veggies like baby bok choy or snow peas.