The Prescription May 2009: Bourbon and Porter and Chicken

 ... oh my.

This month, a recipe for a Bourbon Barrel Smoked Porter to go with some Bourbon Honey Chicken. This recipe is a little heavier than last month, but is a good summer recipe for the grill. An ode to the grillmaster in all of us, if chicken isn't your thing, this could easily work well with pork, steak or even veggies (hobo style in a large foil packet on the grill?  why not).  In any case, mixing the marinade correctly and getting a good char on the food is key.  I used a wok for mine.  The BB Porter really serves as a good base for barbecue, already containing smoked malt, toasty oak, chocolate flavors, and a small amount of bourbon.  What you won't get are the bitter, roasty, and warming aspects of the beer, which I've chosen to pair with sweet and spicy notes in the marinade and glaze.

Bourbon Honey Chicken
Serves One. Adjust accordingly for more. 

Large Chicken Breast (I had a 3/4 lb boneless breast, adjust recipe accordingly)

Marinade:

1/4 Cup Bourbon Barrel Stout.  See recipe below, or find your own at the local store.
1 tbsp hot sauce (I chose to use the ubiquitous Cholula)
1 tbsp worchester sauce2 tbsp honey (any kind should work, I just used Grade A Wildflower found in the "honey bear")

Set aside 1/3rd of the marinade for the glaze. Marinade breast for 45 minutes to 2 hours. Cook chicken thoroughly and develop a good char.  Add 3 tbsp of honey to the rest of the marinade and top the chicken once cooked as a glaze.

Knockshock Bourbon Barrel Porter
5 Gallon Batch

9 lbs American 2-row
2.25 lbs Wyermann Smoked Malt

1.25 lbs Carafa

12 oz Munich

8 oz American Crystal 60L
10 oz American Chocolate
4 oz Amercian Black Patent
.25 Aromatic Malt

Mash at 143 Degrees for 50 minutes. Bring to boil.

Add 1 oz East Kent Goldings (6 AA) at 60 minutes.

Chill to 80 Degrees, pitch any "neutral yeast", aka, dry yeast or Calfornia Ale Yeast 

Ferment for 5 Days, Transfer; at 2 weeks add 2 oz of American Medium Toast Oak chips, soaked in 4 oz of Jim Beam for 2-3 Weeks.  Let sit in beer for 3 days, then bottle.  Ready to drink at 1 month to let the oak-beam flavor meld.  Also, before adding to the Beam, I would highly suggest boiling the chips 3-4 times (removing the water after each) to remove the tannins, and to toast them lightly in addition at the end to remove the water and add a nice, heavier toast to them. A good 20-40 minutes on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven should work nicely.

65% efficency

1.075 OG, 1.020 FG

27 IBU

36 SRM