Beer-braised spatchcock

SERVES 6

The great thing about this beer is that it works so wonderfully with the delicate nature and sweetness of the spatchcock. The Franziskaner Hefe Weissbier is a lovely rich, cloudy wheat beer with notes of banana, clove and other fruity and sour overtones. The salty sweetness of the prosciutto complements the banana and clove character in the beer, the sourness of the wheat enhances the delicate flavour of the bird and the prunes and apricot lift it all up. In my opinion, wheat beers are great beers to cook with. If you can’t get Franziskaner you could use Schöfferhofer, Erdinger, Hoegaarden or a local wheat beer.

6 x 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) spatchcocks (poussins) for one per person or

3 x 800 g (1 lb 12 oz) spatchcocks for half per person

24 dried prunes

24 dried apricots

12 prosciutto slices

olive oil

2 x 500 ml (17 fl oz) bottles Franziskaner Hefe Weissbier (see note)

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). Wash and dry the spatchcocks. Place the prunes and apricots into the cavities of the birds and tie the legs together, then wrap the prosciutto around the birds and secure with toothpicks. If you are using the bigger birds then put 8 prunes and 8 apricots in each bird and wrap each bird in 4 slices of the prosciutto. Brown each bird on all sides in a hot frying pan with olive oil then place in a roasting tin.

Pour in the beer so that it comes about halfway up the side of the birds. Cover the tray with foil, tightly sealing the sides — use two pieces of foil to form a tent over the top of the tray. Once tightly sealed, pierce the foil once so the steam can escape then place in the oven. Cook for 1½–2 hours, or until the juices run clear when pierced with a skewer.

Remove the spatchcocks from the pan and keep warm. Pour the pan juices through a sieve and into a small clean saucepan, bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and reduce the juice down to about a third and until it has a nice shiny consistency.

Place a whole or half spatchcock on a plate, depending on how you are serving it, and drizzle some of the sauce around and over it. Serve with a green salad and a side of rice or a medley of seasonal steamed vegetables.

There are two Franziskaner Hefe Weissbiere — a pale or ‘hell’ and a dark or ‘dunkel’. For this recipe use the pale as it complements the spatchcock. If you can’t get Franziskaner, try a locally made German-style wheat beer.