Cooking with Beer

[DwarvenChef]

Anyone else here love to cook with beer?

I spent my college days finding ways to alter my chef's recipes to use beer in them. Was a blast finding new ways to twist recipes. I also have been collecting older cookbooks that use beer as an ingredient. Some are worth reading while many are rather drab and un-interesting.

One of my favorite things to do is to take a classic wine dish and find a beer that will replace it. Keeping with the basic flavor but twisting it just so :p I love bumping into classic dishes that I have never heard of that deal with beer. Or find the recipe for a name I've heard but didn't know what it was.

Anyone else out there with the same interests?

[C-Dawg]

coq a la bierre!

my buddy also dumps beers into the ground beef when he makes taco's.

i've been wanting to try something with beer and rice. i've come up with this so far:

dump chopped onions in a hot pan, then add bell peppers: green and red, and butter. make a little color, then throw in uncooked rice, basmati or jasmine. mix till rice is covered with the fat, then dump in beer and stock: 1:1. bring to a simmer, lower heat, cover, steam.

i wonder how that'll come out :D

if you haven't made coq a la bierre, you really should. i think you'll be able to find a recipe, but if not, i'll give you mine : )

[Octaveman]

I put beer in my chili and in my spaghetti sauce.

[Amadio]

I had a Lane cake once that was made with Beer frosting. It was part of a "To Kill a Mockingbird" class project in Highschool. Everyone tried making Lane cake, but anyone who couldn't get Brandy or Rye Whiskey would use what ever they had. One girl only had beer.

[chazcheese]

Boy am I with you here! I put beer in my Chili and spagehtti sauce as Octivman posted, tried without once and wife and kids asked what was wrong with the sauces. I also add beer to my BBQ sauce and I've toyed with the idea of substituting half the liquid in pancake batter with a lite beer, call me crazy but I like beer. Just ask my belly :D

[dynamitekid]

I'm really interested in cooking with beer and other varieties of alcohol. What kinds of beers(ales, lagers) do you folks recommend? What does the beer contribute to your cooking, specifically how does it taste when it's reduced and combined with other flavours? How do the results of the use of beer differ from wine in your dishes?

I'm all questions but I'd be very grateful for any input!

[kcmike]

One of my favorite uses for beer in cooking is in my sausage and peppers dish. It's really simple and very good. Basically, all you do is prep a pound of smoked sausage or kielbasa by cutting it in 2-3 inch sections then halving each of those. Pan fry them till they are good and caramelized on both sides and remove from pan. Then sauté some sliced green pepper and onions in the pan until they are softened. Finally, I de-glaze the pan with about half a bottle of a local Pale Ale (Boulevard) and reduce to form a thick pan sauce. Just before the reduction is finished, I toss in a small pat of butter to give the sauce a good sheen and velvety texture. Finally, put the cooked sausages and vegetables back into the pan and toss to cover with sauce and plate. You really gotta' try this.

[FRIEK]

i prefer to use beers i like to drink,but usually a stronger and darker beer imo is best.in a pinch budwieser or similier is good.

i use it in chili,krout and kielbasa,and also great to boil brats in prior to grilling.

[Lucas]

I'm a big fan of beer bread, especially if made with an ale on the lighter side of brown - makes for a subtle but still noticeable beer flavor. A dark chocolate stout makes for a great element in marinades for various proteins (meat, tofu, tempeh).

In addition to cooking with it, my dad also used beer for several lawn care purposes -- as a trap for pests in the garden and, for some unknown reason, as an additive/fertilizer for the grass.

[Octaveman]

i prefer to use beers i like to drink,but usually a stronger and darker beer imo is best.in a pinch budwieser or similier is good.

Huh? You think strong dark beers are best then you say Bud is good in a pinch? That's on the complete other side of the spectrum as it's not strong and not dark...pretty much aweful, really. Um, yeah, I wouldn't use Bud for anything other than cleaning my driveway. :cool:

[FRIEK]

i cant always afford to drink what i truley like,especially on binge nights when a case can be put away by me.
budwieser isnt bad imo.
but it isnt no great bear either.

[bishop]

I braise things in beers all the time. My favorite is short ribs in a something dark and exciting. Recently, I've been coming back to the O'Fallon's Smoked Porter (http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3268/7675) as my go-to braising beer as it gives meat the nicest, sweet-smokey aroma and a very subtle smoke flavor.

[playford]

guinness is great in a beef stew.

also lamb rogan josh, uses lager, i use cobra and singha, but heineken will do.

u want the recipe for the curry dc?

[playford]

Lamb Rogan Josh

Ingredients
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 large onion, roughly chopped
thumb-size piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp tomato purée
4 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee (clarified butter)
1kg/2¼lb casserole lamb (i debone a lamb shoulder), cut into bite-size cubes
8-10 cardamom pods, lightly crushed with the back of a spoon
300ml/10fl oz lager



Method
1. In a food processor, blend together the garlic, onion, ginger, all of the ground spices, salt and tomato purée.(MORTAR AND PESTLE WILL DO)
2. Heat the oil or ghee in a large saucepan or flameproof casserole and add the lamb pieces and cardamom pods. Quickly fry until the lamb is browned all over. This may need to be done in 2 batches, depending on the size of your pan. Stir in the spicy paste and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in the lager and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook for about 1-1¼ hours, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and the lamb is lovely and tender. Leave the dish to relax for 5 minutes before serving.

PERSONALLY I USE HALF A TSP OF CINNAMON AND RAMP UP THE CHILI.

if you cant get ghee add some butter instead.

[Arturo]

Nice I love lamb, I'll have to try that! My favorite beer dish is (hands down) is carbonade. I use the recipe from the book Delouvrier's book Mastering Simplicity. But here is a nice one

http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1787.html

[BrandonNothing]

There's a new beer magazine called Draft that's published in Phoenix (where I live). They had a few recipes in the issue that I read, they all looked pretty good. I haven't had a chance to try them yet though. They were Beer Braised Short Ribs, Mussels and Rock Shimp with Porter and Italian Sausage and a Beef Stew with Beer. The short rib recipe was from Beau MacMillan, he was on Iron Chef a few months ago.

The magazine is pretty cool too, it is definatly worth checking out if you like beer. It reminds me of Cigar Afficionado.