What are you cooking with right now?

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Thu Nov 25, 2010 7:15 pm

No time for brisket. I'm going to braise a more tender piece of cow with shallots, garlic and beer.

Liffe is goodd.

G.M. Gillman · Post by **G.M. Gillman** » Fri Nov 26, 2010 10:20 am

In England, beer was used in many country dishes, perhaps not to the extent of Belgium, but if you trawl through collections of English regional recipes, as I have, many include beer, usually with beef or venison but sometimes pork, and with cheese of course (Welsh Rabbit and its variants). Here is a traditional recipe from the late Elizabeth David, the Julia Child of her era in England, with a similar influence but more scholarly. I like it because it is simple. It's called Sussex Stewed Steak.

Take the flat part of a brisket or any good stewing cut, top round say or a cut like that. A kilo is about right.

Flour it lightly with salt and pepper. No browning. Slice an onion or two and layer on the top. Then pour over the meat a few ounces, anywhere from half a cup to a cup depending on size of meat and dish, stout and port mixed. (Funny how port and stout intertwine in various contexts. If the beer is very rich like an Impy, you may not need the port, but it adds some winy richness). Cover and braise for long enough to tenderise and cook the meat, about 2.5 hours at 325 or more possibly. 350 works too, it's all a question of cooking long enough to get it tender and I find 325 is better but generally you need more time. This is not, despite the name, a stew, and the liquid left should be just enough to form a concentrated gravy, which you can de-fat or not as you wish. So you don't want to use a pint of liquid or anything like that. Can anything be more simple? You can play with herbal and spice additions but I like it as David recommended and for once the absence of garlic works to its advantage: classic, plain country English cooking.

Gary

northyorksammy · Post by **northyorksammy** » Fri Nov 26, 2010 10:50 am

we mostly use stronger abv beers (that i dont finish) for stews, particularly dark ales. Lighter coloured ales work in fish and vegetable stews

cannondale · Post by **cannondale** » Sun Jun 19, 2011 10:42 am

Braising some pork back ribs in homebrewed imperial stout. Will finish on grill with a stout-based BBQ sauce.

Happy Fathers Day!

icemachine · Post by **icemachine** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 8:25 am

Made fajitas on Saturday night with a Sinha based marinade. After the steak strips were marinated I reduced the marinade to create a glaze for the strips. Tasty.

turnleft · Post by **turnleft** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 3:00 pm

Has anyone figured out something to make with IPA or a hoppy pale ale? I'm afraid of reducing the beer down to pure bitterness. A good eats episode made some cheesey beer bread but thats not fancy enough.

I regularly make a poutine with short ribs braised in GR russian gun. My old lady makes a mean ice cream from black oak's cherry stout but thats all just the porter/stout/brown ale section.

Some ideas would be appreciated.

biegaman · Post by **biegaman** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 3:45 pm

turnleft wrote:Has anyone figured out something to make with IPA or a hoppy pale ale? I'm afraid of reducing the beer down to pure bitterness. A good eats episode made some cheesey beer bread but thats not fancy enough.
Some ideas would be appreciated.

IPAs are tough for that very reason. However, I have had a lot of success using fruity, floral (really overtly hoppy, as little balancing malt as possible) IPAs in a spicy jalapeno and cheddar cheese dip. The hops really accentuated the spice. (Bourbon is good for that same reason.) Don't forget, a little can go a long way (and you can always add more, if needed). I also used some in a hummus (but I wouldn't say that worked out quite as well).

The other thing it seemed to work OK (not great) for was as a marinade/glaze with some tequila for some grilled fish. I think I mixed it with some herbs (cilantro, I think), peppercorns, salt, lemon juice, garlic and butter (or oil). It was a few summer's ago so I'm sorry I don't remember the specifics, but it wasn't anything all that memorable anyway.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:04 pm

turnleft wrote:Has anyone figured out something to make with IPA or a hoppy pale ale? I'm afraid of reducing the beer down to pure bitterness. A good eats episode made some cheesey beer bread but thats not fancy enough.

I regularly make a poutine with short ribs braised in GR russian gun. My old lady makes a mean ice cream from black oak's cherry stout but thats all just the porter/stout/brown ale section.

Some ideas would be appreciated.

I tried to make a soup recipe that was in BA Magazine that was a Tomato soup with Bear Republic Red Rocket in it. The hops dominated the soup to the point of not being edible. Since then I haven't tried cooking with a hoppy beer...

turnleft · Post by **turnleft** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:15 pm

biegaman wrote:IPAs in a spicy jalapeno and cheddar cheese dip. The hops really accentuated the spice.

Thanks... I guess you have to stick with that sort of pairing. A good hoppy beer and spicy food work well, so combine those in the dish. Which is why stews & stouts work just right.

I'll have to give the cheese & spicy dip or soup a try.

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Sun Oct 09, 2011 9:19 pm

Doing a beef cheek braise with an '05 Berthoumieu Madiran. Great in the glass, lets see how it does in the pot. Before eating will 'lager' the cheeks for 2 days in the strained sauce; a good presentation is over egg noodles, slicing the tender meat neatly in small rounds with a very sharp knife.

No beers were harmed in the making of this recipe. (Used a dash of Oloroso Solera sherry, makes the house smell great.)

JeffPorter · Post by **JeffPorter** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 9:35 pm

biegaman wrote:
turnleft wrote:Has anyone figured out something to make with IPA or a hoppy pale ale? I'm afraid of reducing the beer down to pure bitterness. A good eats episode made some cheesey beer bread but thats not fancy enough.
Some ideas would be appreciated.
IPAs are tough for that very reason. However, I have had a lot of success using fruity, floral (really overtly hoppy, as little balancing malt as possible) IPAs in a spicy jalapeno and cheddar cheese dip. The hops really accentuated the spice. (Bourbon is good for that same reason.) Don't forget, a little can go a long way (and you can always add more, if needed). I also used some in a hummus (but I wouldn't say that worked out quite as well).

The other thing it seemed to work OK (not great) for was as a marinade/glaze with some tequila for some grilled fish. I think I mixed it with some herbs (cilantro, I think), peppercorns, salt, lemon juice, garlic and butter (or oil). It was a few summer's ago so I'm sorry I don't remember the specifics, but it wasn't anything all that memorable anyway.

I'll second this...think spicy...also,I don't use a Impy Stouts a lot for this reason either, because they often have a lot of hops hiding...Personally, I think hoppy beers are best for pairing. In fact, often I'll cook a spicy dish with a dark malty beer and then pair it with something hoppy.

I have however, heard ipas used in marinades for (as mentioned) fajitas ect...

In terms of what I like cooking, I like finding a good beer sub for a very traditionally wine-centred dish...bolognese...It's so good with a stout or porter, or a brown ale...in fact, while my homebrew brown ale isn't the best thing ever, it's great as a base (with veal stock) for tomato sauces...

Cass and Greg, if it's not too much to ask, and I know it's one more forum to moderate, but can we please have a beer and food forum? It would really be a great online space...

I just mentioned veal stock, and there might be someone on the forum who's thinking: "hmm, I'd like to make a nice veal stock, but don't know where to start" and it could really add to the education that you already so wonderfully provide...

Yeah, I'm sucking up, but I actually partly got into craft beer, through a food education (George Brown!) and am think that people might like a place to discuss not only cooking but also pairing...

Think about it, with every release we could talk about pairing for those beers: Celebrator (beef cheek/veg stew), Red Racer IPA (Thai Green Curry) Cuvee Rene (lemon-herb scallops w/ creamy linguine), LTM Baltic Porter (creme brulee)...

Ok - I'm done...

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 7:11 pm

Belgian wrote:Doing a beef cheek braise with an '05 Berthoumieu Madiran. Great in the glass, lets see how it does in the pot.

The sauce when cooled forms this deep intense red gel, the wine flavor works well in the dish. Awesome!

I'd like to find a few affordable wines for cooking. Maybe Chile or Argentina. Somewhere there's a NY times article, citing cheaper can be better. Certain more basic wines out-perform their much more expensive and refined counterparts. It all comes down to the chemical changes from extended heat.

I'm glad I got a few people cooking with Trois Pistoles which can work better than the pricier Chimay beers.

Ale's What Cures Ya · Post by **Ale's What Cures Ya** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 8:27 pm

I'm going to do something with one of the bottles of Schlenkerla Rauchbier I've got this weekend. Just not sure if I want to do ribs or a roast.

sprague11 · Post by **sprague11** » Sat Oct 22, 2011 10:24 pm

Ale's What Cures Ya wrote:I'm going to do something with one of the bottles of Schlenkerla Rauchbier I've got this weekend. Just not sure if I want to do ribs or a roast.

Can't really go wrong either way - Did a pulled pork a couple weeks ago and threw a few splashes in the marinade.

cannondale · Post by **cannondale** » Sun Oct 23, 2011 5:54 pm

Belgian wrote:I'm glad I got a few people cooking with Trois Pistoles which can work better than the pricier Chimay beers.

I had the flank steak with peppercorn sauce a la Trois Pistoles at Fourquet Fourchette in the Palais des Congres de Montreal last week. It is a worthy culinary ingredient to be certain, irrespective of price point! Not too shabby a drinker, either.