Subscribe NOW

 

Brewing additions

Cooking with beer, from entrees to dessert
by Lacey Griebeler

 

Braising, poaching, deglazing, baking: There is no doubt that wine and spirits are the routine choices in myriad cookings applications. Today, more restaurants are adding beer to that list of go-to alcoholic cooking liquids. The reason is in part due to the trend of pairing beer with dishes, and incorporating beer into the food is the next logical step.

“I think it’s an outgrowth of pairing, and I think pairing is an outgrowth of brewpubs, where they’re creating beer and food at the same place,” says Leah Caplan, chef-proprietor of The Washington Hotel (www.thewashingtonhotel.com), located on Washington Island, Wis. “When you’re pairing food and anything, whether it’s wine or beer or spirits, you’re usually looking either to contrast or to complement and enhance using the same characteristics. The most direct way to get those same characteristics in a dish is to put the beer or the wine or the spirit into that dish.” (Image shown here: American lamb loin marinated in Guinness and clover honey. See below for a complete recipe.)

The trend can also be credited to the rise of microbreweries and an increasing interest in more flavorful craft beers, according to Kevin Reading, executive chef and owner of Nage Restaurant (www.nagerestaurant.com), in Rehoboth Beach, Del., and Washington, D.C. “Why I think chefs are [cooking with beer] is because of the advent of the microbreweries that are offering such distinctive styles of beers that lend themselves a lot to food. Whether they are flavored with apricots or the double bocks or the nice, rich stouts, [craft breweries] are now having a lot more characteristics to their beers, and they can lend themselves a little more toward food-friendly recipes.”

Caplan agrees. “Generally, the flavors in a craft beer are a little more complex than a mass-produced one, or there are some subtleties in there. It’s usually what makes them more ‘pairable,’ if you will. There are those more complex flavors in craft beers and [a] higher quality that is something you want to put in your food.”

“There are some brewers who brew a beautiful balance and can bring out the essence of whatever they’re trying to produce,” adds Reading. “And with the availability in the worldwide market of beers right now, I think they rival and are just as exciting as the wine world.”

According to Caplan, beer is more approachable than wine, both in the glass and on the plate. “It’s because beer—even great beers that have complexity—is still a much more straightforward beverage than wine. … Beer is very easy to drink with many, many different kinds of food. And from there, with some experimenting, it’s quite easy to cook with, too.”

 

Beer in entrées

When adding beer to savory presentations, Reading suggests taking note of the alcohol level of the beer. “Understand the alcohol content because that can take over the recipe and give it an off-flavor.”

Lambics and other high-alcohol beers, he explains, are good for deglazing because some of the alcohol can be evaporated, and thus, the flavor won’t take over the dish. Lighter beers are better for poaching preparations, especially with shrimp and other seafood. “So the idea with the beer is if something is delicate and light, you want to stay with a lighter-style beer to not overpower the star of the show, when the star of the show should be your protein,” he says. (Shown here, beer braised mussels with smoked onions.)

At Nage Restaurant, Reading makes mussels braised in Hoegaarden (www.inbev.com), a Belgian-style, unfiltered wheat beer with citrusy notes and hints of coriander. The dish is rounded out by chorizo, tomatoes and Vidalia onions that have been brined and smoked with mesquite. “A really nice, tangy dish, and that’s because the main component of it is the wheat beer.”

It takes some experimenting to adjust to cooking with beer, says Caplan. “We all are accustomed to cooking with wine and certain spirits, but it’s a very different approach because when you’re using wine, the main thing you’re adding to the food is acid. And with beer, you’re not really getting that. You’re getting a richness.”

Caplan recommends finding ways to capitalize on the bubbles in beer, which can provide a lightness to foods. Batters, dumplings, even matzo balls can be enhanced by adding beer. Also keep in mind the flavor profile already present in the dish, and try to complement that with a suitable beer. “For example, if you’re steaming clams in beer, you want a really light, crisp ale,” Caplan says. “Whereas if you’re putting it in a chili or a venison stew or something heavier, you’d definitely want to use something deeper and rounder.”

Another way to find compatible beer and food pairings is to collaborate with a local brewer. When Reading came up with the idea to do monthly brewmaster dinners, a five-course meal designed by pairing and cooking with beers from a local craft brewery, he turned to friend Sam Calagione, owner and founder of Milton, Del.-based Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (www.dogfish.com) to see if he’d be interested in participating. Collaborating with a brewer can provide insight into the food-friendly flavor makeup of beer, leading to combinations that you may not have thought of, while drawing locavore customers. To find out more about craft brewing and to locate a craft brewery near you, visit the Brewers Association at www.beertown.org.

 

Beer in desserts

“Some of my most successful dishes with beer have been desserts,” Caplan reveals, and one that’s a tried-and-true favorite at The Washington Hotel is stout spice cake. “The stout rounds out and enhances the spices and other dark, rich flavors that are in a spice cake.”

She has also found that an ice cream float can be turned grown-up by filling the glass with Autumnal Fire, a malty doppelbock from Capital Brewery (www.capital-brewery.com), Middleton, Wis. “[Autumnal Fire] is a nice, deep, rich beer, and I’ve made floats with it and ginger ice cream. I do find that using aromatic spices and beer really go together well,” she says, adding that she’s also made a fruity version with lemon sorbet and Wisconsin Belgian Red, an ale brewed with local cherries, from New Glarus Brewing Co. (www.newglarusbrewing.com), New Glarus, Wis.

Pairing beer with ice cream is also done at Nage Restaurant, says Reading. For one of the brewmaster dinners, pastry chef Erin Baehman took the barley-rich World Wide Stout from Dogfish Head and reduced it to a syrup or caramel, which was then added to an ice cream base. “It’s pretty straightforward,” Reading says. “But it’s really delicious.”

 

 

Feature Recipe: American Lamb Loin Marinated in Guinness and Clover Honey

Executive chef/owner Jennifer Jasinski, Rioja Restaurant, Denver

Photo courtesy of American Lamb Board

 

Yield: 12 servings

 

Lamb Loin

6 cans (14.9 oz. each) Guinness or dark beer

2 1/4 cups clover honey

6 T. fresh thyme leaves

6 T. black peppercorns

6 (about 1 lb. each) American Lamb boneless lamb loin, trimmed of surface fat and silver skin

3 T. Olive oil, divided

Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes (recipe below)

Braised Cipollini Onions (recipe below)

3 bunches chervil, for garnish

Sauce (recipe below)

 

Method (1) In saucepan combine beer, honey, thyme and peppercorns. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring until honey dissolves; chill. Reserve 4 1/2 cups marinade for cipollini onions, and reserve 4 1/2 cups marinade for sauce. Place lamb in nonreactive pan, and pour remaining chilled marinade over lamb. Cover, refrigerate, and marinate, 2-4 hours. Remove lamb from marinade, and discard marinade. (2) In large skillet, heat 1 T. oil over medium-high heat. Quickly brown lamb on both sides in batches, adding additional oil, as needed. Place loins in shallow roasting pan. Roast in 400°F oven for 16-18 minutes or to desired degree of doneness (145°F medium-rare, 160°F medium or 170°F well). Cover, and let stand, 5-10 minutes. Internal temperature will rise approximately 5-10°F upon standing. (3) To serve: Divide potatoes among 12 warm plates. Carve lamb loin and fan over potatoes; top with onions. Drizzle sauce all around the plate and garnish with chervil sprigs. Serve with remaining sauce.

 

Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes

12-15 large Yukon Gold potatoes

9 T. unsalted butter, divided

Salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

6 T. fresh Italian parsley leaves, chopped

 

Method (1) Cut potatoes into neat 3/4-inch squares. Melt 4 1/2 T. butter in large skillet; add half of the potatoes, and cook over medium-high heat, tossing gently until lightly browned on all sides. Repeat process, preparing all potatoes. (2) Spread on full sheet pan, and season with salt and pepper. Bake in 400°F oven until tender, about 10 minutes. Keep warm, and toss with parsley just before serving.

 

Braised Cipollini Onions

6 T. olive oil, divided

48 cipollini onions, peeled

4 1/2 c. reserved Guinness marinade

6 c. chicken stock

6 T. butter

3 T. clover honey

1 1/2 t. salt

3/4 t. freshly ground pepper

 

Method (1) In large skillet, heat 2 T. oil over medium-high heat. Add onions; cook, and stir until browned on all sides. Cook in batches, adding oil as needed. Using slotted spoon, transfer onions to roasting pan. (2) Pour off excess oil, and deglaze skillet with reserved Guinness marinade. Cook until liquid is reduced to 3 c. Add chicken stock, and bring to a boil; pour over onions. (3) Cover, and bake in 400°F oven for 30 minutes or until onions are tender. Remove onions from juice, and keep warm. Reserve juice for lamb sauce. (4) Just before serving, melt butter and honey in large skillet; add onions, and cook over medium-high heat until glazed; season with salt and pepper.

 

Sauce

4 1/2 c. reserved Guinness marinade

Reserved juice from braised onions

6 c. lamb or veal broth, prepared from demi glace

3/4 c. chilled butter, cut into chunks

1 1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

 

Method (1) To make sauce, pour other 4 1/2 c. reserved marinade for sauce and juice from cooked onions into a saucepot, and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to about 3 3/4 c. (2) Add lamb broth from demi glace, and heat through. Add butter, and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper; keep warm.

 

 

Beer and food event

Here is a sampling of savory and sweet foods prepared with beer—as well as suggested pairings with some of the participating craft breweries—at the inaugural Savor: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience, which occurred last month in Washington, D.C., in honor of American Craft Beer Week. For more information, visit the Brewers Association at www.beertown.org.

 

Bite-size stout burgers on brioche rolls with sauteed onions and Roma tomato slices

Suggested pairing: pilsner or dry stout

• Dark Starr Stout, Starr Hill Brewing Co., Charlottesville, Va. (www.starrhill.com)

• Session Lager, Full Sail Brewing Co., Hood River, Ore. (www.fullsailbrewing.com)

 

Lager-steamed Thai turkey and shiitake dumplings with pale ale sweet and sour dipping sauce

Suggested pairing: American pale ale

• American Pale Ale, Stoudts Brewing Co., Adamstown, Pa. (www.stoudtsbeer.com)

• Chesapeake Pale Ale, Williamsburg AleWerks, Williamsburg, Va. (www.williamsburgalewerks.com)

• Liquid Sunshine Blonde Ale, Hoppy Brewing Co., Sacramento, Calif. (www.hoppy.com)

• Saranac Pale Ale, The Matt Brewing Co., Utica, N.Y. (www.saranac.com)

• Shoals Pale Ale, Smuttynose Brewing Co., Portsmouth, N.H. (www.smuttynose.com)

• Summerfest Lager, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, Calif., (www.sierranevada.com)

 

Pan-seared pilsner sirloin tips with shiitake-blue cheese sauce

Suggested pairing: dark lager or brown ale

• Black Jack Porter, Free State Brewing Co., Lawrence, Kan. (www.freestatebrewing.com)

• Organic Dread Brown Ale, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, Santa Cruz, Calif. (www.santacruzmountainbrewing.com)

• Palo Santo Marron, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Rehoboth Beach, Del. (www.dogfish.com)

• Samuel Adams Boston Lager, Boston Beer Co. (www.samueladams.com)

• Sprecher Pub Brown Ale, Sprecher Brewing Co. Inc., Glendale, Wis. (www.sprecherbrewery.com)

• Troegenator Double Bock, Tröegs Brewing Co., Harrisburg, Pa. (www.troegs.com)

• Veritas 003, Port Brewing Co. and The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, Calif. (www.lostabbey.com)

 

Chicken breast a La Blanche de Chambly

Suggested pairing: witbier or summer ale

• Boscos Hefeweizen, Boscos Brewing Co., Memphis, Nashville and Cool Springs, Tenn., and Little Rock, Ark. (www.boscosbeer.com)

• Saranac Pomegranate Wheat, The Matt Brewing Co., Utica, N.Y. (www.saranac.com)

 

Mini stout chocolate cherry scones

Suggested pairing: dry or sweet stout or brown ale

• Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, Brooklyn Brewery, New York City (www.brooklynbrewery.com)

• Wolaver's Certified Organic Brown Ale, Otter Creek Brewing, Middlebury, Vt. (www.ottercreekbrewing.com/wolavers)

 

Fudge stout brownies

Suggested pairing: coffee stout or barrel-aged stout

• Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout, Great Divide Brewing Co., Denver (www.greatdivide.com)

• Schlafly Reserve 2006 Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, The St. Louis Brewery Inc., Maplewood, Mo. (www.schlafly.com)