Beer in cooking?

I've been trying to use beer in cooking i.e using beer in the frying or crock pot slow cooking of hot food.

I'm not having much success. I found - and then subsequently read - that only very freshly opened bottle/can or freshly poured draught beer should be used. A few hours old or, even worse, overnight fridge stored beer will destroy the food.

But despite using good beer I can't seem to positively impact the taste of the food - it ends up tasting of stale beer or of no beer at all.

Clearly, ale is a traditional ingredient in British food (at least south of the Scottish border) so why is it so bloody difficult to create a decent meal using beer?

I've tried beer in slow cooker recipes (a no go because the long cooking process renders the beer stale); I've tried it in fried of oven baked recipes (another no go because the taste is too strong - the oven recipes appear to be a bit better than the fried though).

I've used bottle conditioned real ales, bottled real ales, draught real ales and even popular lager brews. The best result, so far, has been Hoegaarden which imparted a nice and subtle fresh yeasty and wheat filled taste to the (partially) slow cooked lamb and potatoes. Someone who tasted the food - and didn't know that I had added Hoegaarden - described the meal as reminding them of wheat fields (make of that what you will!) I don't know why Hoegaarden is so easy to cook with - it just seems to produce good and almost (but not quite) fool proof results.

My own theory is that beer in general is difficult to cook with because of the water:alcohol ratio. Wine is easier because you simply burn away the alcohol in which case you are left with a sophisticated grape juice or you add wine to a slow cooked meal for taste and an explicit acknowledgement that the food contains wine.

But beer, culturally, doesn't have the same role. Beer is at its best when it is least visible and least apparent. It's valued the most when it isn't in the hands and mouths of chavs gagging for a fight on a Friday and Saturday evening. The quiet and respectful mind your own business approach of real ale makes it the most suitable brew for cooking - but also, as I'm finding, the most bloody difficult to cook with. A few years ago Marks and Sparks sold a steak and ale pie which I have never before or since tasted the likes of. A work of pure genius.

Would anyone be able to recommend an easily available brew (available nationally) with which to cook and maybe a recipe?

Gareth.

Reply to
Gareth
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I like the flavour that beer imparts on food but I don't find that flavour beery if that makes sense. I'm not an expert but I find that strong ales incl barley wines, porters and stouts work best.

Brett

Reply to
Brett...

pot slow cooking of hot food. Very Big Snip>

nationally) with which to cook and maybe a recipe?

Hi Gareth, I passed on your request to uk.food+drink.misc as it seemed more their subject. The first reply is to suggest this site.

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Do you want me to pass on any more replies or will you look yourself?

Reply to
Dave Croft
Reply to
The Submarine Captain

Oh Yea! Use it in onion ring batter. Truly wonderful.

My fav beer batter rings come from Ye Jolly Farmers in Dalton (nr Thirsk). But they might use a heavier, darker brew. great stuff.

nick

Reply to
nick

In article , Christine writes

I'd like to try that - any chance of a recipe?

Thanks

Reply to
Kev Crocombe

Hobgoblin makes good beer batter too :-)

I usually use a dark lager (Sapporo Ebisu black beer) when making a stew, as I usually have a 10 litre keg on tap, but t'other day made meat pies using a can of Bass. They turned out pretty good.

Wayne

Reply to
Wayne

Alas not for the Simpkiss Old... ;-)))

But for the cake:

Take a large saucepan. Pour into it half a pint of beer. Add 4 oz butter, 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda (which will make it froth up), 6oz dark brown barbados sugar, 6 oz currants, 6 oz sultanas or raisins, 2 oz chopped peel,

1 heaped teaspoon mixed spice (I generally use 1 level tsp ground cinnamon, half a nutmeg ground, quarter teaspoon ground ginger) 1 oz chopped cherries. Bring to the boil and simmer one minute. Allow to cool.

Line a 7 inch square or 8 inch round cake tin with greased greaseproof paper.

Now to the cooled mixture, add 2 beaten eggs, 4 oz plain wholewheat flour,

4 oz self-raising wholewheat flour and a pinch of salt. Mix well and place in tin.

Bake in centre oven, Gas 4, 350F, 180C, for 75 to 90 minutes. You will know it's done when it stops singing.

Oh - and remember to drink the other half of the pint of beer...

Reply to
Christine

In article , Christine writes

Many thanks - I'll give that a go tomorrow - Cheers!

Reply to
Kev Crocombe

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