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The more you drink…the more I want to cook with it! So many interviews have started with “What’s your favorite beer?” My typical response is “What ya got?”
Am I drinking it, cooking with it, or pairing it with a dish? This is obviously a loaded question for the Brew Chef, and I really don’t have a straight or truthful answer. Over the years, I have had a couple of abominations among the hundreds of successful combinations.
One staple that remains tried and true is beans and beer. Although a combustible mixture for some (this is where Beano comes in), this is a great way to prepare any member of the legume family. First of all, soaking dry beans in beer will soften, tenderize, and impart additional flavor. Cooking the beans in beer, whether blanching them for a bean salad or cooking them until very tender and almost “stew” like, such as baked beans. Another way of adding the wonderful nuances of beer is by including it in a dressing or vinaigrette to accompany a bean recipe.
There are hundreds of varieties of beans. You can usually purchase dry, uncooked beans in a one pound bag in the starch aisle of your supermarket near the pasta, flour, and cornmeal. In the canned goods section you can select from an array of cooked beans. The majority of the dried bean varieties can be found here prepared and ready to use.
Beerbeque Baked Beans
This versatile stout enhanced BBQ sauce blends sweet and tangy flavors with a nice final smack of spice. This recipe calls for pre-cooked canned beans. I like to use white beans. You can use any bean you choose, just don’t forget the beer! Double this recipe it will only take about 30 minutes to prep and another 30 to cook and you will end up with enough to feed 10-plus friends.
Ingredients:
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 small white onion, minced
4 ounces stout
6 ounces chili sauce
2 ounces BBQ sauce (any kind will do)
6 ounces grape jelly
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon Cajun or BBQ spice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
Cracked black pepper to taste
Dash Tabasco sauce
36 ounce can cooked white beans, rinsed
8 slices of bacon
Method:
Place all of the ingredients, except the beans, in a heavy bottom 2 quart sauce pan. Bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally and cook for an additional 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly. Add the beans to the BBQ Sauce place in a shallow pan top with the slices of bacon and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
Three Bean Brown Ale Vegetable Chili
(Simmered with beer and topped with tequila lime sour cream and spicy tortilla crisps.)
Although I didn’t fight my way to the top of the food chain by eating only vegetables, I do love this heart healthy veggie version. The combination of the three different beans and lots of vegetables and the malty nuttiness of brown ale creates this belly warming delight. Kick the spice up to your desired level. Add more jalapeños and habaneros, the cool tequila lime sour cream will chill the bite right down. (Along with the cold brown ale.) Brooklyn Brown is one of my favorites with this recipe. Enjoy!!
Ingredients for the chili:
1/2 cup olive oil
12 coves garlic
1 white onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
10 ounces shiitake mushroom caps, quartered
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 large jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
1 habanero chile, seeded and minced
6 ounces Brown Ale
32 ounces crushed tomato
2 cups cooked white beans
2 cups cooked kidney beans
2 cups cooked black beans
1 tablespoon chili spice
1 cup cilantro leaves, washed
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked blacked pepper
1 tablespoon Tabasco
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Method:
In a heavy bottom eight quart pot, heat olive oil for two minutes. Add the garlic cloves, stir and cook until golden. Stir in onion, cook for two minutes. Add the carrot, cook for two minutes until just tender. Add celery, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and peppers. Stir and cook for an additional two minutes. Add the beer, tomato, beans, and chili spice. Stir and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, Tabasco and Worcestershire, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
For the tequila lime sour cream:
1 pint sour cream
1-2 ounces tequila
2 limes, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Method:
Blend all ingredients together and chill.
For the tortilla crisps:
12 6-inch corn tortillas white, yellow, red or blue, or all, sliced into thin strips
Kosher salt
black pepper
cayenne pepper
Method:
Fry the tortilla strips in preheated 350 degrees vegetable oil, for approximately three minutes until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove tortilla crisps and place on paper towel to drain, immediately season with salt, pepper, and cayenne.
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