Among other things, I use beer in deep fried fish batter, Guinness beef stew, crock pot red beans and rice, Cajun peas & Tasso ham, and my special pomegranate balsamic barbecue sauce.
Beer Batter Fish & Chips
Ingredients:
1 pound firm fleshed fish fillets (cod, haddock, orange roughy, snapper, mahi-mahi, etc.)
28oz bag frozen steak fries, thawed
Canola oil, for deep frying
3 cups flour, divided
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 eggs
12 ounces stout beer
Instructions:
Cut the fish fillets into 4oz pieces. Place 1 cup of flour into a shallow pan. Mix the remaining 2 cups of flour with the baking powder, salt, pepper, eggs and beer in a large bowl and whisk it until you get a smooth batter.
Pour 3 inches of canola oil into a deep fat fryer or large pot and heat the oil to 325F. Put the steak fries in the hot oil and fry them for 2 to 3 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove the steak fries and place them on paper towels or a brown paper bag to drain.
Increase the oil temperature to 375F.
Dredge the fish fillets in the pan of flour, and then dip them into the batter, letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Gently lower the fish fillets into the hot oil and fry them for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until the batter is brown and crispy. Do not crowd the pan. Once they are browned, remove the fillets from the oil and allow them to drain on paper towels or a brown paper bag.
Put the steak fries into the 375F oil and fry until golden and crispy. Fish & chips is traditionally served wrapped in yesterday’s newspaper, with lemon wedges and tartar sauce for the fish and malt vinegar for the chips.
Guinness Beef Stew
Ingredients:
3½ to 4 lb boneless beef chuck roast, pulled apart at seams, trimmed, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
3 Tbs vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped fine
1 Tbs tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup all-purpose flour
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1¼ cups Guinness Draught
1½ Tbs packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp minced fresh thyme
1 ½ lb Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 Tbs minced fresh parsley
Instructions:
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add tomato paste and garlic and cook until rust-colored and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in broth, ¾ cup Guinness, sugar, and thyme, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in beef and return to simmer. Transfer to oven and cook, uncovered, for 90 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.
Stir in potatoes and carrots and continue cooking until beef and vegetables are tender, about 1 hour, stirring halfway through cooking. Stir in remaining ½ cup Guinness and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
Cajun Peas and Tasso
Ingredients:
2 Tbs unsalted butter
½ cup onion, chopped
1 small bell pepper, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8oz button mushrooms, quartered
8oz Tasso ham, diced*
1¼ cups low-sodium chicken stock
¼ cup dark beer
2 Tbs dry roux (recipe follows)
16oz bag petite*peas, thawed
⅛ tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
½ tsp salt, or to taste
3 cups cooked long-grain rice for serving
Instructions:
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, green pepper, and celery, and sauté*until golden and lightly caramelized, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the mushrooms and Tasso and cook another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and sauté*until fragrant, 30 to 45 seconds.
Combine the chicken stock and beer in a 2 quart measuring cup and stir in the dry roux until completely dissolved. Add the peas and cayenne and bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Serve over cooked long grain rice.
Pomegranate Balsamic Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients:
1 cup pomegranate balsamic vinegar
1½ tsp pomegranate molasses
3 Tbs Agave Nectar
2 Tbs light tasting olive oil
12 ounce bottle of stout beer
6oz tomato paste
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp Frank's Hot Sauce
1½ tsp whole grain mustard
¼ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup minced onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp grated ginger
½ tsp salt
Instructions:
In a medium sauce pan, sauté the onions in the olive oil until softened, but not browned. Add the minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, 30 to 45 seconds. Add the tomato paste and heat through, breaking it up as you stir, to cook out the raw tomato taste.
Once the tomato paste has heated through, add the pomegranate balsamic vinegar and stout beer and bring the sauce to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce to a simmer and add the agave nectar, pomegranate molasses, Frank’s hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and the whole grain mustard.
Add the brown sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved, then stir in the grated ginger and the salt. Allow the sauce to simmer for anywhere from 2 to 5 hours, until the sauce is rich and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon This sauce will keep for 1 week tightly covered in the refrigerator, or for 3 months in the freezer.
To bring your barbecue together, grill whatever meat, poultry or seafood you have chosen, ensuring the proper internal temperature with an instant read thermometer. Once cooked, coat one side with the barbecue sauce and grill it, sauce side down, for 3 to 4 minutes, until the barbecue sauce begins to bubble. Slather the top side with barbecue sauce, turn it over, and grill for 3 or 4 minutes longer, again until the sauce begins to bubble. Watch carefully because sugar burns easily.