Cooking with Beer: A Winning Formula

Brewpubs across the US, trendy European gastro-pubs and up-market eateries in many countries are all doing it: cooking with beer.

Beer is a versatile beverage that can add flair and flavor to simple dishes both sweet and savory.

The benefits of using beer as a staple ingredient in a wide range of recipes are well documented. Beer lends itself to many different food preparation techniques including marinating, deglazing, simmering, poaching, braising, stewing and baking.

From casseroles and fish recipes to cakes and desserts, your favorite brew can transform even the most traditional dishes.

Advantages of Cooking with Beer
The main benefits of cooking with beer are threefold:

• The hop content of beer adds bitterness and acidity.
• The malt content adds a subtle sweetness.
• The yeast content produces a light, fluffy texture especially good in batters. Yeast can also help to tenderize tougher cuts of meat.

Tips for Cooking with Beer
The following are some easy ways to incorporate beer into a given recipe:

• Substitute part of the liquid content in traditional brownie recipes with the equivalent volume of stout.
• Slow cook beef casseroles in a combination of beef stock and brown ale for a richer meal.
• Use beer for making batters: deep frying food in beer batter yields light, golden, fluffy and crisp results.
• Steam shellfish in beer for wonderful flavor.
• Deglazing refers to adding liquid to a pan in which food has just been sautéed to make a quick sauce. When using beer in cooking, especially for deglazing, remember that the beer’s natural flavors become more concentrated as its alcohol and water content evaporate.
• For a professional tasting glaze, baste a ham several times during roasting with the beer of your choice.
• Avoid flavor overkill: cook with a beer that doesn't overwhelm the flavor of the other ingredients in the recipe.

Beer can substitute for wine or water in many of your favorite recipes, adding a distinctive flavor. Lighter beers, such as pale ales and lagers, will thin batters and are delicious in bread and pancake recipes. Or try steaming shellfish, mussels or shrimp in beer instead of water for a tangy taste that complements the saltiness of the seafood. Beer also makes a wonderful marinade or sauce for grilling and roasting your favorite meats and vegetables.

If you enjoy the taste of a cold beer, you’ll love the rich, unique flavor that it can add to favorite recipes. And when you’re planning a meal, consider the various tastes of the many beers available today, and how they pair with the food you serve. You’ll find that beer on the menu will add a delicious flavor that makes food taste better than ever.

    When choosing which beer to serve with a particular course or dish, remember that light beer goes best with lighter foods, and heavy beer with heavier foods. Pick a beer to either match or counteract the flavor of the food — for example, a sweet beer is good with both salty dishes and with some sweet desserts. Or try selecting a beer from the same region of the world as the cuisine being served. If in doubt, an American lager or ale can always be used as a delightful complement to any meal.

Brewing Up A Great Meal

From Dips to Desserts, the secret ingredient in many tasty recipes is beer.

Beer is America's beverage and is a delicious accompaniment to just about any food.  But the next time you're in the kitchen, think of the rich and varied flavors of beer in a different way.  Rather than stopping with a glassful as a beverage, try beer as an ingredient in a favorite recipe.

From the tangy flavor of a Lager to the rich smoky flavor of Porters, the wide range of beer styles available today will make any dish more tasty.  When considering which beer to add to a recipe, think about the overall dish: is it light and subtle in flavor?  If so, choose a light beer, like a Pilsner or a Pale Ale.  Fruity or sweet?  Go for a fruit Lambic or a flavored beer such as cherry or apricot.  Barbecue is delicious enhanced with a smoky Porter beer.  Other rich meaty dishes like stews and chillies work well with Stouts.  And the yeast flavor of breads and pancakes can be enhanced with a Wheat beer.

Here are some ideas to get you started in the tasty world of "Cooking with Beer."  Do not be intimidated about trying to substitute beer for other liquids in your favorite recipes.  Chances are, you will have an even tastier dish.