The Art of Beer Cooking: Oktoberfest Edition

Happy Oktoberfest! Time to break out the lederhosen!

If you’re in Wisconsin, apparently the place to be this weekend is in Lacrosse for the annual Oktoberfest celebrations. Unfortunately I will not be at the festivities and will instead be partaking in another Wisconsin tradition, drinking at the Brewers game. Go Brew Crew!

If you are celebrating Oktoberfest you are pretty much obligated to indulge in German food and wash it all down with pints of beer. It’s tradition, of course. Did you know at the annual Oktoberfest in Munich they consume over 7 million liters of beer? Sounds like a good time to me.

Here are some a few great traditional German recipes to bring a little bit of Germany to your kitchen this weekend. They don’t have beer as an ingredient, but instead drink a few (or more) while cooking.

Homemade Pretzels

Schnitzel in a creamy mushroom sauce

Spaetzle

In honor of the festivities, here’s a classic picture of me chugging a bier in Munich. Sehr gut!

The Art of Beer Cooking: Pumpkin Beer Bread

It’s getting chilly in the Midwest and fall is rapidly approaching which means we have some tasty foods coming our way. One of my favorite fall ingredients is pumpkin because it’s so versatile. Make it savory or sweet, it’s always delicious!

This week’s recipe is an introduction to fall with pumpkin beer bread. It creates a loaf similar to a banana bread with the sharp flavor of beer bread. I made it earlier this week and my roommate and I have already polished it off and are starting on the second loaf. Next time I make it I might add some walnuts for a little bit of texture and crunch.

What you’ll need

3 1/4 c flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 c water
1/3 c ground flaxseed
2 1/2 c sugar
2/3 c canola oil
2/3 c honey beer (room temp)
3 eggs
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and pie spice in a medium bowl.

In a separate bowl combine sugar, oil, beer and eggs. Beat with a mixer until well blended. Add flaxseed, water and pumpkin and beat at low speed until just blended. Add the flour mixture and mix into the batter.

Divide batter between 2 (9 x 5 in) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. If you want to make sure it’s done insert a knife into the center and make sure it comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!

The Art of Beer Cooking: Gruyere-Stuffed Grilled Shrimp

Who doesn’t love anything wrapped in bacon? I know many vegetarians that will put their feelings aside and make an exception for the salty, crispy meat. This appetizer is a great end-to-summer dish combining shrimp, cheese, bacon and a savory ale dipping sauce. What a mouth-watering combination.

The recipe calles for a saison-stlye ale which comes from the French word for season. Saison ale was originally brewed in the french-speaking regions of Belgium for the hard working farmers during the harvest season – hence the name. If you can’t find a saison ale, any summer style ale will work seamlessly in this dish.

Ingredients

• 6 ounces saison-style ale
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 2 teaspoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 18 slices pancetta or bacon
• 18 tail-on jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese

Pour ale into a saucepan and let carbonation settle. Add butter, water, mayonnaise and mustard to ale and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes until reduced to a creamy consistency. Stir in lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook pancetta or bacon until half-cooked but still pliable. Remove from pan and cool.

Slice each shrimp lengthwise about 2/3 of the way through, creating a pocket. Fill pockets with cheese and pinch shrimp closed. Wrap each with 1 strip of pancetta in a spiral. Secure with toothpick.

Arrange shrimp on baking sheet. Bake until golden, turning once, about 3 minutes on each side. Serve shrimp with Saison Dipping sauce and enjoy!

Art of Beer Cooking: Rauchbier Marinated Pork and Roasted Vegetables

The challenge was posed and now I’m curious to hear how you prepared your dish. I decided to marinate the pork shoulder in a rauchbier, cayenne pepper marinade for 6 hours and pan-fry it to temperature after searing both sides and then adding the beer-inade.

I took the beets, fingerling potatoes and julienned carrots, drizzled them with olive oil, a pinch of salt and fresh parsley, and roasted them at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. At the 15 minute mark for the vegetables, I sauteed the kale with cracked red pepper, a pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper for 15 minutes. T-minus 2 minutes–fry an egg, over easy.

Now, it’s Zero-Hour. The moment I was waiting for. I placed the sauteed kale in a shallow bowl with the roasted beets and potatoes over the top. Next, the pork shoulder carefully placed atop the beets. Finally, the egg to top it all off. Add a beer of your choosing and enjoy.

Up for the challenge? Send the pictures of your dish to us at MidwestBeer on Twitter or post your pictures on Facebook.

Art of Beer Cooking: Rauchbier Marinated Pork Shoulder with Fried Egg and Roasted Beets

For today’s installment of Art of Beer Cooking, I’d like to try something a little different. Last Christmas, I bought a share at a CSA in Boyceville, Wisconsin called Eener Farms for my parents. Now, the vegetables are flowing in each week and my master plan to get my parents to branch out in their diets is coming up short. So, its fallen to me to get creative and hone my own culinary skill set.

In this spirit, I’d like to offer up a sort of challenge, or perhaps a call to culinary action. With a package of kale and beets, I wanted to replicate a version of one of the most delicious dishes I’ve ever had from the Strip Club Meat and Fish in St. Paul: pork belly and fried egg on a bed of roasted beets. I don’t have a solid recipe to go off, so I have decided to create my own; but I also want to take it to the next step by asking you, our readers, to join in this endeavor and create your own twist on this recipe.

The main ingredients:

- Your favorite cut of pork (I’m using a beautifully marbled pork shoulder)

- Beets (straight from the farm or farmer’s market)

- Beer (I’m using a rauchbier)

- Egg

- Kale or another sort of green

- Your very own mix of herbs and spices

This is your mission if you choose to accept it. In one week we will reconvene and discuss our recipes.

Love beer? Love food? Tweet a photo of your favorite beer/food dish to us @midwestbeer.

The Art of Beer Cooking: Spring Veggies

Nothing is better in the summer than super fresh produce from your local Farmer’s Market. I’ll take any chance I get to cook with veggies from the market. They taste much better and you’re helping your local farmers. It’s a win win!

This recipe is so simple. You basically just take your fresh vegetables and cook them in beer until they are perfectly tender. The trick is to cook vegetables that are similar together so they don’t get over or under cooked. Feel free to use any veggies you like, especially look for what’s in season at the market. Leinenkugel’s Honey Weiss or Summer Shandy works well in this recipe for that fresh summer feel.

Ingredients

• 1 bottle (12 oz) of beer
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 pound baby potatoes, halved
• ½ pound baby carrots
• 3 thin leeks, chopped to 1”
• ½ pound asparagus
• ½ pound sugar snap peas
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 3 TBLS lemon juice
• 1 tsp whole grain mustard
• 3 TBLS chopped dill
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper

In large deep skillet, combine beer, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper; add potato halves, cut-side down, and top with carrots. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 12 minutes, or until potatoes are just tender. Transfer vegetables to serving platter with slotted spoon; cover loosely to keep warm.

Place leek pieces in same liquid in skillet and add asparagus spears on top. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 3 – 4 minutes. Uncover; scatter sugar snap peas in the skillet. Cover and simmer 3 – 5 minutes longer, or until sugar snap peas and asparagus are crisp-tender. Transfer vegetables to serving platter and cover.

Boil remaining liquid 4 minutes, or until reduced to half. Pour into a small bowl; whisk in lemon zest and juice, mustard and dill.  Stir in salt and pepper. Pour dressing over vegetables and toss well to coat.

Recipe courtesy of BDO

The Art of Beer Cooking: Ale Chip Dip

Traditional beer cheese dip is good but this onion ale chip dip takes beer dip to a new level. The bitterness of the beer combined with onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and mustard are a flavor combination to tease the senses. I used Hopalicious from Ale Aslyum when making this dip and the flavors worked well together. Serve with chips or veggies at your next summer party.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese, very soft
• 1 ¼ cup Pale Ale Beer
• 3 tablespoons onion, grated
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons chives, chopped

In medium bowl, blend together with electric mixer cream cheese and Pale Ale Beer. Mixture will be very frothy. Stir in onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard and salt. Refrigerate dip at least 2 hours, or up to 6 hours before serving to thicken. When ready to serve, pour into serving bowl and sprinkle with chives.

Recipe Courtesy of BDO

The Art of Beer Cooking: Guinness Molasses Bread

As I was walking around at the Madison farmer’s market this morning I realized there are so many different kinds of breads being sold there. I had never really paid attention to them. I decided to get some very delicious zucchini bread which was a great choice. So here I bring you a recipe inspired from my morning walk. Just like a regular beer bread the carbonation and yeast in the beer helps the bread to rise. This recipe tastes great with Guinness but you can get creative and use any beer you like. Maybe add some nuts or chocolate chips for texture.

Ingredients

• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup molasses
• A pinch of salt (roughly 1/8 teaspoon)
• 12 ounces of Guinness beer
• Butter for greasing the pan and painting the top, about 3 tablespoons

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with butter.

Mix together the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl. Slowly pour  and stir the Guinness into the dry mixture. When you are about halfway done, add the molasses and mix until combined.

Pour into the loaf pan to no more than 2/3 full. Pop into the oven immediately and bake for 50 minutes. To make sure it’s done stick a toothpick into the deepest part of the loaf and if it comes out clean, it’s done.

Let the loaf cool for about five minutes, and then turn it out onto a rack. Paint it with lots of soft butter for added moisture.

The Art of Beer Cooking: Beer Can Chicken

My mom is a grill master. You might think grilling is a ‘man’s job’ but she really has the secret grill touch. Unfortunately I did not inherit this.

A few years ago she came across a recipe for beer can chicken. Basically what you do is stick your can of beer up the chicken and it infuses the meat with flavor and moisture. It looks hilarious but the beer makes the chicken incredibly tender and perfectly moist. Hands down the best chicken I have ever had. You can use any beer you like but I would suggest one with a bold flavor so you can really taste the beer soaked into the meat.

Try this grill technique at your Memorial Day barbecue this weekend. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 (4-pound) whole chicken
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons of your favorite dry spice rub
• 1 can beer

Remove neck and giblets from chicken and discard. Rinse chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Rub chicken lightly with oil then rub inside and out with salt, pepper and dry rub.

Open you favorite beer and take several gulps until about half full. Grabbing a chicken leg in each hand, slide the bird cavity over the beer can. Transfer the bird-on-a-can to your grill and place in the center of the grate, balancing the bird on its 2 legs and the can like a tripod.

Cook the chicken over medium-high, indirect heat, with the grill cover on for approximately 1 1/4 hours or until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F in the breast area and 180 degrees F in the thigh, or until the thigh juice runs clear when stabbed with a sharp knife. Remove from grill and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Courtesy of Food Network

The Art of Beer Cooking: Beer Dip

Everyone seems to have their own favorite dish to bring to a party. I was at a grill out last night and someone brought a HUGE container of beer dip, which has now inspired this post. It’s so simple yet so good. You only need a few ingredients to really impress. Serve with pretzels, chips, crackers or even veggies.

Ingredients

• 2 (8oz) packages of cream cheese
• 1 package ranch dressing mix
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup beer

Directions: Simply mix all together and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

Enjoy!