Cooking with beer

Beer has been brewing for more than 8,000 years worldwide, and in olden days was considered a food staple. With new studies showing beer is actually healthy, why not eat your beer?

Physicians and holistic practitioners of old used beer liberally in their cures. For one reason, due to the brewing process, beer was actually safer to drink than the water or milk (which was usually preserved as cheese). Thus, beer was often used to mix medicines, and used as liquids in recipes in lieu of unpotable water.
Teuton brides drank honey-beer for a month after their wedding ceremony as an aphrodisiac. The custom of honey-beer for a month, poetically referred to as a moon, led to the current term of honeymoon.

Beer is brewed from some very healthy ingredients, primarily hops, yeast, barley and barley malt. Is it any wonder that beer was often referred to as liquid bread? Many Europeans have adopted hops sprouts as a substitute for asparagus and use them for pickling, in spite of their higher cost. Beer varieties are virtually endless, especially with the current popularity of homebrewing. Homebrewers have more control over the flavor and alcohol-content which is dependent upon the grains, malts, and brewing methods. Pilsener, ale, stout, porter, lager and bock beer are all good candidates for addition to your recipes. Light or lite beers now being brewed primarily in the U.S. are lower in alcohol content and calories, but in Europe, the term light generally distinguishes between pale and dark lagers.

The premise that all the alcohol cooks out of the dish during the cooking process is not necessarily a true one. Alcohol is indeed sensitive to heat, and the longer the dish cooks and the higher the cooking temperature, the less alcohol in the finished product.
So, although some alcohol may remain in the finished dish, the amount is most likely not worth worrying about to the general consumer. However, the considerate host should advise guests when cooking with beer since even a minute amount of alcohol could prove to be a problem for recovering alcoholics.

Believe it or not, taken in moderation, beer is actually a very healthy food. It's full of vitamins and minerals which are good for nerve production, help you concentrate, increase blood circulation, and stimulate the metabolism. The hops, low alcohol content, and carbonation help relax the body. A glass of beer has less calories than the equivalent amount of whole milk or apple juice, and much less than the empty calories contained in harder libations. Alcohol raises the levels of HDL (good cholesterol) thus benefiting the heart and circulatory system.

Cooking with beer:
Belgium is famous for its Carbonnade à la Flamande, a thick stew of beer, bacon, onions and brown sugar, and many home chefs prefer their shellfish and hot dogs steamed in beer. Beer also has wonderful tenderizing properties, making it an excellent choice for a marinade for tougher cuts of meat. Baked goods using beer have a more moist texture and a longer shelf life.

Used in a glaze or baste, beer adds wonderful flavor to poultry and ham. In batter coatings for fried foods, the yeast in the beer acts as a mild leavening agent, causing the batter to puff up, plus adds a distinctive enhancing flavor.

The hops, barley and/or malt flavor imparted by the addition of beer to foods will naturally depend on the amount and strength of the beer. Dark beer, such as stout and porter, have a much stronger flavor than a light Pilsener. A good recipe using beer will have a distinctively light, not dominating flavor in the finished dish.

Non-alcoholic (alcohol removed) or light/lite (low-calorie, less than .5% alcohol) beers can usually be substituted (except in baking), but keep in mind that the flavor may not be as desirable and the texture may have less body.

Taken from: Cooking with beer (homecoking.about.com)

**********

CHEESE AND BEER SOUP

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:
1 onion, diced
2 sticks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
4 oz (100g) butter
3 oz (75g) plain flour
1 tsp dry mustard
2 pts (1 ltr) chicken or vegetable stock
4 oz (100g) broccoli
10 fl oz (300ml) beer
6 oz (150g) cheddar cheese, grated
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
dash Worcestershire sauce
salt & pepper to taste

METHOD:
Sauté the diced vegetables in butter for 3 minutes. Stir the flour and mustard powder into vegetables. Slowly add the chicken or vegetable stock to mixture, stirring well. Bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes.
Break broccoli into small flowerets; cut stems into bite-sizes pieces. Steam until tender-crisp.
Add beer, cheeses and Worcestershire sauce to the soup. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Season to taste.
Place the broccoli in the bottom of a soup tureen and ladle the soup over it. Serve.

More Soup recipes

**********

I used lager when I tried this recipe and it made a suprising tasty sauce. It doesn't make a lot though so serve it with something not too dry like baked sweet potato with bacon and thyme or creamed brussel sprouts with chestnuts and jacket potatoes.

HAM LISCANNOR
Serves 5-6

INGREDIENTS:
1 x 2lb (1 kg) ham joint
1 onion, chopped
3 tbsp brown sugar
bouquet garni, (4 sprigs parsley, 1 spray thyme, 1 bay leaf tied together)
8 fl.oz beer

METHOD:
Soak the ham in cold water overnight. Place the ham, onion, 1 tbsp of sugar and the bouquet garni in a large saucepan. Add just enough water to cover and bring to the boil over a moderately high heat.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour, or until the ham is tender when pierced with a skewer.
Remove from the pan, leave until cool enough to handle then remove any skin and fat from the joint.
Preheat the oven to 200F/400C/GMk 6.
Place the ham in a shallow ovenproof dish. Sprinkle the remaining sugar over the top of the ham, pour over the beer and bake in the oven for 40 minutes, basting occasionally, until the beer has reduced by half.
Serve hot or, if preferred, allow to cool in the cooking juices and serve cold.

More Ham recipes

**********

Beer Inside, by award winning Brewmaster Mike Snyder, is a 50 page book (paperback or e-Book) featuring a collection of mouth-watering food recipes containing beer. Imagine entrees, breads, soups, desserts and more, all made with beer. Screw the carbs, order your copy today and start cooking with beer!