Cooking and Baking With Beer

 

A can or bottle of beer has almost every taste conceivable, from citrus to chocolate, harsh hops to syrupy malt.

Beer's great diversity is what makes it such an intriguing component to cook with. A can of Guinness may give rich malty overtones to a chocolate stout cake, while a bottle of sour Belgian brew can bring astringency to a dish of beer-steamed mussels.

And the flavor isn't the only thing that beer has to provide. These small bubbles provide bread and batters airiness and lift.

 

Why use beer in the kitchen?

Beer tastes great! Beer is delightful because of the same fermentation processes that make pickles, bread, and whiskey intriguing. Beer, when included in a recipe, may provide depth to braises and sauces. Furthermore, beer is carbonated, and when used in a batter, it adds air and body to deep-fried breading's.

 

What are all the finest beers to cook with?

It all depends on your goals. Beer's culinary applications are numerous due to its diverse flavor. Some sweets call for the rich chocolaty malt flavors of an Irish stout like Guinness, while others call for a light lager to accent the saline taste of the ocean. Just bear in mind that if your recipe boils the beer down, you'll notice an increase in the strength of whatever the beer's underlying characteristics are. As a result, a mega-hopped pale ale may not be the ideal choice for a beer-brat reduction since the nice bitter notes you receive in the glass may be overpowering by the time they show as a pan-gravy.

 

Is it true that cooking with beer removes the alcohol?

Sometimes! The longer it cooks, the more alcohol in the beer turns into vapor and floats away. However, this is not always the case.

Here's a recipe to try!

BACON BEER MUSSELS

Mussels are the world's simplest shellfish to prepare, especially when paired with a delicious lager. All you have to do is chuck 'em in a saucepan with your preferred liquid and they'll steam right open. If that liquid is, Up street's Commons Pilsner, you can expect a wonderful broth that's excellent for soaking up and sharing with friends. A little crispy bacon doesn't hurt either.

 

 

Ingredients

4 to 6 thick slices of bacon, thinly chopped

1 large onion, chopped

5 pounds of fresh, fresh mussels, rinsed well

1 teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce

1 bottle of Up street UpstreetCommons Czech Style Pilsner   

4 or 5 green onions, chopped

1 baguette or your favorite fresh bread for dipping

 

Preheat your biggest saucepan to medium-high heat. Toss in the bacon, then pour in just enough water to cover it. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon. Your bacon will begin to cook while the water simmers. The bacon will next render, releasing fat as the water evaporates. Finally, when the fat left behind is heated past the boiling point of water into the flavor zone, it will crisp. Be patient and continue to stir until every piece is crisped equally approximately 5 or 6 minutes.

 

Add the onions when the bacon is crispy and fragrant. Stir for a few minutes while they cool the pan, softening and dissolving any flavorful crust on the bottom. Dramatically add the mussels, then top with your spicy sauce washed through the shells with freshly opened beer. Put a tight-fitting cover on the saucepan. Reduce the heat to low and steam the mussels and broth, cooking and flavoring them with brown bacon and beer. Cook for another 10 minutes, or until a rich, aromatic broth emerges and all of the mussel shells break open, revealing their wonderful flesh.

Distribute the hot, steaming mussels into dishes (discard those that did not open), then pour in the leftover delicious liquid. Garnish with green onions, serve, and serve with plenty of bread to mop up the wonderful broth.