Although cooking with beer may not be as commonplace as cooking with wine, beer offers plenty of flavors that an innovative cook should add to their seasoning arsenal. In addition to flavor contribution, beer is also a great tenderizer when used as a marinade.
The more common uses for beer when cooking are:
-
Sauces The various types of beer puts an unlimited spectrum of flavors at your disposal for use in barbecue sauces, basting sauces, or even in gravies.
-
Marinades As a marinade, beer penetrates all types of meat, fish and seafood and tenderizes. Again, the variety of beer flavors can greatly contribute to the overall flavor.
-
Baking Not as commonplace, yet the Guinness Chocolate Cake is to die for. The yeast found in beer is well suited for breads, dumplings and batter. Try it in a pancake mix or a beer battered fish fillet.
-
Braising When braising meat, beer brings out the flavors while toning down the sweetness of vegetables like carrots, sweet onions or corn. Caramelized onions would be a good example of how beer interacts in a good way with vegetables.
-
Seasoning By its very nature, beer adds a robust flavor to stews, soups and chili. Tomato-based sauces are a perfect candidate for beer, as is taco meat or sloppy joes.
Beer actually interacts with food because of its three main ingredients:
-
Malt The sweetness of the malted grains used in beer production add extra depth and somewhat balance out the flavors of highly acidic foods such as tomato sauces, citrus fruits and vinegar based dishes.
-
Hops Hops are bitter by nature which can help tone down sweetness and mellow the flavor of rich, creamy, cheese or oil-based dishes.
-
Yeast As previously mentioned, this ingredient makes beer an ideal addition to batters and baking. It lightens the texture of the final product. The enzymes yeast contains is the tenderizing ingredient that beer offers to meats.
Basically, all beers can be classified as Lagers, Ales or Specialty beers. Take time to understand their various characteristics. It's important to know what flavors a particular beer will impart to your recipe.
Learn to cook with beer and your culinary creations will reward you for your efforts.
Comments