Cook With Cheap Beer
Cheap beer has a bad reputation, but lately I prefer it more and more to the trendy one. Unlike heavy IPAs, generic lagers do not compete with food or cause hangovers, and cooking with them is an absolute pleasure.
The booze cooking market is heavily drowned out by wine; Except for chicken beer cans or Guinness cake, you hardly hear of beer recipes. When it comes to wine, the rule of thumb is to only cook with what you love to drink, which is great advice for those with access to tasty and cheap wine, but it can be difficult to find a balance between “good enough to drink” and “ Cheap enough for a stew. This is why I love cooking with beer so much and why I think more people should try it, especially those who spoil a complex dish with bad wine and are afraid to try again.
Obviously, beer cannot replicate the taste of wine, but it offers all the benefits of being drunk with very little risk. Here’s what you get from a can of your favorite beer over wine:
- Mild Taste and Low Alcohol: Alcohol dissolves fat-soluble aromas more easily than water, which helps develop a rich and deep taste. Since beer tastes and alcohol is lighter than wine, you can actually drain it without overwhelming other ingredients.
- Body: Thanks to the mixture of starch and sugars, the beer, at a reduced content, gives a completely delicious appearance.
- Carbonating: The bubbles physically lift the dish – think beer battered fish or quick beer bread – and soften the meat.
- Disposable containers: Coarse wine can stay close to remind you of your choice. Whether you drink a bottle or a bottle, beer will never hurt you like that.
- Access: In Pennsylvania, for twenty-five dollars, I get a box of Miller Lite, or maybe two bottles of wine, which is an obvious financial choice. Also, depending on local laws, you can buy beer at the grocery store along with other ingredients without stopping at the liquor store for spicy grape juice.
But most importantly, beer is a known quantity. You can probably imagine the taste of your favorite beer without much effort, but buying an unfamiliar bottle of cheap wine is like playing roulette with tasting notes. There is cheap wine that certainly does not represent the unholy alliance of paint thinner and sugar water, but one bad guess can ruin your dinner.
For paint thinner and sugar water, skip the malt solution when brewing with beer; IPAs, strong ales, and sour and yeast Belgian drinks are also not commonly used. Any cheap lager works great – I love Miller Lite – as does semi-dark dark beers like Sheaf Stout. Basically, use your favorite cheapbeer , whatever it is.
The beauty of brewing with neutral spirits like beer is that the possibilities are truly endless; If you don’t need a specific wine flavor like coq au vin or chicken marsala, use beer wherever you would like to use wine. These are my personal favorites:
- Fajitas Steak: I pull the badgesus out of the thick chak steak, chop the onion and marinate it together overnight in a mixture of beer, lime juice, butter, and lots of salt and spices.
- Stroganoff Mushroom: Beer goes especially well with anything earthy. I almost caramelize the onions and garlic, deglame with beer, and then add the mushrooms.
- Braised herbs: Next time you choose herbs, add a little beer and simmer slowly in the oven with plenty of garlic.
- Everything with cabbage: beer and cabbage are made for each other . My love for borscht and whiskey with beer is very strong; stewed red cabbage with stout is divine.
- Sausage and peppers: simmer sausages and stewed peppers and onions in beer; done and done.
- French Onion Soup: Add some stout to the onion instead of or in addition to broth.
- Chili: Whether you’re making a con carne chili, a Cincinnati style chili, or a vegan zucchini chili, a can of beer (and maybe some cocoa powder) is what you need.
If you also cook with beer, I would love to hear about your favorite recipes, especially if you use it to make pizza dough. So many people swear by this, but I haven’t found a recipe that appeals to me yet, and I would really like to start.