Beer and Food

Cooking with Beer

This is yet another way to enhance the whole beer & food experience. 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 metabolism.  The hops, low alcohol content, and carbonation help relax the body. A glass of beer has fewer 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.

Why Cook with Beer? 

Quite frankly, beer offers a multitude of flavours, lower alcohol and a reasonable price in comparison with other alcoholic beverages.  Plus, in many countries, beer is regarded as food.

Here are some ways to incorporate beer into your cooking;

• Bake – using beer in baking helps to add moisture, flavour and the carbonation acts as a leavening agent (fluffs up the mixture)
• Batter – when using batter for fish, keep the beer lighter for lighter fish.  The carbonation will create a nice fluffy batter
• Braise – in the oven or on the grill (lid closed) – use the beer as a covering liquid and cook at very low temperature for a long time (250F for 2-3 hours)
• Deglaze – after you’ve caramelized some onions in a frying pan, add a small amount of beer will help to remove some of the scrapings from the bottom of the pan and will add more flavour
• Macerate – soaking fruit in alcohol, in this case beer.  Pick some fresh fruit and soak it in your favourite fruit beer or strong beer.  The fruit will pick up some of the flavours of the beer and vice versa.
• Marinate – beer is a great marinade because the carbonation and enzymes in beer help to break down proteins in meat, helping to tenderize.  Use other flavouring ingredients and liquid to add different flavours to the meat
• Poach – used often with fish cook over low heat, adding a small amount of beer for the fish to sit in.  The beer will moisturize the fish and add flavours at the same time.  Try to use a wheat beer with some nice spice flavours in it
• Simmer – lower heat, add a little beer for flavour being careful not to boil the beer away to its bitter ingredients
• Spritz – use beer to add moisture to the outside of your favourite grilling adventure.  It will keep the meat moist while adding some flavours to the outside of the meat.

Try this….

• Use smaller amounts of beer at first (sometimes, too much beer will overpower your meal)
• Make sure you know what flavours are in the beer you are using
• Enjoy a beer while you are cooking
• Share your passion with others