Jackie Dodd-Mallory
Senior Editor

Strawberry Jalapeno Beer Popsicles + A Craft Beer Whitewater Adventure

21.05.2015 10 Comments

I’m in the middle of class 4 rapids, the yellow raft I’m in is pinned on the right side to a giant boulder, the impossibly fast current is rushing over the left side of the boat and the raft is quickly submerged. Seven of us are waist deep in cold water, trying desperately to free ourselves, knowing if the boat flips, or if any of us are tossed out, it could be fatal.

“LEFT SIDE! BACK! BACK!” Our guide, known only to us as Iowa, is screaming directions at us. As the man in charge of getting us safely down the Tuolumne River, we do everything he says without thinking, hoping it works.

Jake, the firefighter from Ventura, jumps to the back of the boat, at the same time pushing hard against the boulder in an attempt to free the submerged raft. It works. With a sickening scrape, we feel the raft free itself. We slide backward down the rapids, pinging off several boulders before finding calm water and we all start to breathe again.

“Awesome job team, awesome job!” The smile has returned to Iowa’s face. “You guys are awesome.”

One mile down, seventeen to go. Let’s do this.

8 miles and dozens of rapids later we stop to set up camp on a remote river beach tucked away in the woods of Northern California, a short distance from Yosemite. I’m joined on this two day adventure by two guys from Sierra Nevada brewing, a mother and her two children on a memorial trip to honor the Patriarch of the family who passed away exactly one year earlier, a bachelor party of 7 guys up from Ventura California and two chefs from one of Northern California’s hidden gems, The Arnold Pantry. In so many ways, the perfect mix of people. Friendly, laid back, and all with their own story to tell. The ice chest with cold beer is opened up and two of the four kegs packed onto the gear boat by the Sierra Nevada crew are tapped and we all start to loosen up. It’s beer that has been hard-earned and tastes fantastic.

I jump in the make-shift kitchen, set up with a little more than a camp stove under the trees, to give Chip and Jeff a hand. While I’m immersed in cooking tasks, slicing bacon Chip spent three months making and peeling black garlic, the guides have set up a beautiful dinner scene, complete with candles and tablecloth covered portable camp tables. It’s gorgeous. The sunset is throwing silvery shards of light down a calm stretch of river bent around the beach we’ve claimed as camp for the night.

After the appetizer of house-cured bacon, black garlic and yellow tomato jam on turmeric avocado toast, our dinner is served to us by raft guides turned wait staff. Crispy pork belly over risotto and pickled asparagus, with a side salad of compressed watermelon and cucumber with feta and candied pecans. For dessert, there is a biscuit bread pudding with hand-whipped cream and sweet pickled cherries. Even if you were expecting more than hotdogs and store-bought marshmallows, you’d have been blown away. Even if you hadn’t spent an adrenaline packed day dodging boulders and trying to stay afloat, it still would be one of the best meals you’ve had all year. Add in the events of the day, the keg of beer just a few feet away, the gorgeous moonlight and the sound of the river, and it becomes magical. That’s the word for it: magical. We spent the rest of the night by the campfire, trading stories and failing in our attempt to drain the kegs.

By the time daylight rose over the mountains and we were served French toast with orange cream sauce, fresh berries and hot coffee, we felt like a small gang. Ready to tackle what the river had to serve us. Ready for another day of thrills, rapids, and laughing. And when that day finally came to an end, it felt too soon. It felt like we needed another keg, more spectacular food and more conversation.

I’m ready to go back.

For more information about the craft beer rafting trips, contact OARS. I highly recommend it.

Strawberry Jalapeno Beer Popsicles

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1.5 lbs strawberries
1 large or two small jalapenos, sliced
¼ cup sugar
12 ounces pale summer ale or Pilsner (I used Sierra Nevada Summerfest)

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a blender, blend until smooth, allow the mixture to settle until the bubbles go down, about 15 minutes.
Pour into popsicle molds. Freeze until set, about 3 hours.

I was not compensated for this post, I was given a free trip without expectation or obligation. All opinions are my own.

Roasted Beer Brined Chicken Legs over Grilled Corn Puree and English Pea Herb Salad

15.05.2015 2 Comments

Roasted Beer Brined Chicken Legs over Grilled Corn Puree and English Pea Herb Salad

I met a 70-year-old woman at a bar in a tiny town in the backwoods of Northern California last week, she was tying to set me up with her friend Chad. Chad is no longer in possession of his teeth and had a very relaxed relationship with hygiene. Flattered as I was I had to decline.

The town was started during the gold rush, the small mountain community was so off the grid that the bars never shut down during prohibition, and since then the population hasn’t grown over 4,000 people. Evelyn moved there a few years ago, drawn to the place by the idea of spending her retirement as a bartender. Feist and happy, she served the locals on one side of the bar, and then grabbed a glass of Chardonnay and chatted them up from the other side once her shift was over. I clearly wasn’t from around there, I was just passing through for the night, she instantly struck up a conversation with me.

I asked her why she decided to leave the South to move West and serve booze to a rowdy crowd of men half her age. She laughed, "This is the best job I’ve ever had!" She told me about her years as a secretary, raising babies, paying bills, wearing heels. That was a life she made for other people, this life, this was just for her. Sure, she can make more money doing something else, sure her feet get tired at the end of the day, but she has another way to look at it. "You can’t take any of that with you, all you have is what you leave behind. And everyday I make someone smile, and that’s what I leave."

I like her. Although her taste in men is still somewhat questionable.

Roasted Beer Brined Chicken Legs over Grilled Corn Puree and English Pea Herb Salad

Print Recipe

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

4 chicken legs
1 tbs salt
1 tsp all spice berries
1 cup very hot water
12 ounces brown ale
1/2 cup ice
1 tsp black pepper

For the Corn:

4 ears corn
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper

For the peas:

½ lbs fresh English peas shelled
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp chopped fresh basil
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1 tsp chopped fresh chive

Instructions

Add the chicken legs to a large bowl or baking dish.
In a bowl combine the salt, all spice, and hot water, stir to dissolve. Add the beer, and ice, stir until ice has melted and the brine is room temperature or below. Pour over chicken, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours and up to 12.
Remove from brine, rinse well and pat dry.
Preheat oven to 450.
Place the chicken on a baking sheet, sprinkle with pepper.
Roast until skin is golden brown, juices run clear and the internal temperature of the chicken is 170F, 30-40 minutes.
Grill the corn until grill marks appear on all sides. Cut the kernels off the corn.
Add the corn kernels, cream, paprika, salt, and pepper to a blender or food processor, process until fairly smooth.
Bring a pot of lightly salted water to boil, prepare a smaller bowl with ice water.
Add the peas to boiling water, boil for 2 minutes, then drain and immediately plunge into the ice water to stop the cooking.
Add the peas to a bowl along with the olive oil, balsamic, basil, oregano, and chives, toss to combine, salt and pepper to taste.
Plate the corn puree, and then chicken and peas.

Vanilla Beer Cake Bites with Blueberry Filling

08.05.2015 7 Comments

Vanilla Beer Cake Bites with Blueberry Filling

Sometimes I just need a second.

A second to take a breath. Of course I love the tumbling-forward-faster-than-I-can-keep-up-with pace that my life takes, but I need a second. Spring is the season to pause. The season to sit on the porch, long conversations with friends, favorites rediscovered, season. Maybe it isn’t a season to find out what new things you haven’t heard of yet, it’s a season to remember the things you already love and not even care why you love them.

It’s a vanilla cake, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, grilled chicken, favorite sunglasses, faded jeans kind of season. Sure, I love the new stuff constantly being thrown into my consciousness, but the old favorites have earned their space.

Vanilla Beer Cake Bites with Bluberry Filling-1

This is my season to take a breath and rediscover my favorites. Not justify why I like them, but to just sit and enjoy. In the spirit of this take a breath and remember to enjoy what you like, and to like what you like because you like it, here are my old favorites, the beers that have been with me since the beginning of this craft beer journey, the ones that will still be there when the dust settles on all the new trends. These are the craft beer equivalent of the guy who drives you to the airport at 5am and shows up to help you move.

Allgash // White

Deschutes // Black Butte Porter

Sierra Nevada // Pale Ale

Ballast Point // Sculpin

North Coast // Old Rasputin

Rogue Ales // Shakespeare Stout

Vanilla Beer Cake Bites with Bluberry Filling-2

Vanilla Beer Cake Bites with Blueberry Filling

Print Recipe

Servings 12 -18

Ingredients

Cake

½ cup unsalted butter softened
1 cups white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs canola oil
¼ cup heavy cream
½ cup pale ale or wheat beer
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Filling:

1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tbs corn starch
¼ cup pale ale or wheat beer or blueberry beer
¾ cup heavy cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325.
Add the butter and both kinds of sugar to a stand mixer. Mix on high until well creamed, about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs and vanilla, stopping several times to scrape the bottom to insure everything is well combined.
Add the oil, cream and beer, mixing until well combined.
Stop the mixer, sprinkle with flour, baking powder and salt, stir until just combined.
Pour into a 9X13 baking pan that has been greased and floured.
Bake until the top is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched, 23-26 minutes.
While the cake bakes, make the blueberry filling. In a pot over medium high heat add the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch and beer. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, until thickened. About 8 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
Allow cake to cool completely, transfer to a flat surface. Using a 1 to 2 inch cookie cutter, cut out 12-18 shapes.
IN a stand mixer add the heavy cream, vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat on high until medium peaks form.
Slice the shapes in half, like splitting a hamburger bun (alternately you can use one shape for the top and another for the bottom).
Fill the shapes with blueberry filling and whipped cream. Chill until ready to serve.

Vanilla Beer Cake Bites with Bluberry Filling-3

Homemade Beer Hot Dog Buns

06.05.2015 3 Comments

Homemade Beer Hot Dog Buns

Somewhere between the tenth and fifteenth IPA I sampled this weekend, I realized something.

Trying my best to taste the beer I was in charge of judging through a hop wrecked palate I realized that I love citrus. I love the bright, fresh flavors of citra hops, grapefruit peels, orange zest, and I love how beautifully they play with the flavors of hops.

I’d bravely accepted the challenge of judging a stadium full of IPAs this past weekend at a beer festival, and along with a co-judge, picking one standout winner. We had different palates, him and I. I fell hard and fast for the citrus spiked beers, he favored the IPA’s with a strong malt backbone. It took us a while to come to an agreement on a favorite. Left only in my hands, I’d have given out ten awards, all to grapefruit and orange tainted beers. But I was in no shape for large scale decision making after sampling 31 beers.

If you also like a little bit of a citrus molested beer, here are a few to seek out:

Hop Valley // Citrus Mistress

Balast Point // Grapefruit Sculpin

Snoqualime Falls // Sunny Si IPA

Terrapin // Hopzilla

Green Flash // Soul Style IPA

Homemade Beer Hot Dog Buns

Print Recipe

Servings 8 hot dog buns

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbs sugar
1 packet RAPID RISE yeast
1 tsp salt
½ cup wheat beer
¾ cups whole milk
1 tbs olive oil
Egg wash 1 egg, 1 tbs water, beaten
1 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sesame seeds.

Instructions

Add the flour, sugar, yeast and salt to a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix to combine.
In a microwave safe bowl add the beer and milk. Microwave on high until the liquid reaches 125 degrees, about 60 seconds.
Add the liquid and the oil to the stand mixer, mix on high until dough gathers around the hook and is no longer sticky, about 8 minutes.
Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to sit in a warm room until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350.
Knead on a lightly floured surface for about a minute. Divide into 8 equal sized pieces. Roll each piece into a log about 5 inches long. Place buns on a baking sheet. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with salt, pepper and sesame seeds.
Bake until golden brown, about 18 minutes.

Chocolate Stout S’Mores Icebox Pie

01.05.2015 8 Comments

Chocolate Stout S’Mores Icebox Pie: no bake, ten minutes prep.

I had a conversation with a group of brewers the other day about water, a conversation that reminded me of what is at the heart of most brewers.

They were concerned about how much water the beer industry uses in the midst of a drought. It didn’t matter that beer uses far less water than other beverages, that it doesn’t even come close to the top five most water-consuming drinks, or the top 20 food products. It was about them giving back, figuring out how to be better, do better, give more back.

I see this spirit in most of the craft beer world. I see start-up breweries run by owners still working day jobs to make ends meet. I see most breweries make little to nothing on 6-packs, some even lose money. I see brewers who make far less than people think, giving to charities in their neighborhoods. I see breweries that aren’t even breaking even after 4 years talk about how lucky they are to do what they do. So why do they do? Because they can’t imagine doing anything else. Because they love it.

People who are in craft beer never talk about how much it costs to buy. It’s expensive to make, for what you get, it’s a sold at bargain prices. If beer had the mark-up that soda does, it would easily cost over $100 for a six-pack. Sure, brewers could mark up their beer, make more. But no brewer gets into beer to get rich, and you can see that when you meet one.

So please don’t complain about the cost of craft beer, you’re not the one who has to figure out how to balance the ledgers at the end of the month.

Chocolate Stout S’Mores Icebox Pie

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Crust

9 graham cracker sheets
1/4 cup brown
4 tbs butter melted

Filling

1/3 cup chocolate stout
2 tbs unsweetened Cocoa
1 1/3 cups 8.5wt oz bittersweet chocolate chips
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
pinch salt

Topping

3 cups mini marshmallows

Instructions

Add the graham crackers and brown sugar to a food processor, process until just fine crumbs remain. While the mixer is running, add the melted butter until well combined.
Press into the bottom of a spring form pan in an even layer until well compacted.
Add the chocolate stout, cocoa, and chocolate chips to a microwave safe bowl, microwave on high until melted, stirring frequently, about 90 seconds.
In the bowl of a stand mixer add the vanilla, heavy cream, powdered sugar and salt. Beat on high until medium peaks form. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the chocolate until combined. Stir until well combined.
Pour over the crust in an even layer.
Top with marshmallows, freeze until set, about 2 hours.
Before serving toast the marshmallows with a culinary torch until blacked to desired degree.

Beer Brined Roasted Rosemary Chicken Legs

29.04.2015 2 Comments

Beer Brined Roasted Rosemary Chicken Legs

We try too hard.

We always do. We underestimate the beauty of simple food, and we miss it. The value of doing something really well. We over complicate a basic Mac N Cheese and it ends up a dried mess of pasta and $30 worth of inedible cheese. We buy a pork loin, cook it wrong, and it’s dry and tasteless. We try too hard, and miss the point.

Chicken can be that way. We grew up with bags of frozen chicken breasts thawing in the sink so we think that’s what chicken tastes like. We don’t connect the dots when we have incredible teriyaki glazed chicken thighs at the fair, or when we pick the dark meat during Thanksgiving, it takes us a while to realize that white meat, our default cut, sort of blows. Dark meat, that’s where the joy is.

There are a few recipes I make all the time, beer brined chicken is one. It’s a go-to, it’s a meet the parents meal, casual dinner party, easy sunday supper, type recipe. A brine will give you the juiciest chicken you can get, the dark meat will give you the flavor, a nice olive an herb rub will make it feel important. Even when it’s simple, it’s exceptional.

Plus the left over beer will help you relax and enjoy the evening, and help you stop over thinking every thing.

Beer Brined Roasted Rosemary Chicken Legs

Print Recipe

Ingredients

3 lbs chicken legs and drumsticks
2 tbs kosher salt
12 ounces brown ale
¼ cup olive oil
3 large cloves garlic grated with a Microplane
2 tbs chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

Instructions

Add the chicken to a baking pan or large bowl, sprinkle on all sides with salt. Pour the beer over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for one hour and up to six.
Remove chicken from beer, rinse well and pat dry.
Add to a baking sheet.
Preheat oven to 450.
In a small bowl stir together the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, and pepper.
Drizzle the chicken with the olive oil mixture, turning to coat.
Roast at 425 for 25-30 minutes or until the skin is browned and the chicken is cooked through.

Honey Balsamic Beer Glazed Shrimp Skewers

24.04.2015 11 Comments

Honey Balsamic Beer Glazed Shrimp Skewers

"What’s your favorite beer?"

It’s a question get asked all the time. The problem is, it’s a trap. There is no right answer. If I talk about well-distributed beers I love, "Black Butte Porter is a great beer," or "Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar is one of my favorite brown ales," I’ve disappointed people looking for insider knowledge.

If I talk about the whales (hard to find beers), "Pliny is a great beer, but so is Heady Topper," people see me as a snob who’s just following the craft beer sheep pack. If I mention a beer they have never heard of, "Wow, Blitz Pack from Huminstat Brewing is amazing," they have no frame of reference, maybe it’s a terrible beer, or maybe I just made it up (I did).

The real issue is that I don’t have an answer, and it’s mostly a bullshit question. I don’t have a favorite food either, it changes with my mood and what I feel like eating that day. My favorite beer does the same, and I like beer that lives in harmony with the food on my plate.

When I go to a beer bar I ask the bartender what he drinks, or if there is anything exciting on tap right now. Anything special release? Anything new? There are days when I just want a stout, and during hop harvest season I want to drink all the fresh hopped beers I can find.

If I go to a brewery that specializes in a specific style, give me one of those. Maybe it’s because I’m not picky, I’m a very go-with-the-flow person. Or maybe I just believe in adventure over comfort. Or maybe I just love all the beer.

So the answer to the question, "What’s your favorite beer?" is most likely, "Whatever you want to serve me."

Because you buy the beer, and I’ll make the food. I’ll drink what you bring, and you’ll eat what I make.

Deal?

Honey Balsamic Beer Glazed Shrimp Skewers

Print Recipe

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

½ cup stout or porter beer
½ cup honey
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp red chili sauce such as sriracha
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp ground ginger
1 lbs raw shrimp shell and vein removed
salt
2 tbs chopped green onions or chives

Instructions

Preheat grill to medium high.
In a large pot over high heat add the beer, honey, vinegar, chili sauce, garlic powder, and ginger. Bring to a boil. Stirring occasionally, boil until bubbles have mostly subsided and turned glossy and the mixture has thickened, about ten minutes.
Thread the shrimp onto metal or pre-soaked wooden skewers, sprinkle with salt, brush with glaze.
Cook on the grill until cooked through and glaze has slightly caramelized, about 2 minutes per side. Sprinkle with chopped green onions prior to serving.

Stout Beef Barbacoa Tacos

22.04.2015 13 Comments

Stout Beef Barbacoa Tacos

The way New Yorkers feel about hot dogs is the way people from LA feel about tacos.

While Los Angeles is a very live and let live society, and while you are free to love and believe what you want as long as you aren’t hurting anyone, we do not extend this courtesy to your taco eating habits. There is a right way and a wrong way. We don’t have access to the words best recipes, pass down from generations of grandmothers from all over the world just so that you can add some iceberg lettuce and shredded cheddar cheese, that’s not OK with us.

The acceptable format for tacos is this: homemade corn tortillas, a protein (even if it’s vegetables), chopped onions and cilantro, and possibly a few dashes of hot sauce. That’s it, your taco is complete. Save the cheese and sour cream for your nachos, and the lettuce for your burger, this is how tacos are made.

It might be a coincidence that the hop-heavy IPAs of the West Coast go beautifully with spice and grease of the perfect taco. Just like it might be another coincidence that the maltier beers of the East Coast go so well with those New York hot dogs, or that the rich stouts of Ireland are a perfect combination with a pot pie. But then again, food and beer have always lived in harmony, this is just more evidence of that.

It’s an incredible reminder to keep an open mind and an open palate when traveling. Eat how the locals eat, checking your food preferences at the boarding gate, and drink how they drink. You might just be surprised at how much you love an IPA and a taco without Supreme in the title.

I served this with Homemade Beer Corn Tortillas, so good you’ll never go back to store-bought.

Stout Beef Barbacoa Tacos

Print Recipe

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

1 dried Chile Negro pod
1 dried Ancho chili pod
1 tbs olive oil
1 white onion cut into large sections
1.5 lbs pounds chuck steak cubed
3 chipotle peppers in adobo
1 tbs adobo sauce
1 cup stout beer
1 cup beef broth
4 cloves garlic peeled
juice from one lime
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
12 homemade corn tortillas
1 red onion chopped
½ cup cilantro chopped

Instructions

Heat oven to 300.
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the dried chili pods, toasting on each side until warm and slightly crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove and allow to cool, tear into pieces and add to a blender or large food processor.
In the Dutch oven heat the olive oil, add the onions and cook until slightly charred on each side. Add the onions to the blender along with the chipotle, adobo sauce, beer, broth, garlic, lime juice and vinegar. Blend until smooth.
Return the Dutch oven to heat, add the beef cubes, cooking until seared on all sides, about 6 minutes.
Add the blender sauce, reduce heat to a simmer, stirring for about a minute.
Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook at 300 until the beef is falling apart, between 3 and 4 hours.
Remove from oven, shread in the pot using two forks.
Transfer to a serving bowl along with all the sauce.
Serve with corn tortillas, onions and cilantro.

Roasted Herb Beer Mustard Potato Salad

17.04.2015 6 Comments

Roasted Herb Beer Mustard Potato Salad

It’s easy to complicate what’s supposed to be simple. Add unnecessary steps, feel the need to suffer on behalf of the task, take things a little further than needed. Potato salad, the quintessential summer side dish needs a simple touch. I roast the potatoes, the process adds a nice flavor, a creamy center and a bit of a crunchy texture that you can’t get from boiling. I keep the dressing simple and mayo-free, I use good mustard with whole seeds still in tact, and the beauty of fresh herbs.

Maybe because mustard pair so much more seamlessly with a great IPA or summer ale, or maybe because it sits at room temperature without concern longer, or maybe because mayo makes me gag, but I always favor the simple acidic tang of a german potato salad to the American version that is so often scooped out of a grocery store plastic tub.

This is perfect with beer, perfect for summer, and perfect with a grilled entrée. Look for a wet hopped IPA for some beautiful hop flavors at the end.

Roasted Herb Beer Mustard Potato Salad

Print Recipe

Ingredients

2 lbs red potatoes cut into cubes
6 tbs olive oil divided
salt and pepper
¼ cup whole grain Dijon mustard
¼ cup IPA beer
1 tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp smoked paprika
3 tbs fresh chopped chives
2 tsp chopped fresh oregano

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425.
Spray a cooking sheet with cooking spray.
Add the potatoes to the sheet, drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
Cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until fork tender. Remove from oven, allow to cool.
In a blender or small food processor add the mustard, 3 tablespoons olive oil, beer, smoked paprika, and garlic powder, blend for about 30 seconds. Add the chives and oregano, pulse one or twice to combine. Salt and pepper to taste.
Add the potatoes to a large bowl, drizzle with dressing, toss to coat. Serve warm.

Moroccan Beer Chicken with Herb Yogurt Sauce & How to Stock A Summer Beer Tub

15.04.2015 No Comments

Moroccan Beer Chicken with Herb Yogurt Sauce

A summer evening dinner party on the patio, the perfect guest list, beautiful food, the right playlist, and of course, the right offerings in the beer tub. Stocking a beer tub for a party is as important as planning the food. It’s as much about offering your friends their favorites as it is about introducing them to new ones.

When planning the brew menu keep in mind the types of drinkers you’ve invited as well as how far you want to push their palates. Use it as an opportunity to show your friends how great beer is, not to use your preference for craft beer to alienate people and act like an asshole. It can be a fine line, but remember, if someone shows up at your door with a case of Stella, just smile and thank them and remember that you are socially obligated to add it to the beer tub. If you feel the urge to launch into a diatribe about green bottles, imported mass produced lagers or the importance of supporting local beer, just stop talking. Don’t be that guy.

Wheat beer.: Recommended: Hangar 24 // Orange Wheat, Allagash // White, Bell’s // Oberon Ale, Dogfish head // Namaste

Pilsners: Recommended: North Coast // Scrimshaw, Oskar Blues // Mama’s Little Yella Pils, Victory // Prima Pils

Session IPA’s: Recommended: Founders // All Day IPA, Firestone Walker // Easy Jack IPA, Lagunitas // DayTime,

Classic Pale Ales: Recommended: Sierra Nevada // Pale Ale, Stone // Pale Ale, Oskar Blues // Dales Pale Ale

A Little Something Different. For the guy who only drinks Newcastle, grab a Big Sky // Moose Drool. For your friend that only drinks sweet white wines, grab a Dogfish Head // Festina Peche. For your friend who refuses beer in all forms, try a Finn River // Black Current Cider. For your friend who always wants something new and is up for trying anything, Victory // Kirsch Gose

When filling the beer tub you want to offer beer that’s accessible to your guest but with a slight push to try something new. My last party had the following: Allagash white, Moose Drool, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Scrimshaw and a bomber of Rogue Sriracha Stout for the brave souls.

I served it with this homemade beer flatbread. SO good.

Moroccan Beer Chicken with Herb Yogurt Sauce

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Chicken:

½ tsp cumin
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp paprika
1 cup pale ale
2 tbs olive oil divided
1 lbs chicken thighs boneless and skinless, chopped into bite sized cubes

Yogurt sauce & Tomatoes:

1 cup grape tomatoes
½ red onion chopped
2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper
2 cups Greek yogurt
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp chopped fresh mint
½ tsp garlic powder
Rice for serving

Instructions

In a large bowl stir together the cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, nutmeg, paprika, 1 tablespoon olive oil and beer. Add the chicken cubes. Cover and allow to marinate for 2 hours and up to 12.
Preheat the oven to 400.
Add the grape tomatoes and onions to a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss to coat. Roast for 10-12 minutes or until blistered.
Remove chicken from the marinade, pat dry.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to a cast iron skillet over medium high heat until hot but not smoking.
Add the chicken, cooking on all sides until cooked through.
Transfer the chicken to a serving platter, top with tomatoes and onions.
In a small bowl stir together the yogurt, lemon juice, cilantro, mint, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Serve yogurt sauce along side chicken and tomatoes.

Beer Brined Pork and Pineapple Skewers with Apricot Chili Glaze

10.04.2015 16 Comments

Beer Brined Pork and Pineapple Skewers with Apricot Chili Glaze

The start of grillin' season also ushers in the start of session beer season. A session beer, for those new to the brew, is a beer with lower alcohol content. Most session beers range between 3% and 5% ABV, making them easy to consume over a long drinking session, hence the name.

Session beers, especially session IPA’s are exactly what you want to fill that beer tub with this summer. Don’t try to assert your manhood with a galvanized bucket full of 11% monsters, it doesn’t impress anyone. A beautifully balanced, crispy and well-hopped session IPA is exactly what you need to devote most of that beer tub space too. You want your guests, as well as your grill-tending self, to be able to enjoy beer all afternoon without becoming a cautionary tale. Session beers let you drink more and still have full control of exactly how obnoxious you truly want to be.

I recently got my hands on a 21st Amendment Down to Earth session IPA. It’s citrusy, tropical, crispy, refreshing, and the perfect level of hops for a session beer. Not a giant hop bomb, but beautiful and bold hop flavors. It’s insanely drinkable and will make a regular rotation in my beer tub this summer.

Have a favorite summer beer? Let me know about it, I’m always on the prowl for a new summer beer.

Beer Brined Pork and Pineapple Skewers with Apricot Chili Glaze

Print Recipe

Servings 10 to 12 skewers

Ingredients

1 ½ cups hot water
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbs brown sugar
12 ounces chilled pale ale
¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
1.5 lbs boneless country style pork ribs* cut into bite sized cubes
2 cups pineapple cubed
1 cup 11 wt oz apricot preserves
1 tbs Sriracha chili sauce
¼ cup pale ale or IPA beer

Instructions

In a large bowl combine the hot water, salt and sugar, stir until dissolved. Add the beer and soy sauce, stir to combine, allow to cool to room temperate.
Skewer the pork and the pineapple, alternating between the two. Add to a baking pan, pour the brine over the skewers, cover and chill for 1 to 6 hours.
In a small bowl combine the apricot, chili sauce, and ¼ cup beer, stir until well combined.
Preheat the grill to medium high.
Remove the skewers from brine, pat dry. Brush with glaze.
Add skewers to the grill, turn and brush with glaze every one to two minutes. Grill until pork is cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Notes

*If you can’t find country style pork ribs, lean towards a fattier cut of pork. Leaner cuts, like the loin and the chops, are much more likely to be dry and flavorless.

Blackberry Stout Mini Pies with Beer Whipped Cream

08.04.2015 9 Comments

Blackberry Stout Mini Pies with Beer Whipped Cream

You fall in love with beer the way you fall in love with music. Good music, the kind that gets into your bones and moves your soul, the kind you can’t explain to someone who frowns when they hear the same opening chord that makes you giddy.

You can dissect music, break down the lyrics, examine every note. You can categorize it, but you can’t really explain why it moves you, why a live recording with errors and missed keys has a vibe that’s better than the perfect Pro Tools-ed edition.

Beer isn’t different. You can break down the ingredients, explain the process, decide why one beer is better balanced than others in that style, but you can’t convey why you really love it. You can take the Jack and Coke out of your friend’s hand, replace it with Left Hand Milk Stout and explain why it tastes like love and James Brown music. But you can’t replace the confusion when he doesn’t get it.

You just have to accept that some people just won’t fall in the same love that you do. Just like if John Bonham rose from the grave, reunited with the rest of Led Zeppelin, there are some people who would go to the show, nod, smile and check the clock, hoping it would be over soon.

Some times I like to introduce Jack and Coke guy to a new beer, even if he doesn’t get it. And sometimes I just want to go the show with someone who wants to try to get as close to the stage as possible, begging for one more encore. Sometimes I just need to drink beer with a beer person.

I used this Pale Ale Pie Dough recipe.

Blackberry Stout Mini Pies with Beer Whipped Cream

Print Recipe

Servings 12 mini pies

Ingredients

For the pies:

Pie dough enough for one crust
1 lbs blackberries fresh or frozen
1½ cups powdered sugar
1 cup stout
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch

For the whipped cream:

1 cup heavy cream chilled
½ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs stout

Instructions

Roll the pie dough out on a lightly floured surface. Using a 3 to 4 inch circle cutter, cut out 12 circles (if you don’t have a cutter this size, a wine or margarita glass works well).
Press into the wells of a muffin tin, poke holes in the bottom of each crust.
Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown, allow to cool.
In a pot over medium-high heat, stir together the blackberries, sugar, beer, salt and cornstarch. Bring to a simmer and stir until very thick, about 10 minutes (frozen berries will take longer).
Spoon filling into the crusts.
Add the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla to the bowl of a stand mixer, beat on high until soft peaks form. Slowly add the beer, mixing until peaks return.
Spoon the whipped cream on the pies. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Awesome Vegan Whole Wheat Stout Loaf

03.04.2015 6 Comments

Awesome Vegan Whole Wheat Stout Loaf

This started three years ago as a personal challenge. I’d been looking up a recipe for 100% whole wheat bread and was told that it was really difficult to make really great tasting bread without at least some white flour, or copious amounts of butter.

Challenge excepted.

It took several tries, dozens of recipes, different flours and experimenting with plant fats but I did it. I’ll save you several thousand hours of research and give you the quick and dirty rules that I’ve learned on my endeavor. First, flour matters. A lot. I tried several brands and so far King Arthur Premium Whole Wheat Flour was vastly superior to others I tried. Soft, flavorful, not at all grainy or dry. Second was the issue of fat. Bread needs fat. I love making brioche, the yolks and butter and incredible in the final results, but I wanted to make it all plant based, mostly because I love to torture myself with endless kitchen trials and internet research. I tried different oils, but in the end, the fat from coconut milk was incredible. It gave the bread a dairy like texture and flavor, and a softness that I couldn’t get with anything else.

And then there was the beer! We’ve already talked about how sometimes beer isn’t vegan, or ever vegetarian for that matter, but pick the right beer and the results are perfect. My first choice for a bread baking liquid is usually a bottle conditioned wheat beer, the active yeast is fabulous. I tried that, a pale ale, and even a saison. In the end, the roasty flavors of a stout complimented the whole wheat perfectly.

So there you have it. A loaf of 100% whole wheat bread, made with just plants and beer. And it’s amazing.

Awesome Vegan Whole Wheat Stout Loaf

Print Recipe

Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

3 cups whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar for vegan see note
1 packet rapid rise yeast
1 can full fat coconut milk unshaken
1 cup stout beer
2 tbs olive oil
½ tsp almond extract

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook add the flour, brown sugar, and yeast, mix to combine.
Open the can of coconut milk, scrap out ½ cup of the coconut fat layer from the top, save the rest for an alternate use.
In a microwave safe bowl add the beer and coconut fat. Heat to between 120F and 130F degrees.
Add the beer mixture, oil and almond extract to the flour, beat on high until dough gathers around the hook and is no longer sticky, about 6 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 3 minutes.
Form into a ball, place on a baking sheet.
Allow to rise for about 20 minutes.
Bake until dark brown, about 22-26 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting.

*Beer and sugar are both inherently vegan. However, processing can often use animal products. If you are worried about it, read Is Beer Vegan?, and Vegan Sugar Brands.

Peach Ale Crème Brulee Tart & Let’s Talk about Peach Beer

01.04.2015 4 Comments

Peach Ale Crème Brulee Tart & Let’s Talk about Peach Beer

A craft brewers excitement for the changing of the seasons and the new crop of fresh produce to play with rivals even the most innovative chefs. Mention fruit beers just a few years ago and the collective groan from most beer lovers was audible across the country.

Thanks in part to the overwhelming excitement that accompanies Pumpkin Beer Season, the inclusion of produce in the brewing process is just as exciting as it should be. We are starting to recognize that there is life beyond the orange squash.

Peach beer season ushers in spring and a gorgeous crop of beers that run the spectrum from sour brett beers to dark roasty porters. As fun as it is to play with the pumpkin beers, I’ve been rather seduced by the variety of beer peach season has to offer. And yes, Budweiser, we will keep our Pumpkin Peach Ale, you can keep your Beer Pong Lubricant.

Odell sent my their new Tree Shaker Peach IPA for a test drive. I love it. It’s beautiful, hoppy, and with just a hint of peach. Insanely drinkable and perfect for the summer that should already be here. Here are a few other beers to sample, some are huge peach monsters, and some lend a subtle hand. Sample a few, see what you like, and don’t forget to share. Long live innovative brewers and fresh produce.

(In no particular order)

Odell // Tree Shaker IPA: nice carbonation, tropical citrus notes, big hop flavors and a very subtle hint of peach.

Terrapin// Maggie’s Farmhouse: Beautiful farmhouse ale, earthy, grassy and a nice peach flavor that’s very present but not overpowering. It’s malty but not overly sweet.

Dogfish Head // Festina Peche: It’s not possible to talk about peach beer with out this one being mentioned. It’s the Pumpking of peach beers. Many-a craft beer lover celebrate the day it hits store shelves. Year to year the peach profile changes, from big-in-your-face to subtle and understated. It’s a tart but low hop Berliner Weissbier that should absolutely be in your beer cart this spring.

Cisco Brewing // Pechish Woods: A sour that’s rounded out with some aging in a nice oak barrel. The peach is nice, present, but not overwhelming and beautifully balanced.

Logsdon Farms // Peche n' Brett: Possibly the highest rated peach beer as of yet. A saison aged in oak barrels with a complex flavor that demands appreciation. If you can find one, grab it.

Great Divide // Peach Grand Cru: A beautiful malty Belgian ale that gives you a nice kick of sweet peach flavors. A perfect addition to an evening dinner party on the patio.

Peach Ale Crème Brulee Tart

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Tart Crust:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
½ cup unsalted butter cut into cubes
1 egg yolk
3 tbs ice cold beer

Filling:

1 cup of heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
5 egg yolks
2/3 cup of sugar
½ cup peach ale
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar for brulee crust topping

Instructions

Add ¾ cups of flour, salt and sugar to a food processor, pulse to combine. Add the butter and egg yolk, process until well combined and dough gathers around the blade.
Add the remaining flour and pulse 6-8 times or until all the flour has been coated.
Transfer to a bowl. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the beer until completely incorporated into the dough. Dough will be very soft.
Lay a long sheet of plastic wrap on a flat surface.
Place the dough onto the plastic wrap, form into flat disk.
Wrap disk tightly in plastic wrap, chill for 1 hour and up to 3 days.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Roll the tart dough into an even circle on a lightly floured surface. Line a tart pan with the crust. Prick bottom of the tart with a fork several times, adding pie weights if desired.
Bake at 350 until lightly golden brown, about 15-18 minutes. Allow to cool.
Lower oven to 300.
Heat the cream and vanilla in a sauce pan over medium heat. Cook just until its bubbly around the edges but not boiling. Remove from heat, allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks, and 2/3 cup of sugar. Whisk until frothy, about 3 minutes.
While continuing to whisk, slowly add the cooled cream mixture until well combined. Whisk in the beer until well combined.
Pour into tart shell. Transfer to the oven, bake at 300 for 40-45 minutes or until the edges are set and the middle is still slightly wobbly.
Remove from oven and allow to cool, at room temperature, about 30 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator until chilled, about 4 hours. Right before serving, cover the top of your set custard with an even, thin layer of sugar (about 2 tablespoons). Slowly run a culinary torch over your sugar until it melts and turns an amber color.

Notes

Don’t brulee the sugar until you are ready to serve. After about an hour of sitting, the sugar will start to liquefy.

Stout BBQ Meat Ball Sliders

27.03.2015 5 Comments

Stout BBQ Meat Ball Sliders

"Do pigs…smell like bacon?'

I’m talking to a Hat Grabber at a party in Vegas. Hat Grabber is shorthand for a very young, very pretty, fairly vacant, girl who does things only she can do without getting punched in the face. This includes things like grabbing the hats of the heads of men she’s just met, putting it on her head, and forcing everyone to answer the question, "OH MY GOD, HOW CUTE DO I LOOK?" Hat grabbers.

I’m talking to a Hat Grabber about growing up on a farm, and she asks me if pigs smell like bacon.

"Live pigs? Do live pigs smell like bacon?" I’m a little confused and wonder if I actually heard her correctly.

"….yeah. I mean, I’ve always wondered that."

I’m mostly thinking about how quickly I can exit the conversation without hurting her feelings. "No," I answer, "They don’t smell that good. Also, cows don’t smell like hamburgers."

She laughs. She thinks I’m hilarious. I point to the waiter circulating the party with a silver tray of mini burgers. "How cute are those?! You should eat one!" She grabs her Hat Grabbing accomplice that has just returned from the bar and heads right for the cute food.

I’m relieved, I feel like I’ve been rescued. I owe the remainder of that evening to cute mini burgers. Burgers that actually do smell much more like bacon than live pigs do.

Stout & Sriracha Beer Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Stout BBQ Meat Ball Sliders

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb ground chuck
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp salt
1 egg
¼ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup stout beer
2 tbs olive oil
1 batch 2 cups Stout & Sriracha BBQ Sauce (link above)
12 slider buns

Instructions

In a large bowl add the meat, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt, egg, bread crums, and beer. stir until just combined (about two of three turns with your hands). Over handling the meat will make it tough and mealy.
Place bowl in the fridge for 1 hour and up to 1 day (this will help keep it’s shape during cooking.
Using a cookie scoop, make balls just smaller than a golf ball with the chilled meat.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat until very hot. Add the meat balls, pull the skillet back and forth over the burner to roll the meat balls around in the pan. Cook until meatballs are just starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat and add the barbeque sauce, cover with a lid, cooking at a simmer until meatballs are glazed and sauce is very thick.
Place one to two meatballs inside slider buns. Serve warm.

Cream Cheese Beer Pancakes with Strawberry Saison Syrup

25.03.2015 10 Comments

Cream Cheese Beer Pancakes with Strawberry Saison Syrup

I’m standing in the middle of a craft store talking quietly on my phone to an 87-year-old woman who wants to ship me weed.

I’m acutely aware of the fact that I’m actually embarrassed to tell her that I’ve never really been into weed. Not ever. Not even in high school, or when I ran around Hollywood with rock stars, it was just never my thing. I’ll just have a beer, thanks.

I don’t want to seem prude to a woman in her 80’s. I also don’t want to hurt her feelings, she’s sweet enough to offer me some of the stash she grows for her legal medicinal marijuana business.

I’d met her a few weeks prior at a beer conference. She’s smart and sweet and genuinely interesting and I gave her my card, telling her to stay in touch. She calls me to offer to ship me some weed and instead of being up front with her, I’m evasive.

I don’t want her to go to all that trouble for someone who doesn’t smoke. It’s like shipping Pliny to someone who only drinks Captain and Cokes. I’m trying to find a way to say no. I’m also starting to become aware of the side-eye I’m getting from the girl in the aisle next to me, not sure if she’s judging me for talking on a phone in a quiet store, or if it’s about the weed. I decided that since it’s Seattle, she really can’t be that uptight about a conversation about pot.

I finally come out with it, "I’m sorry, I just don’t smoke. It’s so nice of you to offer, it’s just not for me."

There is a long pause and I’m sure that I’ve offended her. "but…." she sounds confused, "You always make pot smoker food on your blog. I just figured….never mind."

She has a point. I mean, who eats beer pancakes in the middle of the day? It’s a logical assumption.

Cream Cheese Beer Pancakes with Strawberry Saison Syrup

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For the pancakes

1/3 cup sugar
4 oz cream cheese
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups wheat beer
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups All purpose flour

For the syrup

8 wt oz about 2 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup granulated sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup saison or hefeweizen beer

Instructions

In a blender add the sugar, cream cheese, baking soda, baking powder, salt, eggs, beer and vanilla extract. Blend until just smooth. Add the flour, pulse until just combined (batter can be made up to 24 hours in advance, refrigerate until ready to use.)
Heat a griddle to 350°F or a skillet over medium high heat, spray with cooking spray or grease with melted butter.
Pour 3 inch circles onto hot surface. Once bubbles appear in the center and the edges look dry, flip pancakes. Cook until underside is golden brown.
Add all the syrup ingredients to a pot over high heat. Boil, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced by about 1/3. Remove from heat, allow to cool before using.

Honey Porter Glazed Cod Fillets

20.03.2015 10 Comments

Honey Porter Glazed Cod Fillets Last year I sat on a table in a tattoo parlor in Silverlake. Gritting my teeth and trying to ignore the ink being forced into my skin by a sharp needle to cover up a teenage bad decision. Another artist, waiting for his next client, sat down next to me to try to distract me from the pain. The conversation wanders to beer, as it often does with me.

He’d just brewed his first batch of beer with a homebrew kit that he’d been given for his 30th birthday

"It sucked didnt' it?" I say matter of factly. He looked hurt. "It’s supposed to suck, you’re first batch isn’t about drinking, it’s about learning."

He smiled, "It was so bad we drain poured the entire batch. It sucked. Hard."

"Good! That means you have a good palate, if you thought it was good and forced it on your friends, that would be bad. You’re actually off to a good start."

He side-eyed me, "Really? because I’m pretty discouraged. I don’t even want to try again"

"Because your first tattoo was so awesome that you never put down your gun?"

He laughed, and so did the guy torturing me with his gun, which wasn’t my intention.

"It was so terrible! I feel SO bad for that guy, even still!" He laughs and I see him make the connection, I can see him link the beginning of one obsession with that start of the other.

"Did you learn more than one thing? Because that’s the point. Beer is hard, you can’t expect to get it right the first time. You just learn a few things each time. It gets good, then it sucks again, then it gets better."

He smiled, "Is it weird that I kind of needed to hear that? I’ve felt like a HUGE failure all week. It was really getting to me. Thank you."

The tattoo was done, my foot wrapped up like a brisket and I hobbled to my car. I wondered why failure is so bad. Why it can ruin us for weeks. It’s not bad, it’s necessary. It’s valuable. It should make us proud. We did something. We learned something. And we are ready for more.

Go out there, fail big, learn big, move forward.

Honey Porter Glazed Cod Fillets

Print Recipe

Ingredients

2/3 cup porter
¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
¼ cup honey
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp chili powder
½ tsp pepper
4 6 ounce cod fillets

Instructions

In a medium bowl stir together the porter, soy sauce, honey, garlic powder, ginger, chili powder and pepper. Add the cod, toss to coat.
Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
Preheat the broiler.
Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Remove the cod from the marinade, add to the prepared sheet.
Add the marinade to a pot over high heat. Boil, stirring frequently until thickened, about 8 minutes.
Brush the fish with the glaze, place under the broiler. Broil for two minutes, re-brush with glaze, broil for two more minutes and repeat until fish is cooked through.

Crispiest Beer Brined Chicken Thighs with Brown Ale and Sweet Pea Puree

18.03.2015 11 Comments

Crispiest Beer Brined Chicken Thighs with Brown Ale Bean and Sweet Pea Puree

Crispiest Beer Brined Chicken Thighs with Brown Ale and Sweet Pea Puree

I’m going to give you one of my secrets. I have a lot. This one is about food, and it’s a new secret.

I’ve been told for years to sear my chicken in a hot pan. I did it, dutifully, obediently, and I was given beautiful chicken. But here’s the secret: there’s a better way. I obsessively read about food (not a secret). About the history behind it, about the experiments to improve recipes, about what the difference between baking soda and baking powder is, about marinate vs marinade vs brine, it’s all very boring. Unless you’re me, and in that case, it’s fascinating.

I’ll save you the thousands of words that brought me to the door of this secret, I’ll give you the Cliff’s notes. In a smoking hot pan you just have a few minutes to sear the skin of a chicken before it burns. This will render some of the fat and give you a fairly crispy skin. BUT if you start in a cold pan the fat has more time to render as the pan heats giving you an even crispier skin. I told you. Very boring unless you’re me.

Try it. Try out this little secret, cold pan, no oil, crispiest skin ever.

Kept the secret, share the chicken. Or share both, it’s up to you, but you should always share the beer.

Crispiest Beer Brined Chicken Thighs with Brown Ale and Sweet Pea Puree

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

4 chicken thighs bone-in, skin on
salt and pepper
12 ounces brown ale

For the Peas:

12 wt oz about 2 ¼ cups green peas (thawed if frozen)
1 cloves garlic smashed
¼ cup sour cream
3 tbs brown ale
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
¼ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
2 tbs olive oil
¼ cup green onions

Instructions

Sprinkle the chicken thighs on all sides with salt and pepper. Place in a large bowl or baking dish, pour beer over chicken. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.
In a high powdered blender or food processer add the peas, garlic, sour cream, brown ale, salt, pepper, parmesan and olive oil, process until smooth.
Add the peas to a pot over medium low heat, simmer until warmed through, remove from heat.
Remove chicken from the brine, pat dry.
Place the chicken skin side down in a cold cast iron skillet, add the pan to medium high heat. As the pan heats, fat will render making the skin crispy. Once the skin is golden brown, turn the chicken thighs and cook until internal temperature reaches 165.
Plate the peas puree, add the chicken, sprinkle with green onions.

Jackie Dodd-Mallory Senior Editor

Strawberry Jalapeno Beer Popsicles

Ingredients

Instructions

Roasted Beer Brined Chicken Legs over Grilled Corn Puree and English Pea Herb Salad

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

For the Corn:

For the peas:

Instructions

Vanilla Beer Cake Bites with Blueberry Filling

Ingredients

Cake

Filling:

Instructions

Homemade Beer Hot Dog Buns

Ingredients

Instructions

Chocolate Stout S’Mores Icebox Pie

Ingredients

Crust

Filling

Topping

Instructions

Beer Brined Roasted Rosemary Chicken Legs

Ingredients

Instructions

Honey Balsamic Beer Glazed Shrimp Skewers

Ingredients

Instructions

Stout Beef Barbacoa Tacos

Ingredients

Instructions

Roasted Herb Beer Mustard Potato Salad

Ingredients

Instructions

Moroccan Beer Chicken with Herb Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

Chicken:

Yogurt sauce & Tomatoes:

Instructions

Beer Brined Pork and Pineapple Skewers with Apricot Chili Glaze

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Blackberry Stout Mini Pies with Beer Whipped Cream

Ingredients

For the pies:

For the whipped cream:

Instructions

Awesome Vegan Whole Wheat Stout Loaf

Ingredients

Instructions

Peach Ale Crème Brulee Tart

Ingredients

Tart Crust:

Filling:

Instructions

Notes

Stout BBQ Meat Ball Sliders

Ingredients

Instructions

Cream Cheese Beer Pancakes with Strawberry Saison Syrup

Ingredients

For the pancakes

For the syrup

Instructions

Honey Porter Glazed Cod Fillets

Ingredients

Instructions

Crispiest Beer Brined Chicken Thighs with Brown Ale and Sweet Pea Puree

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

For the Peas:

Instructions

Jackie Dodd-Mallory
Senior Editor