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Beef/Pork

Mac and Beer Cheese Brats with Beer Caramelized Onions

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I just use it as an excuse.

The truth is, I only use the cultural intrigue over Oktoberfest as an excuse to do things like this. Because in any reasonable persons mind, this is a bit too far. One too many. Coco Chanel is telling me to take something off before I leave the house with these things. In a way, I did. I wanted to add crumbled bacon to the top. And jalapeños, although I’ll even admit that would be one too many. Just a bit too far, pushed too far over the edge for enjoyment.

In reality, there are two ways to look at these: extreme and ridiculous displays of overt glutton lust, OR as a concerted effort in indulgence moderation. I’ll choose the later. And I’ll choose a beer, and I may choose to have two.

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Mac and Beer Cheese Brats with Beer Caramelized Onions

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 sweet white onion sliced
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 cup beer Belgian ale, pale ale, red ale
  • 6 raw bratwurst
  • 12 ounces beer pilsner, pale ale, or wheat beer
  • 6 buns split
  • 2 cups Mac n Cheese recipe link below

Instructions
 

  • In a pot over medium heat melt the butter (not too hot or the onions will burn before they caramelize).
  • Add the onions, cooking until they soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar.
  • Pour in the beer and allow to cook until the onions are dark brown and the beer is mostly gone, about 45 minutes to one hour. Remove from heat, set aside.
  • Add the brats to a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the beer, bringing to a low simmer. Cook over medium heat until the brats are cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
  • Add the brats to a pre-heated grill or grill pan until grill marks appear, about 3 minutes per side.
  • Add the brats to the buns, top with caramelized onions and mac n cheese. Serve immediately.
  • *if making in advance, store all elements separately. Re-heat and assemble right before serving.

Stove Top Sriracha Beer Mac N Cheese Recipe 

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Beer Chili Party Dogs

Beer Chili Party Dogs

Beer Chili Party Dogs6

I had a brief 3-year stint as a vegetarian, a decision that made my cooking both better and impossible, but I ultimately  wasn’t able to commit. Rules have never really been for me, and I’m an all-in, or all-out type of person.

It started when my parents decided to move us all (they had eight daughters, choke on that), from an idyllic central California beach town, to a pig farm in Eastern-Washington-Lunch-Meat-USA. For a handful of years, we played farm, raised pigs, grew alfalfa, bucked hay, listen to a lot of George Strait, and tried not to die. I moved back to California the second I was able, missing my own High School graduation to get back to Los Angeles as quickly as my Ford Bronco would take me.

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I’m going to spare you the dirty details of why, exactly, those years on the farm inspired a meat-free existence but I will tell you how it ended: with a chili cheese dog. I love the food I ate when I was focusing on produce, but I hated the idea that there was anything off limits. I was devoted to learning as much as I could about cooking and I needed to be able to work with all ingredients in order to learn as much as possible. I decided, on a drive through Burbank one day, that I was done. I wasn’t done with how much I love veg food, I was done with having rules on what I ate. I didn’t tip-toe back into the meat pool. I jumped into the deep end with a chili cheese dog from Chili Johns. It was fantastic.

Although the farm years didn’t stick, I did take away a valuable lesson about hot dogs: always buy kosher. ALWAYS. A few days after the first pigs went from pen to slaughter house I happened to answer a call from the local butcher. He asked me if we wanted hot dogs. Being 12-years-old, I had no idea what he meant, (why wouldn’t we?) and unfortunately, he explained it to me. The gist (look away if you really want to be spared the dirty details), he offered to "hose out the bottom of the slaughterhouse and put it in casings." This is when I learned the truth about what exactly that childhood treat is. Kosher means real meat, no "other stuff," no things that end up on the bottom of the slaughter house with no other purpose. Kosher it is, since I can get behind the idea that sneaking entrails and reproductive parts into someone’s dinner is immoral. So maybe I’m a little Jewish. But only when hot dogs are around.

Beer Chili Party Dogs2

Beer Chili Party Dogs

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoon 22g olive oil
  • 1 cup 125g yellow onions, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 lbs beef 80% lean/20% fat
  • 1 cup 8 fl oz stout beer
  • 6 oz tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon 12g Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoon 12g red chili sauce (such as sriracha)
  • 2 teaspoon 4g chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon 1g smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon 6gsalt
  • 1 teaspoon 2g pepper
  • 1 teaspoon 2g cumin
  • 8 Kosher hot dogs precooked, do not use raw
  • 8 hot dog buns
  • 4 wt oz cheddar cheese shredded
  • 1 avocado diced
  • ¼ cup 8g cilantro, chopped

Instructions
 

  • Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add the onions, cooking until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic.
  • Add the beef, cooking until browned, stirring and breaking it up as it cooks.
  • Stir in the beer, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, pepper and cumin. Cook until slightly thickened, remove from heat.
  • Preheat the broiler.
  • Open the hot dog buns and lay flat, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Place under broiler until lightly toasted (this will help the buns to not get soggy once the chili dog sauce is added). Remove from oven, lower heat to 400F.
  • Place the buns in a long row down the center of the pan. Add a hot dog to each bun, top with chili sauce. Sprinkle the hot dogs with cheese.
  • Return to the center rack in the oven, cooking until the cheese has melted and the hot dogs are warmed through.
  • Remove from oven, sprinkle with avocado and cilantro.

Beer Chili Party Dogs1

Korean Porter Skirt Steak (grill or oven)

Korean Porter Skirt Steak (grill or oven)

Korean Porter Skirt Steak (grill or oven)

There is no substitution for this.

I go through phases when I just want to eat plants all the time. I’ll make these enchiladas, or I’ll eat avocado smashed on tortillas with grilled corn, cooked like a quesadilla, and I’ll feel like a genius. Like a healthy genius.

But then I realize that I want meat and no amount of processed patties or Jack fruit that swear to me it tastes like meat will do. Cheese is a bigger culprit. Dairy and I have a long history of not getting along. I’ve loathed the idea of a tall glass of milk since the first time I had a sippy cup full of juice, I’ll eat coconut milk ice cream all day long, and I drink almond milk creamer in my coffee, but cheese is in a league of its own. Cheese is one of one, there are no replacements. Just like a big medium-rare steak, It’s real cheese or nothing.

It’s also medium-rare or nothing. I’d rather have chicken than over-cooked steak. Undercooked, sure, bring it on. I’ll just pretend like it’s tartar and go after it. So, I could be a vegan. I could, as long as I have a cheat day where steak and cheese are acceptable. Or maybe it’s just that I’ve always been a rule breaker and boundary pusher and once I have imposed limitations all I can think about is breaking them.

Tell me I can’t eat meat and it’s what I want. Tell me I can’t quit my job as a social worker and work full-time writing about beer and food because it’s never been done before…well, we all know how that went. I just hear "it’s never been done before" as "It hasn’t been done YET." And here we are. Full-time beer-cooking-photo-taking-food-writing with my steak for lunch and I still haven’t taken a shower today. One thing at a time.

Korean Porter Skirt Steak (grill or oven)

Korean Porter Skirt Steak (grill or oven)

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lbs skirt steak or flank steak
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoon mirin*
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • ½ cup porter or stout beer
  • 3 cloves garlic grated with a microplane
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ tsp salt
  • sesame seeds
  • green onions chopped

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl or Ziploc bag combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, sesame oil, beer, garlic, and black pepper.
  • Add the steak, cover (or seal the Ziploc bag) and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours.
  • Remove from marinade, sprinkle with salt, allow to sit at room temperate for 15 minutes.

Grill (preferred method):

  • Preheat the grill to medium-high. Grill until seared well on both sides, about 4 minutes per side.
  • Remove, allow to rest for 5 minutes. Slice against the grain, sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.

Oven:

  • Preheat the oven to 350.
  • Heat cooking oil in a cast iron skillet until very hot. Add the steak, cooking until well seared, about 2 minutes. Flip, cook for two minutes on the other side. Add to the oven and cook for 4 minutes for medium rare.

Notes

*Mirin is a sweet Japanese cooking wine that is often found in the Asian section of the market. If you can’t find it, dissolve ¼ teaspoon sugar in 2 tablespoon white wine or sherry.

Korean Porter Skirt Steak (grill or oven)

Stout French Onion Soup Beef Sandwiches

Stout French Onion Soup Beef Sandwiches

Stout French Onion Soup Beef Sandwiches1

I stick my finger in a hole in the side of the plane the size and shape of a bullet hole.

The fact that it’s on the  inside wall of the plane, from my seat somewhere in the middle of the tiny South American airliner, that causes the worry. Although it isn’t even close to what worries me the most right now. I’ve been stuck on the airplane for more than an hour, locked inside the metal tube on the tarmac, and the air conditioner isn’t working. It’s over 110F degrees and I’m starting to panic. The baby in the front of the plane has stopped crying, which also worries me. The sun starts to peak out from behind the clouds that have served as a barrier between the metal trap and the sun. The temperature noticeably rises and I wonder how hot it can get before people start to pass out.

A voice comes over the intercom. Even if I did speak Spanish, I still can’t make out a word. A man behind me translates, "Lunch break?! Air traffic control took a lunch break and THAT’S why we can’t leave?!" Awesome.

Ten minutes later the plane starts to move, a few laps around the tiny airport and we are finally airborne. Twenty minutes after that the high altitude finally cools the plane to a more comfortable 80F degrees. Less than an hour later we land in a small island town off the coast of Panama.

We’ve made it. I’m both relieved for the arrival and embarrassed for all the "what if’s" that I allowed to run rampant in my brain. Three days later, after an absolutely incredible weekend, I’m back at the airport. Back at an airport so tiny the "baggage claim" is just two guys who line the bags up on the sidewalk, let a drug-sniffing dog check them out, and then hand the bags out to passengers one by one. 36 hours, three cities and five airports later, I’m back in Seattle. And it’s cold. I want comfort food. Mostly to console myself because I’m no longer here. So I made these, and they did the trick. Even if I had the urge to serve them with a side of plantain chips.

Stout French Onion Soup Beef Sandwiches2

Stout French Onion Soup Beef Sandwiches

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

For the beef:

  • 2 tsp 12g kosher salt
  • 1 tsp 2g black pepper
  • 1 tsp 5g garlic powder
  • ½ tsp 2g onion powder
  • ½ tsp 1g smoked paprika
  • 3.5 lbs beef chuck roast
  • 1 tbs 13g olive oil
  • 12 ounces stout or porter beer

For the onions:

  • 2 lbs 3 large sweet white onions, sliced thinly
  • 3 tbs 42g unsalted butter
  • 1 cup 8 oz porter or stout beer
  • ½ cup 4 oz beef broth

For the sandwiches:

  • 6 French rolls or 12 slider rolls
  • 12 slices provolone cheese

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl stir together the salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika. Rub the roast on all sides with the spice mixture.
  • Preheat the oven to 325°F.
  • Heat the olive oil in a large, oven safe, Dutch oven or pot. Sear the meat on all sided. Add 12 ounces of beer, cover and transfer to the oven.
  • Roast until fork tender, turning the meat over once or twice during cooking, about three hours. Once the meat is cooked, shred in the pot, allowing the meat to sit in the braising liquid for at least 10 minutes.
  • While the meat cooks, make the onions. Add the sliced onions and butter to a pot over medium/low heat. Cook until the onions have softened and started to brown, about 20 minutes (do not cook over too-high heat or the onions will burn before they caramelize).
  • Add the beer and the broth, allowing to cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is almost gone and the onions are a dark brown, about 1 hour.
  • Once the meat and onions are done, preheat the broiler.
  • Lay the rolls on a baking sheet. Fill with meat, top with onions and then add a slice or two of cheese. Place under the broiler until cheese has melted, serve warm.

Notes

These are best made a day ahead of time. Make the meat and onions, store in separate containers in the fridge, and assemble and broil to serve.
To save uneaten sandwiches, wrap in parchment paper, then place in a ziplock bag. Refrigerate for up to three days. Unwrap the sandwiches, place on a baking sheet and place in a 300F oven for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through.

Stout French Onion Soup Beef Sandwiches3

Stout Steak with Sriracha Beer Butter For Two

Stout Steak with Sriracha Beer Butter For Two

Stout Steak with Sriracha Beer Butter For Two2

I’m not going to tell you what to do.

If I did, and you listened to me, you’d end up with a really weird life. Chances are you don’t want to teach anger management to gang members or almost die in Morocco so it’s a good thing I don’t make your decisions for you. But if I did, I’d tell you that if you insist on celebrating mid-February-obligatory-fifty-shades-of-eff-off-red-velvet-forced-romance my advice is to stay home. Going out is for suckers. Romance doesn’t swirl around a crowded entryway to an overpriced restaurant. Stay in, draw the shades, pull out the biggest barrel aged stout you can find, wear your sexiest shoes, take your time with the night. Don’t be rushed out of a restaurant so the server can turn a table. Don’t worry about traffic and reservations. Stay in.

I used Rogue Ales Sriracha Stout for this. One bottle will be enough to: sample one of the most talked about beers in last few years, marinate a steak, and make some compound butter. This beer is divisive. You’ll either love it or hate it, but either way, it’ll give you something to talk about and a nice slow burn in your mouth. Sounds like a good Valentines Day to me.

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Stout Steak with Sriracha Beer Butter For Two

Ingredients
  

For the Butter:

  • 8 tbs 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 tbs stout
  • 1 tsp sriracha
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp salt

For the Steak

  • 1 ½ cups stout
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • 10-12 ounces Prime of Choice cut New York Strip steak two pieces or one
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

For the Asparagus:

  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • ½ lbs asparagus
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper

Instructions
 

  • Add the softened butter, stout, sriracha, garlic powder and salt to a food processor, process until smooth and well combined (about 5 minutes).
  • Lay a piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface, scoop the butter in a long line onto the plastic wrap. Fold the plastic warp over the butter and form into a tight log. Tightly wrap the log with the plastic wrap. Refrigerate until set, about thirty minutes (can be made several days in advance).
  • Stir together the stout, onion powder, salt and Worcestershire sauce, add to a shallow bowl, baking dish, loaf pan or Ziploc bog. Add the steak, cover and refrigerate for 6 hours and up to 12.
  • 30 minutes prior to cooking remove the steak from marinade, pat dry. Allow to sit at room temperate for the remainder of the 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350.
  • Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet or other oven safe skillet. Sprinkle the steak liberally with salt and pepper on both sides.
  • Once the oil is hot but not quite smoking add the steak, cook for two minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for two minutes. Transfer pan to the oven and cook for 5 minutes for medium rare (for a 1 ½ inch thick steak). Transfer to a cutting board, allow to rest for five minutes.
  • Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the asparagus, Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until just starting to soften, rolling the asparagus back and forth in the pan, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat before the asparagus is limp, keeping the firmness and bite.
  • Divide the asparagus between two plates, top with steak, top each steak with a pat of butter.

Stout Steak with Sriracha Beer Butter For Two3

Stout Brined Pan Seared Flank Steak with Sage Chimichurri

Stout Brined Pan Seared Flank Steak with Sage Chimichurri

Beer Brined Pan Seared Flank Steak with Sage Chimichurri

I’m going to tell you why I’m not a good person, at least not at first.

I was late a few days ago, trying to get to a place that had me stress-rushing but wasn’t important enough to remember now, three days later. The car in front of me, a Volvo station wagon as old as I am was making very slow forward progress, slightly swerving, down a winding back road in the Wine Country of King County. I’m annoyed, irritated, wondering if Seattle drivers do this on purpose. Do they see that you’re in a rush and slow down to make a point? Everyone in LA was always in a hurry and driving less than the speed limit wasn’t even physically possible. What the hell was this guys problem? At the first opportunity I speed past him, out of the corner of my eye I see his car slow to a stop in the middle of the road, his hazards flip on, and his body slump over the steering wheel.

I stop, my I-Need-To-Get-There-Now destination on hold. I turn around and go back to check on him. I pull off on the soft shoulder of the road, my tires scrapping a few blackberry bushes that have just gone dormant. I see his old, frail body shaking a bit.

I grab the thick black handle on the faded blue door of his car and pull it open with a loud creak, "Are you OK?" he looks up, smiles. He is easily 80 years old. He tells me that the car has been acting funny, but he thought he would be able to make it to the store, but then it just stopped. He’s shaken, unsure what to do. This is the man I though was an asshole for going so slow just three minutes earlier. I feel awful.

 A small market is right across the street and a few employees have come outside to see what the action is. I wave them over. We push the car out of the road for him, and help him call a tow truck.

When I leave, he’s fine, his car problem assessed and fixed. But I wondered why I do that. Why do I first assume the worse about strangers? Maybe the guy in traffic is having car problems. Maybe the rude waitress isn’t a bitch, maybe she just got the worst news of her life and she’s only trying to hold it together. Maybe we should all just give each other a break and assume the best until proven otherwise. Maybe I need to stop driving like I still live in LA, and stop freaking out when I’m late.

Maybe we just need to get some beer and hug it out.

Beer Brined Pan Seared Flank Steak with Sage Chimichurri

Beer Brined Pan Seared Flank Steak with Sage Chimichurri

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

For the Steak:

  • 1 ½ lbs flank steak
  • 1 ½ cups stout or porter
  • 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp salt
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tbs butter

Chimichurri:

  • 2 tbs 20g finley chopped shallots
  • ½ cup 6g fresh parsley
  • ¼ cup 6g fresh sage leaves
  • 1/3 cup 72g olive oil
  • 1 tsp 3g red pepper flakes
  • 2 tbs 15g red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbs l 15g lemon juice
  • 1 clove 3g garlic, smashed
  • ¼ tsp 1.5g salt
  • ¼ tsp .5g black pepper

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the beer, Worcestershire, onion powder, paprika and salt.
  • Place the steak in a baking dish, cover with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours and up to 24, turning at least once while marinating.
  • To make the chimichurri combine all ingredients in a food processor, pulse several times until combined.
  • Remove the steak from the marinade, pat dry. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 400.
  • Pat the steak dry again, if needed, sprinkle on both sides with salt and pepper.
  • Melt the butter in a cast iron skillet over high heat.
  • Add the steak, cook for two minutes, flip and cook on the other side for one minute.
  • Transfer to the oven and cook for 7 minutes or until the thickest part of the steak reads 120 on a meat thermometer.
  • Remove from the pan and allow to rest for ten minutes. Slice against the grain and serve with the chimichurri sauce

Beer Brined Pan Seared Flank Steak with Sage Chimichurri

Stout Bolognese and I Brewed A Beer with Fort George Brewing

Ft George Beeroness Beer

It started with a phone call.

A question. Would I be interested in teaming up with Fort George Brewery out of Astoria, Oregon to brew a beer for this years Willamette Week’s Beer Pro/Am in Portland, Oregon?

Of course I would, what kind of questions is that? I’d love to, not-be-able-to-sleep thrilled to. First step: deciding what I want to brew. I thought about the beers I’d fallen in love with over the years, the first beers, the best ones, the most memorable pints. I decided on a stout, the dark beers will always have my heart.  The beer I brewed was inspired by food, a decision that seemed fairly fated. Head brewer Jack Harris and I brewed a deep, malty, stout with candied and roasted pecans that we’ve decided to call Glazed and Confused Praline Stout. I’m thrilled with how it’s turned out, it’s delicious, the notes of brown sugar and pecans melt into the malty backbone of the stout.

 

This weekend Jack and I will be pouring our Glazed and Confused , hoping you’ll love it as much as we do. If you’re at the event, come say hi. Try my beer and let me know what you think.

 

Stout Bolognese

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbs 20g olive oil
  • 2 ribs 100g celery, chopped
  • 1 large 350g white onion, chopped
  • 1 large 120g carrot, chopped
  • 1 lbs 454g ground chuck (85% lean)
  • 12 wt oz 340g ground pork
  • 2 tsp 16g salt
  • 2 tsp 8g black pepper
  • 1 tsp 6g red peppers
  • ¼ cup 50g Mama Lil’s (pickled Hungarian goat horn peppers)
  • 1 cup 268g whole milk
  • 12 ounces 340g stout
  • 1.5 lbs 680g crushed tomatoes
  • 1 tbs 16g tomato puree
  • 1 cup 80g fresh shaved or shredded parmesan
  • 6 servings parppardelle pasta about 1 ½ lbs 525g

Instructions
 

  • Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the celery, onions, and carrot. Cook until the vegetables have softened and the onions have started to caramelize, at least 15 minutes and up to 45 (the longer you allow the onions to caramelize, the better the overall flavor).
  • Add the beef, pork, salt, black pepper, red pepper and Mam Lil’s, allow meat to brown, breaking up as it cooks.
  • Add the milk and allow to cook until the milk looks as though it is mostly cooked off, and the pan looks mostly dry, about 10 minutes.
  • Add the stout, cooking until the beer is mostly gone, about 15 minutes.
  • Stir in the tomatoes and tomato puree, cook over medium/low heat (very low simmer), for three to four hours (you can transfer the sauce to a slow cooker instead, cook on low for 8 hours).
  • Stir in the parmaesan in the last ten minutes of cooking.
  • Serve over pasta, sprinkle with additional parmesan if desired.
Stout Bolognese 4

Stout Braised Pork and Black Bean Empanadas and a Craft Beer Adventure in South America

Stout Braised Pork and Black Bean Empanadas

Stout Braised Pork and Black Bean Empanadas 6

The first thing you notice about the owners of Bogota Beer Company is how much they care. About each other, about the people who work for them, about the brand and every detail of it. It conveys so strong, the minute they picked me up from an airport in Panama, I could feel it instantly. The entire reason they’d flown me thousands of miles was because of how much they care. The menu they had in the 27 pubs spread over 2 countries was good, but they wanted it to be great. They wanted me to revamp it, add some beer, make it exciting.

Colombia Panama

The week was peppered with new experiences every day. A fish market in Panama, foods and flavors that were new to me, gorgeous dinners, late nights walks around a rain slicked city, a private coffee class in the hills of Bogota, Colombia. All the while I was reworking an already decent menu. A menu that, to be honest, was better than most American pubs. We made it exciting. We added a burger with a bacon jam made with their porter, doughnuts served with sauces infused with their beer, fried chicken made the way American Southern women make it, and a pizza menu that feels as artisan as their beer.

Colombia Panama2

I’m proud of what we did. Proud to work with a company that is paving the way for great craft beer in countries that are brand new to even the idea of a beer that isn’t a pale lager. The beer is fantastic, and the company is even better. If you’re in Bogota, Colombia, stop in the BBC for a pint and sample the menu I helped create. Or stop by one of the micro-pubs they’re dotted across the country in renovated shipping containers. If you visit Panama City, stop by La Rana Dorada. Stop by and have a pint, have some food, and make some friends. They are the best people you can hope to come across while traveling.

Colombia Panama3

Stout Braised Pork and Black Bean Empanadas

Servings 12 empanadas

Ingredients
  

Dough:

  • 3 cups 350g Masa Harina (corn flour)
  • 1 cup 120g all purpose flour
  • 2 cup 450g warm water
  • 2 tbs 32g oil

Filling:

  • 1 tbs oil
  • ½ large 160g white onion, chopped
  • 12 wt oz 340g Ground pork
  • 1 cup 226g stout
  • 2 tbs 32g Tomato puree
  • 15 oz 425g Black beans
  • ¼ tsp 0.6g smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp 1.5g garlic powder
  • ½ tsp 3g salt
  • 1 tsp 1g black pepper
  • Oil for frying

Instructions
 

  • Add the masa, flour, water, and oil to a bowl, stir until a soft dough forms. If the dough is too wet, add additional flour. The consistency should be similar to Play-Doh. Cover the bowl and allow to rest while you prepare the filling.
  • Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook the onions until slightly caramelized, about ten minutes. Add the pork, cooking until browned, breaking up into small pieces.
  • Add the stout and allow to cook until the beer is almost completely gone.
  • Add the tomato puree, black beans, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and black pepper, cook until well combined. Remove from heat.
  • Form dough into balls about the size of golf balls.
  • One at a time place between two sheets of parchment paper (parchment works better than plastic wrap, the dough removes more easily) and using either a tortilla press or a rolling pin, press/roll into 6 inch circles.
  • Add about 2 tablespoons of filling in the center. Using the parchment, fold over the dough to form a crescent shape. Peel back the parchment and press the dough to seal the edges. Repeat for all dough balls.
  • Heat the oil (canola or peanut oil), in a large pot over medium high heat. Using a cooking thermometer adjust heat to maintain 350F degrees.
  • A few at a time, fry the empanadas until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Allow to drain on a stack of paper towels.

Notes

Masa Harina is sold in most major markets, look for it in the Hispanic food section.
To make ahead of time: After frying allow to cool. Place on a plate and loosely cover, chill for up to three days. Once ready to serve, drizzle with oil and bake at 425 for 12 minutes.

Stout Braised Pork and Black Bean Empanadas 7

BBQ Beer Brat Tailgate Pizza & How To Prep A Grilled Pizza For Tailgating

BBQ Beer Brat Tailgate Pizza & How To Prep A Grilled Pizza For Tailgating -6

I grill pizza more often than I grill anything else. Unless you have a pizza oven in your backyard, it’s likely your best option when it comes to at home pizza cooking. Or, in this case, parking-lot-back-of-a-truck-with-a-portable-grill cooking. You get those lovely grilled char marks that you want when open flames are cooking your food, and it’s easy to modify to your guest eating persuasions.

Tailgate Pizza Tips:

Prep as much as you can ahead of time. If you’re making more than one pizza, write down the toppings you want for each, prep them all and store them in small containers to take with you. The dough can, and should, be made in advance. Just make sure to punch down the dough  every 12 hours (literally just punch the middle of it to deflate, you can also grab the sides and pull to deflate). Pizza dough is best if it’s able to cold ferment in the fridge for a few days.

BBQ Beer Brat Tailgate Pizza & How To Prep A Grilled Pizza For Tailgating

Don’t forget to bring a surface to roll out the dough. Some people like to use a rolling pin, while others think hand shaping the dough is the only way to go, it’s your call.

Brush the grates with olive oil to keep the dough from sticking. I sometimes oil the dough and flip it onto the grill like a giant pancake, but that’s just me.

You only want to grill the underside until it holds shape. It’s going back on the grill to heat the toppings and melt the cheese, undercooking it the first time will prevent overcooking it the second time.

Pizzas take about 8 minutes to cook, so they are easy to make as-needed. Plus they don’t take up too much room in the cooler, leaving you way more space for beer. Which, really, is the most important part.

grilled pizza

 

I used Stout & Sriracha BBQ Sauce

BBQ Beer Brat Tailgate Pizza & How To Prep A Grilled Pizza For Tailgating

Servings 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
  

For the Pizza Dough:

  • 3 cups 360g bread flour
  • 1 packet 2 ¼ tsp, or 21g rapid rise yeast
  • 2 tsp 8g sugar
  • 1 cup 226g wheat beer
  • 3 tbs 42g whole milk
  • 1 tbs 14g olive oil, plus 2 tbs (28g), divided
  • 1/2 2g tsp salt

Toppings:

  • 2 to 3 large beer brats raw
  • 24 ounces beer wheat, pale ale, or brown ale
  • Stout & Sriracha BBQ Sauce link above
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 roasted red bell pepper chopped (from a jar is OK)
  • 2 tbs chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
  • Oil for the grill

Instructions
 

Directions:

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the bread flour, yeast, and sugar, stir until well combined. In a microwave safe bowl, add the beer. Heat until 120F. Add the beer to the flour and stir until incorporated. Add the milk, salt and 1 tablespoon oil, stir with the dough hook until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Allow to rise in a warm room until doubles in size, about one hour. You can bake the dough at this point, but it’s best to punch down the dough, cover and allow it to rise again in the fridge from 12-18 hours.
  • Make the beer brats. In a pan with a lid add the brats and the beer, cover and simmer until the brats are cooked through, remove from pan.
  • Preheat the grill to medium high. Grill the brats until grill marks appear on all sides, about 3 minutes. Remove and slice.
  • Brush the grates with oil to prevent sticking . Place the dough on the grill (a pizza peel coated in flour or cornmeal will help) until grill marks start to appear. Flip the dough and very lightly grill on the underside, just until the dough holds shape. Remove from the grill, place on a work surface with the lightly grilled side down. Spread an even layer of BBQ sauce over the crust, top evenly with cheese, add sliced brats and red pepper.
  • Return to the grill, close the lid and cook until the cheese has melted, 3-5 minutes. Remove from grill, sprinkle with parsley (or cilantro), slice and serve.

Notes

Pre-prep (tailgating tips):
• Make the dough the night before, let it do a second rise in the fridge. You’ll have to have a space to roll it out when you get to the venue, so bring a large cutting board if needed. It’ll be best if you let it come to room temp before trying to roll out. 10 minutes in a car with the heater on should be fine.
• Boil the brats ahead of time, pack them in the cooler, grill and slice them on site.
• Have all your ingredients prepped and stored in small containers, ready to go when you need them, it’ll help make the process much easier.

BBQ Beer Brat Tailgate Pizza & How To Prep A Grilled Pizza For Tailgating -6

Pork Ribs with Chipotle Peach Beer Barbecue Sauce

 Pork Ribs with Chipotle Peach Beer Barbecue Sauce

Maybe it’s because I’m writing this from 30,000 feet above Houston, Texas, en route to South America, that I feel compelled to tell you that American Barbecue has nothing to do with your backyard grill.

Sure there are similarities, the flames, the metal grates, the brave souls with large metal cooking implements poking at the meat from a safe distance. But it’s the difference that makes the biggest impact on your final results.

Barbecue gives us the gorgeous smoky flavors, the fall off the bone meat, the get-your-shirt-messy eating experience because of a cooking method that’s long, slow and low. Grilling is quick, hot and high. Real, true barbecue is a process that takes hours, even days to complete.

Pork Ribs with Chipotle Peach Beer Barbecue Sauce-3

The low temperature renders the fat, infusing the meat, injecting it with flavor and giving you that tender fall-apart texture. Your oven can do this slow and low cooking as well, it just takes time.

It’s the best way to cook ribs at home, no other method can compare to the tender texture, caramelized sauce, and flavors that taste as close to true smoky barbecue as you can get in your own house.

It takes time, as true barbecue should. The meat melts off the bone, the sauce is caramelized and just a little sticky. You’ll need plenty of napkins and a couple beers to make this a meal. And it’s worth every second you spent cooking it.

Pork Ribs with Chipotle Peach Beer Barbecue Sauce-2

 

 

Pork Ribs with Chipotle Peach Beer Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients
  

For the sauce:

  • 1 pound fresh yellow peaches
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
  • ¼ cup chopped shallots
  • ¼ cup cider vinegar
  • ½ cup stout beer
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 2 teaspoons molasses not blackstrap
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 chipotle chilies chopped
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard

For the ribs:

  • 3 lbs pork ribs
  • salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 450.
  • Slice the peaches in half, remove the pit. Place cut side down on a baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
  • Roast until skin starts to pull away from the peach, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven, gently peel away and discard skin.
  • Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium high heat, add the shallots, cooking until slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
  • Stir in the vinegar, beer, honey, molasses, brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, chipotles, smoked paprika, and mustard powder, bring to a simmer.
  • Add the peaches, stirring occasionally, until peaches have broken down, about ten minutes. Remove from heat.
  • Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth (alternately, you can allow the sauce to cool slightly and blend in an upright blender.) Sauce can be made several days in advance.
  • Lower oven temperature to 250.
  • Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the ribs on the baking sheet, sprinkle on all sides with salt.
  • Brush liberally with sauce on all sides.
  • Cook for 30 minutes, remove from oven, brush on all sides with sauce and return to oven. Repeat this step for 4 hours, brushing with sauce every 30 minutes, until meat easily pulls away from the bone and sauce has caramelized

Thai Chili Stout Beef Skewers with Chili Ginger Dipping Sauce

Thai Chili Stout Beef Skewers with Chili Ginger Dipping Sauce
Thai Chili Stout Beef Skewers-3

There are firsts that we lose quickly, gone into the recesses of our minds. Like pearls from a broken strand scattering across the floor, gliding under furniture and into corners. The firsts that I do remember are never more important than those that I’ve lost, it seems like a roll of the dice what sticks and what slides away.

The first time I had a stout is a stuck memory. I was 21 and it was 8 am. I’d taken a job as a waitress at a mediocre chain brewery in Los Angeles. Part of my orientation was a beer class. At 8 am. On an empty stomach. A few flights of seasonal beers later and I was drunk. Giggly and failing in my attempts to keep that secret to myself.

Thai Chili Stout Beef Skewers-1

Next came a flight of darker beers: stouts, porters and brown ales all lined up on a wooden paddle. I was determined just to take a sip of each to avoid drunk turning into sloppy. I was convinced that I didn’t like dark beers, assuming that they were too big and bitter.

The first sip, I was hooked. The beer was creamy, slightly sweet, roasty, and mellow. "What is this?" My attempt at staying quite came out in a loud drunken slur as I shushed by the bar-back-in-training sitting next to me.

"IT’S REALLY GOOD. WHY DIDN’T I KNOW THAT STOUTS WERE GOOD. I’M DRUNK." I have a strange habit of announcing my drunkenness, as if it’ll come as a shock to those around me.

The guys teaching the class had me gently removed, escorted to a couch in the lobby with a pitcher of water. "It’s really good. I like it a lot. Are they all good or just this one?" The brewery assistant that was in charge of handling me looked over his shoulder to make sure we were alone, "Honestly, it’s not that good. It’s fine. It’s adequate. But there are much better stouts out there. You’re just drunk, and you obviously don’t have that much beer experience."

I was both offended and intrigued. If a mediocre stout was that good, what does a good one taste like? Turns out, he was right. My first stout was just OK, memorable but just adequate. The way a lot of firsts are.

I’ve forgotten hundreds of much better stouts since then, lost in my memory. Stouts will always be one of my go-to styles, although I’m much better at handling a few flights at a brewery now. Even if I still announce to the world when I’m drunk.

Thai Chili Stout Beef Skewers-4

Thai Chili Stout Beef Skewers with Chili Ginger Dipping Sauce

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 6 minutes
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

Skewers:

  • ½ cup imperial stout
  • 2 tbs soy sauce
  • ¼ tsp fresh ginger grated with microplane
  • 1 large clove garlic grated with microplane
  • 1 tbs hot chili oil
  • 1 tbs lime juice
  • 1 lbs thin cut beef sliced into 1 inch strips
  • 1 tsp fresh black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt

Dipping sauce:

  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 1 tbs honey
  • 2 tsp hot chili oil
  • ¼ tsp fresh ginger grated with a microplane
  • ½ tsp black pepper

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl stir together the stout, soy sauce, ¼ tsp ginger, garlic, 1 tbs hot chili oil, and lime juice.
  • Add the beef, cover and allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  • Thread onto metal skewers or pre-soaked wooden skewers.
  • Salt and pepper on all sides, brush liberally with marinade.
  • Grill: preheat the grill to medium high. Grill on both sides until cooked to your desired degree of doneness, about 3 minutes per side for medium.
  • Oven: preheat the broiler of the oven. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet, spray with cooking spray. Place the skewers on rack, place under the broiler for 6 minutes, turning once half way through.
  • In a small bowl stir together the remaining soy sauce, honey, chili oil, ginger, and black pepper (can be made a day ahead of time).
  • Serve skewers with dipping sauce.

*hot chili oil is sold in the Asian section of the grocery store or can be bought online.

 

Stout Beef Barbacoa Tacos

Stout Beef Barbacoa Tacos

 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.

Stout Beef Barbacoa Tacos -5

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.

Stout Beef Barbacoa Tacos

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

 

Stout Beef Barbacoa Tacos

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.

Beer Brined Pork and Pineapple Skewers with Apricot Chili Glaze

Beer Brined Pork and Pineapple Skewers with Apricot Chili Glaze

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-3

Beer Brined Pork and Pineapple Skewers with Apricot Chili Glaze

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.

Beer Brined Pork and Pineapple Skewers with Apricot Chili Glaze

Beer Braised Pulled Pork Sliders with Chipotle Beer Cheese Sauce

Beer Braised Pulled Pork Sliders with Chipotle Beer Cheese Sauce. Perfect football food!

Beer Braised Pulled Pork Sliders with Chipotle Beer Cheese Sauce

I get to do things. Fun things, cool things. This still feels new to me, these fun cool things. I spent years working with grubby, incredible, wonderful, difficult, heartbreaking kids in South Central LA.

Beer Braised Pulled Pork Sliders with Chipotle Beer Cheese Sauce

Then I worked behind a desk, in the pencil skirts and stilettos that I couldn’t wear in Compton, working with elderly Holocaust survivors in Beverly Hills. I social worked my way through most of Los Angeles.

Now I get to work on TV shows, and I go to Vegas for awards dinners, and cook on the news. There are times when I feel selfish, for walking away from the good work to do the fun work.

But those feelings don’t last long. I’m so grateful for what I do now that I can’t sully that with feelings of guilt. I’m lucky. I’m excited. I cooked on the news again Wednesday, I made football food, talked about beer, and made a few jokes.

It’s the same in a way, social work and beer cooking. I’m solving problems. Beer cheese sauce separates? let me help you with that. Not sure how to tell if that beer is bitter or not? I’ve got the answer. Social work was solving problems and answering questions. I do that now too, although I’m not sure I’m saving anyone’s life.

I’ll always be a person who wants to help, wants to add to your table, wants to make your life better because we came in contact. Even if the only thing you gained from me is a slider recipe or a desire to visit Fremont Brewing. Beer social work is much easier, and I’m fine with bringing my work home with me now.

Beer Braised Pulled Pork Sliders with Chipotle Beer Cheese Sauce

 

Beer Braised Pulled Pork Sliders with Chipotle Beer Cheese Sauce

Ingredients
  

For the pork:

  • 1 tbs kosher salt
  • 2 tbs brown sugar
  • 1 tbs onion powder
  • 1 tbs chili powder
  • 1 tbs ground cumin
  • 1 tbs black pepper
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp dry mustard powder
  • 4 lb Pork butt also called pork shoulder
  • 6 cloves of garlic peeled
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 cups 2, 12ounce bottles stout or smoked porter
  • 24 slider buns

For the cheese sauce:

  • 2 tbs unsalted butter melted
  • 2 tbs flour
  • 2 tbs cornstarch
  • 1 cup beer wheat beer, blonde ale, pale ale, pilsner
  • 2 cups shredded Cheddar do not use pre shredded
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 chipotle chilies in adobo
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl stir together the salt, brown sugar onion powder, chili powder, cumin, pepper, smoked paprika and mustard powder together until combined, set aside.
  • Take out your pork and stab 6, 2-inch deep holes fairly evenly spaced through the meat. Push a clove of garlic into each hole until no longer visible.
  • Rub the entire surface of the meat with the spice mixture, using it all.
  • In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil until very hot. Sear all surfaces of the meat, even the sides, until browned. The entire process will probably take about 10-15 minutes. Pour the beer over the meat, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for about 3 hours, turning the meat over about every 30 minutes, until the meat is tender and falling apart.
  • Once the meat is tender remove from heat, use two forks to shred into pieces while still in the pot (or remove, shred and return to pot). Return to the pot to heat and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove the meat from the pot and discard the liquid.
  • Add all cheese sauce ingredients to a blender or food processor. Process on high until very well blended, about 5-8 minutes.
  • Transfer contents to a saucepan over medium high heat. Whisk rapidly and continuously until thickened, about 5 minutes.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • Fill slider buns with pork, top with cheese sauce, serve warm.

 

Short Rib Black Bean Beer Chili

 

Short Rib Black Bean Beer Chili, SO GOOD. It’s eat-it-out-of-the-pot-before-anyone-else-can-have-any good.  

Short Rib Black Bean Beer Chili, SO GOOD. It's eat-it-out-of-the-pot-before-anyone-else-can-have-any good.

The only food that really comforts me is the food I make myself. The food I serve to people I love, even just one person, in my small kitchen, over an exchanging of words that are hard to speak. I don’t want to order a pizza, I want to make bread, watch it rise, smell it baking and know that I did it. I don’t want take-out in little white containers, I want a slow cooked bowl of short ribs that I can both laugh and cry over with someone who looks into my heart and likes what he sees. Sure, I love a big steamy bowl of Ramen, or perfectly creamy pile of baked Mac n Cheese, but it doesn’t comfort the same way as when I lose myself in the process of making it. I’ll look for recipes that take a while, that give me the excuse to stay in my kitchen for a few hours, recipes that aren’t hard but take some time to bring out the best of what they can do. That’s comfort food. A beer and a few pint glasses doesn’t hurt the situation either.

Short Rib Black Bean Beer Chili, SO GOOD. It's eat-it-out-of-the-pot-before-anyone-else-can-have-any good.

 

 

Short Rib Black Bean Beer Chili

Servings 4 -6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 3 lbs beef short ribs
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 white onions diced
  • 6 wt oz tomato paste
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp cumin powder
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 dried ancho chili pod stem and seeds removed, torn into pieces
  • 2 chipotle chilies in adobo
  • 12 ounces coffee stout
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 2 cans black beans drained
  • ½ cup cilantro chopped
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 325.
  • Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven.
  • Sprinkle the ribs with salt and pepper on all sides. Sear ribs in the pan until golden brown, remove from the pan, set aside.
  • Low heat to medium, add the onions, cooking until starting to caramelize, about 15 minutes.
  • Add the onions, tomato paste, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, dried chili pod, chipotles and ¼ cup beer to a blender or food processor. Process until smooth.
  • Return the pot to heat, add the remaining beer, scraping to deglaze the pot.
  • Stir in the broth, chili paste mixture from the blender and beans. Add the ribs back in the pot.
  • Cover and cook in the oven for 3 hours or until the ribs are tender and falling off the bone.
  • Using two forks shred the ribs, remove any large pieces of fat and the bones.
  • Serve the chili topped with cilantro and cheese.

 

Short Rib Black Bean Beer Chili, SO GOOD. It's eat-it-out-of-the-pot-before-anyone-else-can-have-any good.

Slow Cooker Beer Brisket Sandwiches with Horseradish Sour Cream

Slow Cooker Beer Brisket Sandwiches with Horseradish Sour Cream

Slow Cooker Beer Brisket Sandwiches with Horseradish Sour Cream

 

I learned football on the field, the way you should. Of course I didn’t play on a tradition team, I’m a 5’7″ blonde girl that never weight much more than 127lbs. I did what girls with pent up aggression and a need to please grown ups did, I joined a powder puff league in college so that I could beat the crap out of other girls in a socially acceptable way. Take a bunch of WASPY white girls who have spent their lives being told to "act like good girls," strap them up with a waist belt of tear away nylon flags, throw a ball in the mix with a huge Samoan coach and watch them tear each other up with smiles on their faces.

Slow Cooker Beer Brisket Sandwiches with Horseradish Sour Cream

The best part of my year on the field wasn’t the release of pent up rage, it was a deep understanding of the game. I finally understood that what looked like a bunch of giant millionaires fighting over small oval object was actually an extremely mental game. I learned the rules, the way the stadium smells at night, the victory of a first down, the reasons you should love the game.

These days my competitive nature seems more likely to manifest itself in the pot luck throw down that football gatherings seem to incite. I want to win at pot luck in a way that seems like it didn’t really occur to me that I was competing ("Oh, this? You like it! I’m so glad."). Sliders are great at that, effortless like the perfect pair of jeans and just as delicious.

For these sliders I used a beer from a brewery that is quickly becoming a favorite since my move to Seattle, Fremont Brewing. If you’re in Seattle, it’s a fantastic place to visit. But just know that if you do happened to plan your visit on a game day you will kindly asked to root for the Seahawks. Or maybe you could just stuff your trap full of sliders. Either way it’s a win.

Slow Cooker Beer Brisket Sandwiches with Horseradish Sour Cream

Slow Cooker Beer Brisket Sandwiches with Horseradish Sour Cream

Servings 12 sliders

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 2 tbs unsalted butter
  • 1 large white onion sliced
  • 4 lbs beef brisket
  • salt and pepper
  • 5 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
  • 12 ounces stout porter or brown ale
  • 2 tbs worchestershire sauce
  • 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 tbs cream style horseradish
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp smoked paprika
  • 12 slider buns

Instructions
 

  • In a skillet over medium heat add the oil, butter and onions. Cook until lightly caramelized, about 15 minutes. Remove from pan, set aside.
  • Liberally salt and pepper the brisket on all sides.
  • Sear the brisket in the onion pan until browned on all sides. Add to a slow cooker. Top with onions and garlic, then add the beer, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic.
  • Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or until fork tender.
  • Remove the brisket, thinly slice.
  • Drain the onions, transfer to a small bowl.
  • In a small bowl stir together the sour cream, horseradish, garlic powder and smoked paprika.
  • Fill the buns with brisket, onions and sour cream mixture.

I use this slow cooker (affiliate link).

Slow Cooker Beer Brisket Sandwiches with Horseradish Sour Cream

Stout Brined Crispy Chili Brown Sugar Pork Belly

Stout Brined Crispy Chili Brown Sugar Pork Belly P

Pork belly is a bit of a trade secret. It’s rich, delicious, and if you can get your hands on it, fairly cheap. It’s like shallots and Maldon salt, these little touches that turn a home-cooked meal into something that rivals a commercial kitchen. Pork belly is a favorite among chefs, and it’s easy to see why.

This gorgeous, fatty, melt-in-your-mouth cut of the pig is actually bacon, before it’s baconed. It’s hard to come by, but not impossible. Don’t plan to just pick this up at Safeway, you’ll have to call around to local butcher shops.

Stout Brined Crispy Chili Brown Sugar Pork Belly_The great news is, once you find it, it’ll probably be less than $4 a pound. One thing to keep in mind is how differently the meat and the fat need to be cooked. The meat itself needs the slow and low treatment or it’ll dry out, a good brine will help with this as well.

The fat, on the other hand, needs an intensely high heat. Finishing these little bites of meat candy on a hot grill is also a great idea. Adding some sugar to the skin will help with a beautifully caramelized crackle.

It’s also perfect with beer. Fancy, slow-cooked bacon was just made for a beautiful, balanced IPA, one with extra hops but a strong malt backbone. Beer and pig, it’s hard to go wrong.

Stout Brined Crispy Chili Brown Sugar Pork Belly 2

Stout Brined Crispy Chili Brown Sugar Pork Belly

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup very hot water
  • 3 tbs kosher salt
  • 1 tbs white sugar
  • 1 tbs whole cloves
  • 1 tbs whole allspice berries
  • 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
  • 24 ounces stout
  • 4.5 lbs pork belly
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 3 tbs rice vinegar
  • 2 tsp red chili flakes
  • 1 tsp red chili sauce such as Sriracha

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl or baking dish stir together the hot water, salt and sugar until the salt and sugar has dissolved.
  • Add the cloves, allspice and peppercorns. Stir in the beer, test to make sure the brine is cold (if not, chill until cooled).
  • Add the pork belly, cover and chill for 12 to 24 hours.
  • Remove from the brine (reserve brine), rinse the pork belly well.
  • Place a wire rack over a baking sheet (alternately, a baking pan will work), pour about 1 cup of the brine in the baking sheet making sure the wire rack is not submerged.
  • Place the pork belly on the rack, bake at 275 until pork is fork tender, about 4 hours.
  • Remove the pork from the oven, raise the oven temperature to 500.
  • Stir together the brown sugar, vinegar, chili flakes, and chili sauce.
  • Brush the pork belly with the sugar mixture.
  • Roast for ten minutes, re-brush with sugar mixture, roast again until pork is golden brown and the top is crispy.

 

Beer Braised Pulled Pork Sandwiches with IPA Jalapeno Slaw + $350 Giveaway

Beer Braised Pulled Pork Sandwiches with IPA Jalapeno Slaw 2

I’ll cook anywhere if you ask me to. A dorm kitchen, a camp stove, a closet with a griddle. Just make sure that I have a few things on hand. One of the items that I’ll always request, if you ask me to cook outside my comfort zone, is an enamel cast iron pot. These things are beast. If you treat them right, they’ll do the same right back. You’ll have this beautiful shiny pot for so long, your grandkids will fight over it once you’re gone. When I wrote my first cookbook, The Craft Beer Cookbook. I wrote it with recipes that I want you make for the rest of your life, because these are recipes that I want to make for the rest of my life. I used a cast iron pan, a Dutch (or French) oven, lots of beer (clearly) and ingredients that I love.

It’s the end of a long and difficult year for me, and as a way to celebrate the year, as well as my birthday, I’m giving you a gift. I’m giving you THREE of my favorite things. First, my book, The Craft Beer Cookbook. One of my proudest accomplishements. I’ll be shipping it to you myself and I’ll scribble whatever you want in it. You want me to profess my undying love for you? I’ll do it. Of course, because you’re the best.

Second, the amazing people at Le Creuset have agreed to send you one of my favorite cooking implements ever: the 5 1/2 qt French Oven. In red, which is my personal favorite color. This is a staple in my kitchen, a must for anyone who loves to cook.

Third, beer. Of your choice. BevMo is giving you a $50 gift card to grab the beer of your choice for general drinking purposes or perhaps to try your hand at cooking with beer. Or possibly both. If you’d like some recommendations for which beers to spend this windfall on, I’d be happy to provide those to you as an addendum to the prize. But really, there is no way to lose when you have yourself some money to spend at BevMo.

To enter, use the Raffle copter fields below (it may take a second to load), Like us all on Facebook, follow us on twitter, tell your friends about this and let me know what you make in your new pot, with your new beer and your scribbled on cookbook. And feel free to invite me over, even if you’re just cooking on a camp stove. I’m down for that.

The $350 Beeroness giveaway: with @LeCreuset and @BevMo

 

 

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Beer Braised Pulled Pork Sandwiches with IPA Jalapeno Slaw

Ingredients
  

For the Pork:

  • 3 lb pork shoulder
  • 6 cloves garlic peeled
  • 2 tbs kosher or sea salt
  • 2 tbs brown sugar
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 24 ounces stout beer
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 12 French roll sandwich buns

For the IPA Jalapeno Slaw:

  • 1 large jalapeno stem and seeds removed, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
  • 2 cups purple cabbage thinly sliced
  • 2 cups green cabbage thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup cilantro chopped
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ cup IPA
  • 1 tbs lemon juice
  • 1 tbs sugar
  • ¼ tsp chili powder
  • ¼ tsp salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven 300.
  • Using a paring knife, create 6, 2-inch deep holes fairly evenly spaced through the meat. Push a peeled clove of garlic into each hole until no longer visible.
  • Sprinkle the pork evenly with salt.
  • In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, pepper, paprika, chili powder, and onion powder. Rub the spiced all over the surface of the pork.
  • In a large oven safe pot or Dutch oven (with an oven safe lid) heat the oil until hot but not smoking. Sear the meat on all sides, about 3 minutes per side.
  • Add the beer and broth, bring to a simmer.
  • Cover and place in the oven. Turn the meat over every 30-45 minutes. If the pot begins to dry out, add extra broth or hot water. Allow to cook until meat is falling apart, about 3 to 4 hours.
  • Remove from oven, shred using two forks while still in the pot. Allow to sit in the pan juices for ten minutes while you prepare the jalapeno slaw. Remove meat from pan juices, draining off most of the liquid prior to serving.
  • To make the slaw, combine all the jalapeno slaw ingredients in a bowl, toss to coat. Fill each sandwich bun with pork topped with slaw.

Recipe from The Craft Beer Cookbook

Beer Braised Pulled Pork Sandwiches with IPA Jalapeno Slaw_