Bourbon Barrel Aged Beer

Bruleed Pumpkin Beer Pie

15.11.2013 5 Comments

I know what you’re thinking.

You think that I put a Pumpkin Ale in that pie. It’s a fair assumption, and not a bad route to take when beerifying (that’s a word) a pumpkin pie. Sure, you can use that. Go ahead, be my beer-cookin' guest, it’s not a bad choice. But for this I wanted to play up those brown sugar flavors with a nice barrel aged brown ale. So that’s exactly what I did.

Brown ales don’t get enough air time. They are often forgotten in the beer-of-the-moment hype. Browns are the George Harrison’s of the beer world. The Willem Dafoe’s of the beer world.

But brown ales have a lot of potential, a lot of great flavors, a lot of depth. Especially when they’ve been aged in a bourbon barrel. Like this Palo Santo Marron from Dogfish Head which has unleashed that underrated brown ale potential in a way that will remind the Beer Snobs that it’s here to play. Or make pies. Or maybe both.

I used this Kitchen torch, because it’s amazing, easily one of my favorite kitchen tools. (affiliate link)

Bruleed Pumpkin Beer Pie

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Ingredients

1 Pale ale pie crust
¾ cup heavy cream
2/3 cup packed golden brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
5 large egg yolks
¾ cup brown ale preferably a barrel aged brown ale
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups of pumpkin purée
1 tbs cornstarch
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
White sugar for brulee topping about 3 tbs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375.
Roll the pie dough out on a lightly floured surface and line a 9-inch pie pan. Place in the fridge to chill until the filling is ready.
In a pot over medium heat, add the cream. Heat until the cream starts to bubble around the edges.
In a large bowl whisk together the white sugar, brown sugar and egg yolks. Whisking continually, slowly pour the hot cream into the eggs. Whisk until well combined.
Add the remaining ingredients (other than the brulee sugar), whisk until well combined.
Pour into the prepared pie pan.
Bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes or until the filling puffs slightly and has set around the edges (the center will still be wobbly). Chill until set, at least 4 hours.
Just prior to serving, sprinkle the remaining white sugar over the top of the pie in an even layer. Using a culinary torch brulee the sugar until melted and turned a dark amber color.

For this recipe I use The Pale Ale Pie Dough

Slow Cooker Stout Red Beans and Rice

28.01.2013 37 Comments

Can we still be friends if I tell you that I don’t really like slow cookers? I resisted getting one for years, and then, like the culinary lemming that I can often be, I caved and asked for one for Christmas.

As I kid, I hated them. I saw it only as that thing that ruined spare ribs that should rightfully be cooked on the grill. And now, all I see is how much people lose their minds over how great these slow cooking machines are. So far, I’m not impressed. Of the "dump and cook" recipes I’ve tried, the flavors just end up muddy and I’m left feeling completely left out of the cooking process like I wasn’t invited to the party.

That’s why this recipe calls for two parts, slow cooking the beans and then finishing the dish with a conventional cooking to add more layers of flavor.

Slow cooking the beans is really the best way to go, wether it be on your stove top, or in one of these slow cooking machines I have yet to fall in love with. Much better final result than with canned beans, and I’ll admit, the slow cooker does a great job of babysitting during the long process so you can go about your life.

If you have a fantastic slow cooker recipe, PLEASE let me know. I’d love to be let in on the secret to this that I’m clearly missing out on. Leave it in the comment section (a link is fine, if you’ve got one), because maybe there’s hope for me and this slow cooker after all.

Slow Cooker Stout Red Beans and Rice

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Ingredients

1 lb small red beans or red kidney beans dry
24 ounces stout or porter
4 cups chicken broth
1 hickory smoked ham hock
1 red onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tsp sriracha
1 tbs olive oil
1 lb raw chicken bratwurst sliced
1 green pepper chopped
4 strips bacon sliced
salt and pepper to taste
Cooked rice for serving.

Instructions

Add red beans, porter, chicken broth, ham hock, onion, garlic and sriracha to a slow cooker. Cook on low for eight hours.
Once the beans are finished cooking, heat the olive oil in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Cook the brats, green peppers and bacon until meat has been cooked through. Stir the brats, bacon and peppers with the beans, salt and pepper to taste. serve over rice.

Deep Dish Porter Pecan Pie

27.11.2012 30 Comments

The best thing happened on Thanksgiving.

Just about 18 hours prior to Turkey Tip-Off, my small gathering of 4 people more than tripled into a 14 person party that ended in cocktails, poker, and eating pie right out of the pan. How great is that?

I was happy with the idea of a small gathering, sometimes those can be the best nights. But the fact that I have such an over abundance of food in my kitchen right now and dozens of recipes to be cooked and tested, I could not have been happier about the influx of last minute hungry visitors.

And a Thanksgiving that morphed into a Poker Night, complete with impromptu costuming and teaching my friends 8-year-old how to bluff, was one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had. Although I was seriously caffeine deficient the next day, and zero percent productive.

I may, or may not, have consume an entire bottle of wine by myself.

I used a chocolate porter for this recipe, and of course, a stout would work well also. BUT now that I sit here staring at these photos, I wish I’d have used something that had been aged in bourbon barrels. How great would that be?

Deep Dish Porter Pecan Pie

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Ingredients

For the Crust:

1 ½ cups flour
½ tsp salt
1 tbs sugar
6 tbs of butter cold, cut into cubes
2 tbs shortening
2 tbs ice cold beer high ABV works best

For the filling:

1 cup porter beer can sub stout
2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
2 tbs flour
3 cups chopped pecans
½ cup heavy cream
1 stick butter cold, cut into cubes
4 eggs

Instructions

In a food processor, add 1 cup of flour (reserving the other ½ cup) salt, sugar and pulse to combine. Add the butter cubes and the shortening, process until combined. Add the remaining ½ cup of flour, process until well incorporated.
Transfer to a bowl, add the beer and mix until combined. Dough will be very soft. Form into a wide flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, transfer to a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan, press into shape. Remove the excess. Freeze crust for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350.
In a pot over medium high heat, add the beer, brown sugar and corn syrup. Allow to simmer until combined and the sugar has melted. Sprinkle with flour, whisk until well combined. Remove from heat, add pecans, heavy cream and butter. Stir until well combined and the butter has melted. Allow to cool to room temperature before adding the eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs. Slowly add the pecan mixture to the eggs, whisking the eggs the entire time.
Pour filling into crust, bake at 350 for 50 minute to an hour or until the filling no longer jiggles when you shake the rack it sits on. Chill until the filling has set, about 2 hours.
*Note: This recipe is for a deep-dish pie pan. The filling is too much for a regular pie pan.

Maple and Bourbon Beer Glazed Salmon

30.07.2012 12 Comments

Let’s talk.

If you are new to the Beer Scene you might not know about bourbon barrel aged beer. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Beer that has been aged in bourbon barrels giving it flavors of that remnant bourbon that once took up residence in that same barrel. Because bourbon is aged for years, and sometimes several decades, the flavors soak into the wood leaving their distinct flavor signature behind. When you use that same barrel to age beer, those beautiful hand-me-down flavors give an incredible depth to it’s new alcoholic vessel.

If you haven’t had a bourbon barrel aged beer, add it to your list of beers to try. You may love it. You may loath it. Either way, it’s an experience that needs to be added to your beer exploits.

Bourbon barrel aged beers aren’t the type you reach for after a long hot day of yard work. These are beers for chilly nights and dark chocolate desserts. Fireside chats and long conversations.

Among my favortites is the Barrel Aged Old Rasputin form North Coast.

For this recipe I used Angels Share by Lost Abby. An intense bourbon flavor that goes very well with this recipe.

Maple & Bourbon Beer Glazed Salmon

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Ingredients

1/4 cup ponzu sauce
3/4 cup bourbon barrel aged beer
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs maple syrup
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tbs lime juice about 1 large lime, juiced
4 salmon fillets about 4 to 6 oz each

Instructions

In a bowl, add all ingredients (other than the salmon) stir until well combined. Add to a large zip top freezer bag. Add the salmon and remove as much air as possible before sealing. Place in the fridge, allowing to marinate for one to two hours, rotating at least once.
Preheat broiler.
Remove the salmon from the bag and place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
Place the marinade in a pot over medium high heat. Boil until reduced and thickened, stirring frequently, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Brush the salmon with the marinade glaze.
Place under broiler and cook until salmon flakes easily, about 6 minutes. Brush salmon with glaze several times during cooking.
Serve over rice or pasta.

Beer Braised Chicken Sliders With Hoisin Beer Barbecue Sauce

10.05.2012 39 Comments

There’s a good chance that when you think about cooking with beer, a meat recipe comes to mind. Your Dad’s beer marinated ribs? Beer can chicken? Beer braised pork? There’s a good reason for that.

Not just for the spectacular flavors that craft beer can impart on the meat, but because beer, especially high acid beer, acts as a meat tenderizer by breaking down tissue.

For this recipe you are free to run the spectrum of beer styles. Most recipes I write will be accompanied by stern warning about using any beer other than the type called for, this isn’t one of those recipes. That IPA I keep shaming you into avoiding? You can even give that a try. My gut instinct with a recipe like this was to use a light, high acid beer with herb notes (basil, sage, oregano) but I opted for a porter to test my "Any Beer Goes" theory.

The porter effect, as I am now calling it, gave a "meatier" quality to the chicken. Which turned out wonderfully, and gave this a bit of a pork taste.

The beer I used for this recipe was the Payback Porter by Speakeasy. It’s a fantastic choice for a porter because the notes are similar to those I see in barbecue sauces and rubs: smoke, coffee, cocoa, and molasses.

Next time I’ll use a beer with a high acid content for a little contrast, but as far as the beer that you pick, experiment and let me know how it goes.

Beer Braised Chicken Sliders With Hoisin Beer Barbecue Sauce

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Ingredients

For the Barbecue Sacue:
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves fresh garlic minced
1 cup hoisin sauce
1 tsp chili powder
¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
1 cup beer
For The Braised Chicken:
2 tbs canola oil
3 chicken breasts boneless and skinless
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups beer
1/2 cup chicken broth
15 mini Hawaiian bread rolls
Yield: 15 sliders

Instructions

Heat 2 tbs canola oil in large pot or Dutch oven. Sprinkle the chicken with salt on all sides. Place in the pot and cook on each side until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Cover with 1 1/2 cups of beer and 1/2 cup chicken broth, cover and cook for 15 – 20 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked.
While chicken is cooking, prepare barbeque sauce by warming olive oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds; add 1 cup beer, hoisin sauce, chili powder and soy sauce. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until thickened and reduced, remove from heat.
When chicken is cooked, remove from pot and allow to cool. Using two forks, shred chicken to as thin slices as possible, then add to hoisin barbeque sauce pan, tossing well to coat.
Split rolls in half across the middle to resemble small sandwich buns, fill with chicken.

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Chocolate Pretzel Beer Toffee

01.05.2012 23 Comments

The best part about visiting a brewery is the opportunity to sample those special release beers that never make it into bottles. Those brews that are only made in small batches, put into casks that sometimes make it to local pubs or events but will never make it into bottles in your local distributors shelves. Like those songs your favorite band will never record but will occasionally play live if you happen to catch a show on the right night, these are beers that make you feel special for having been granted the experience. In a world where it seems everything is accessible with the right google word search, these near mythical concoctions are only available to those who happen to be in the right place at the right time.

One of my favorites is the Habanero Sculpin from Ballast point. Because of the process they use, the heat is fresh and bright. An uncooked scorch that isn’t shy. Habaneros are an extremely unpredictable ingredient, with heat levels that vary widely from pepper to pepper, making every cask of Habanero Sculpin different from the last. If you ever make it down to San Diego, stop in for a pint and count yourself among the special few.

Since I wasn’t able to get my hands on any Habanero Sculpin, I found myself fixated on this Ballast Point Calico Amber Ale. And the result was a toffee that I couldn’t stop eating. So addictive, and it only takes about 20 minutes to make. I already have plans to make and hand this out as Christmas gifts, if I can wait that long to make it again.

Chocolate Pretzel Amber Ale Toffee

Chocolate Pretzel Beer Toffee

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Ingredients

Toffee:

1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Butter 2 sticks
1/2 Cup Amber Ale

Topping:

2 Cups Pretzels Smashed
2 Cups Dark Chocolate Chips 60% caco content
1/4 Cup Amber Ale or Chocolate Stout

Instructions

In a large pot over high heat add the sugar, butter and 1/2 cup amber ale, it will triple in volume during the cooking process so make sure to use a large pot. Stir until the mixture starts to boil. Allow to boil untouched until the mixture starts to darken and thicken at about 230 degrees. Stir continuously until it turns a very dark amber and hits 290 degrees. This process will take between 15 and 20 minutes from start to finish. pour onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a Silpat. Allow to cool.
Add the chocolate to a large bowl. Heat the beer until hot but not boiling. You can heat it on a pot on the stove or microwave it in a microwave safe bowl. If you use the microwave, know that the beer will foam up once it reaches it's boiling point. Pour the hot beer over the chocolate chips and stir until well combined and melted.
Pour the chocolate over the toffee and smooth out in an even layer. Sprinkle the crushed pretzels over the chocolate and chill until the chocolate has set. Cut into pieces.

Notes

If you use a chocolate with less than 60% cocoa content, it will have higher levels of milk solids, because of this it will have a more difficult time hardening once the beer is added. Try to fine 60% and chill it to set.

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