Cooking with Beer

We all love a bit of sausage (hehe) but the problem is when buying sausages you really have no idea what the ingredients are. What exactly is in those sausages? Meat yes, but then there’s all the fillers that bulk up the content and of course the preservatives. Here’s a list of some of the preservatives allowed in meat products in this country:

• Sodium acetates (262)

• Natamycin or Pimamycin (235)

• Nisin (234)

• Nitrites – potassium nitrite (249) and sodium nitrite (250)

• Nitrates – sodium nitrate (249) and potassium nitrate (252)

• Sorbates – Sorbic acid (200), sodium sorbate (201), potassium sorbate (202) and calcium sorbate (203)

• Sulphites – Sulphur dioxide (220), sodium sulphite (221), sodium bisulphite (222), sodium metabisulphite (223), potassium metabisulphite (224), potassium sulphite (225) and potassium bisulphite (228)

Now I don’t know about you guys but that doesn’t sound too good to me, I prefer a real sausage made from first principles with nothing added but good, flavoursome, natural ingredients.

Making sausages at home is really simple and the best thing is you can experiment and come up with your own combinations. I’m doing a sausage making demonstration soon so it’s been a bit of a sausage fest around here (sorry, couldn’t resist) as we practice and invent some super yummy flavour combinations. And those combinations are literally endless; you can even make vegetarian sausages if you hate yourself that much!

Another great thing about sausages is they can either be a quick, tasty snack (sausages, bread, onions and mustard, the good old sausage sizzle approach) or tarted up into a super yummy meal (sausages, braised lentils and a fennel salad for example).

The only piece of equipment you need is a mincer with the sausage stuffing attachment. If you have a Kitchen Aid this is one of the most versatile attachments. Failing that you can pick up cheap sausage machines from good kitchen supply shops. Sausage casings are available from most butchers, just ask and they should be able to rustle some up for you.

BEER MATCH

English Ruby Ale.

Lamb Sausages Recipe

Makes approximately 16

4 slices brown or rye bread, crusts removed

300 ml wheat beer

1.2 kg Lamb foreshank

Marrow from the shank bones (method below)

1 brown onion, peeled and quartered

7 anchovies

¼ cup chopped fresh rosemary

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sausage casings (preferably natural)

Pre-heat oven to 180˚C

In a bowl, soak the bread in the beer for a few minutes. Then squeeze out most of the liquid and discard it.

Dice the lamb into approximately 2cm cubes, reserving the bones. Lamb can be quite fatty so trim some of the fat if needed, you are after a ¾ meat ¼ fat ratio. Any more fat and the sausage will become dry, this may sound strange but the fat will leak out when cooking therefore losing all the moisture if there is not enough fat in the meat.

Take the bones and place in a lined baking tray and cook in the oven for 15 minutes, this softens up the marrow so you can scoop it out.

Mince the lamb in your mincer once on the finest setting, add all the other ingredients except the salt and pepper to the minced lamb and run through the mincer once more. This helps combine all the ingredients.

Add a very generous amount of salt and pepper, add more than you think! Mix the mince with your hands until well combined.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry of a little of the mixture to test for flavour and seasoning. Adjust your mixture to taste by adding more of what it needs and fry off another piece to test. Keep doing this until it’s just right.

Stuff the mixture into the casings with the stuffing attachment and twist into the desired lengths. Refrigerate over night to let the sausages set and the flavours develop.

Cook the sausages over a medium heat, either BBQ or in a pan and serve immediately.

It’s a good idea to seal the rest of the sausages in airtight bags and freeze until required. Sausages freeze really well and will last up to 3 months in the freezer.

To serve:

I served these babies with crushed peas, caramelized onions and some green beans tossed in plenty of olive oil, salt and pepper. A good squeeze of lemon doesn’t go astray either.

Note:

Natural casings are best, just make sure you rinse them thoroughly before using them. If you use artificial casing make sure they do not get wet otherwise they are a nightmare to stuff.

Posted in Beer, Beer Snack, Lamb, Lamb marrow, Marrow, Sausages

I absolutely love Korean food; from the amazing barbecues with all the accompaniments, through to the one pot rice dishes and pancakes. It’s all good and it’s all laced with fiery Kim Chi – and that my friend works a treat with beer.

I am fortunate enough to have a great little Korean grocery store less than 200 m from my front door so I’m constantly poking around in there looking for new and exciting things to cook. I went in yesterday to pick up some bits and pieces and noticed they some fresh Perilla leaves for sale, which I’ve not seen for a while. It dawned on me that I could use them as a wrapper for a Korean-inspired beer snack, so I grabbed some Kim Chi and seaweed salad, and raced to the butcher for some pork to finish the dish.

And before anyone can say it; yes I know, this is not a dish cooked with beer, but instead it’s a dish that pairs amazingly well with beer. You can’t cook everything in beer after all.

I should probably explain a few of the ingredients before I get down to the recipe.

Perilla leaves:

‘Wild sesame’ in Korean, it’s a hand-size leaf, dark green in colour and has an amazing flavour – you should pick up hints of apple, mint and anise.

Kim Chi:

Fiery Korean pickled and fermented vegetables, most commonly cabbage. The vegetable is added to a solution of ingredients including garlic, salt, onion, sugar, ginger, fish paste and chilli (this combination varies depending on region and season). It is then usually compressed and left to ferment. The result is a very crunchy condiment, with heat ranging from the very mild to blow your head off strong. It is loved so much in Korea it pervades much of the cuisine and annual festivals are held in its honour.

Seaweed salad:

This particular salad is a simple condiment the Koreans usually serve as part of their barbecue meals. It’s simply strips of seaweed, sesame oil and garlic. It’s refreshing, cleansing and has a fantastic crunch to it.

BEER MATCH

A dry, crisp lager.

KOREAN BEER SNACK                                              Makes 12

500 g meaty pork belly

2 tablespoons soy

1 teaspoon chilli powder

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon caster sugar

¼ cup red wine

200 g Korean seaweed salad

200 g cabbage Kim Chi

12 Perilla (wild sesame) leaves

You need to slice the pork as thinly as you can, around 3-4mm. I find the best way to do this is to place the pork in the freeze for an hour to let it firm up. This makes cutting a lot easier, unless you have a meat slicer that is.

Mix all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined.

Place the sliced pork in to mix and give it a really good coating, cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate over night.

In a large frying pan over a medium – high heat, heat some olive oil and cook the pork in batches for 1 ½ minutes each side. The pork should be nicely caramelised but not burnt, be careful it cooks very quickly.

To serve:

Take one Perilla leaf, lay down some pork, a few strips of Kim Chi (depending how hot you want it) and top with some seaweed salad. Roll it up and stuff it in your mouth. Go back for seconds quickly otherwise you’ll miss out.

Note:

Most Asian supermarkets have these ingredients but do yourself a favour and search out a Korean one, it’s well worth the experience.

Posted in Beer, Beer Snack, Kim Chi, Korean, Pork: Recipes and articles

The good old steak sandwich is a bit of an Australian institution; you’ll find a variation in pretty much every pub and greasy spoon up and down the coast. Alas nine times out of ten it’s some frozen, tough rubbery grey thing between old stale bread with some store bought sauce on it… yuck.

This is my version and I urge you to give it a go and let me know if it’s the best goddamn thing ever.

Now keep in mind that you can use other cuts of meat for this. If sticking with beef you could go for chuck, shoulder or even shin. Alternatively you could use pork or lamb, and again go for the cheaper cuts.

I use the Lebanese bread pockets in this recipe, they are just a baby version of the larger loaf and I find them perfect for a sandwich. If you cannot source them just use a larger Lebanese loaf cut into healthy portions.

BEER MATCH

To match with the sandwich over all I’d go for either an Australian Pale Ale, American Pale Ale or a German Lager.

If you want to highlight and compliment the beef in particular go for a Porter or Belgian Dubbel.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

BEER BRAISED BEEF SANDWICH                                              Makes 4

Olive oil

1.5 kg beef ribs

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 onion, thinly sliced

5 cloves garlic, sliced

4 sprigs thyme

1 x 500ml bottle German style wheat beer

4 Lebanese bread pockets

8 slices Jarlsberg

2 handfuls rocket

Dijon mustard

Heat a flameproof heavy-based casserole over medium heat and pour in a good amount of olive oil. Season the ribs with salt and pepper, then add to the pan and cook for 5 minutes until browned all over, working in batches if necessary. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Sauté the onion and garlic for 5 minutes or until softened and slightly browned, then add the herbs and return the ribs to the pan. Deglaze the pan with beer then bring to the boil. Add enough water to cover, cook covered on lowest possible setting for 3 hours or until the meat is about to fall of the bone.

Carefully remove the ribs from the braising liquid and keep warm. Strain the liquid into a saucepan and over a medium heat reduce until thick. When cool enough to handle, remove the bones and any fat from the beef ribs and place the beef back in the reduced liquid. Check the seasoning and adjust if required.

To serve:

Cut the bread rolls in half and lightly toast, generously spread the mustard on the bottom piece. Place a layer of beef, a piece of cheese and then finally some rocket.

Note:

If you have any leftover beef (which is doubtful knowing how tasty it is) you can reheat it and serve with mash potato or even pasta.

Posted in Beef, Beef ribs, Beer, Braised, cooking with beer, Sandwich

Beer and pizza has to be one of the world’s most popular combinations. Can you even begin to imagine how much pizza and beer gets consumed every Friday night somewhere in the world, or any night for that matter; it’s probably one of the only things that sports fans, computer geeks and guys in suits have in common. And that got me thinking… Why not put the beer into the pizza? That way you can make breakfast pizzas and get a sneaky one in without anyone being the wiser. Just kidding!

But that brings me to the point that pizza can be so much more than the evening meal. How about prosciutto and egg, or spinach, fetta and egg for breakfast? Or Pancetta, anchovy and rocket, or caramelised onion and fetta for lunch. And of course for dinner; mushroom, pancetta and chilli? Or roasted fennel, roasted onion and pine nuts?

You can basically put any topping on a pizza you like, just as long as you stick to the basic rule – don’t use more than about three toppings or it will get confused and messy. Show some restrain. Oh and under NO circumstances should you use chicken or barbecue sauce.

A great idea is to host a PIZZA PARTY. I did this a few years ago and it was a cracker. All you need to do is make up a couple of batches of dough and prepare a heap of different topping ingredients. Lay it all out and get all your guests to have a crack at making their own pizza. You just have to sit back and watch the chaos unfold. Some of the topping combinations are quite horrifying, but it’s damn funny. It is amazing how competitive it gets, especially with the kids, and before you know it a little Masterchef event unfolds before your eyes.

I’ve gone for the breakfast pizza option below, it’s basically a posh version of bacon and eggs. And I guarantee is the best way ever to get your kids involved in making breakfast.

BEER PIZZA DOUGH                        Makes enough for 3-4 medium pizza bases

300ml beer, go with a good pale ale

7g dry yeast (that’s one standard sachet)

500 g plain flour

A good pinch of sea salt and pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

TOPPING

Prosciutto

Free range eggs

Bocconcini

Rocket

Olive oil

Sea salt and pepper

Place your bottle of beer in a jug of hot tap water for a few minutes; you want to get the beer to a warm temperature to activate the yeast.

In a mixing bowl add the yeast and beer and mix until well combined.

In the bowl of a mixer using the dough hook attachment, combine the flour, salt and pepper and combine on the lowest speed, add beer mixture and then the olive oil immediately. If you do not have a kitchen mixer you can do everything in a food processor or in a bowl by hand, the traditional way.

When almost combined increase mixer speed to medium. Knead in the mixer or by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic. Dust your bench with some flour and form the dough into a ball. Place in a bowl, cover with cling film and prove in a warm place till doubled in size, for approximately 1 hour but you can leave it for 2-3 if needed.

Pre heat oven to maximum

When doubled in size, with your fist knock back the dough and divide roughly into 200 g portions –  you should get 3 to 4 pieces. Roll into balls, then on a floured surface roll out to the desired diameter.

Place the pizza bases on lightly oiled trays.

Because I’m using raw eggs it’s a good idea to crimp around the edges to make a little barrier so the egg does not dribble off the side.

Brush bases with olive oil, then add the rest of your topping except for the rocket. The rocket goes on after the pizza is cooked otherwise it wilts and looses its crunch.

Cook in a blisteringly hot oven until crisp and golden. It should take around 10-12 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Note: If you look carefully at the pizza tray I use it is perforated. I find that perforated pizza trays work best in domestic ovens as it allow more heat to get to the base of the pizza and therefore giving you a crisper result.

Posted in Beer, Breakfast, chris badenoch, cooking with beer, Pizza, Pizza Dough

On second thoughts, that title does sound a bit rude. But it’s not a goat threesome, it’s perfectly innocent. I’m talking about cooking a leg of goat in Mountain Goat beer and serving it with goats cheese. See? Goat in goat with goat!

Goat is one of those animals that is not widely consumed and really should be far more popular. Australia is a land of lamb-lovers (I mean for eating, not the New Zealand way), and that being the case, we really should love goat meat as well. It is incredibly tasty – just imagine the best lamb you’ve ever eaten and multiply it by two. It’s lean, which everyone seems to love these days, and fairly cheap. I can’t think of any negatives for it, except maybe that it could be difficult to get from your average suburban butcher. I’m lucky in that I can source it from the Queen Victoria Markets in Melbourne any time in the mood for some goat, but your best bet is to try a suburb with a good cultural cross section. As I learnt from a certain little Greek chef I know, the Greeks love their goat.

Beer braising is a fantastic way to cook goat. As it’s so lean, it’s very easy to overcook goat when quick-cooking. A long, slow braise avoids this and the beer and herbs inject a great depth of flavour. I’ve chosen the Mountain Goat Hightail Ale for the job, not just because of the serendipitous name, but for it’s great grassy and floral tones and robust fruity flavour – a perfect match for goat I reckon. And as I’ve said ten million times, it’s really important to choose the right beer for the job.

This salad has a bit of a Middle Eastern flavour to it because of the addition of mint and pomegranate, and the punchy goats cheese adds an amazing zing to the final dish.

Goat in goat with goat (salad)       Serves 4 to 8 depending on what you serve it with

Olive oil

1.5kg leg of goat (front leg is best)

1 large onion, roughly chopped

6 cloves local garlic, roughly chopped

4 sprigs fresh thyme

1 x 330ml bottle of Mountain Goat Hightail Ale (or similar)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup fresh mint, roughly chopped

1 pomegranate, seeds only

120 g Chevre goats cheese

Heat a little olive oil in a heavy based saucepan over a medium heat, season the goat liberally with sea salt and add to the saucepan and fry until well browned all over. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add a little more olive oil and fry the onions until they soften and get a little colour on them. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add the goat back to the pan and pour over the beer. Add enough water to just cover the goat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and gently simmer for 4 hours, or until goat is meltingly tender.

When done, remove the goat and keep in a warm place.

Strain the cooking liquid back into the saucepan; make sure you squeeze all the onion and garlic through the sieve. Over a medium high heat reduce the liquid until quite thick and unctuous.

Shred the warm goat with your hands. Add the mint, pomegranate seeds and a few tablespoons of the reduced cooking liquid. Season to taste.

Arrange on a plate and crumble over the Chevre. Serve while still warm.

Posted in Beer, Beer Braise, chris badenoch, Cooking Goat, cooking with beer, Goat, Goats cheese, Mint, Salad

I get asked about beer batter all the time.

How do you make it?

Does it matter what beer I use? Etc.

I’m writing this entry to dispel a few myths about beer batter. I’ve read so many ridiculous ways to prepare beer batter I thought it’s about time to debunk all the nonsense, deep breath, here I go…

FIRST RULE of beer batter:

Beer batter is not complicated, it should only contain beer and self-raising flour.

It does not need water, ice, soda water, cornflour, bicarb or any other rubbish.

SECOND RULE of beer batter:

The beer should be cold. Along with the carbonation of the beer the temperature helps make the batter crisp. I do not know the science behind this, I’ll ask Heston Blumenthal to research it and get back to you.

THIRD RULE of beer batter:

You DO NOT need to sift the flour, and don’t over-whisk it. A few lumps actually makes for a better texture.

FOURTH RULE and most important rule of beer batter:

It is important to choose the correct beer according to what you are going to cook. As any ingredient ranges in texture and taste, so does beer. Beers range from a light lager all the way up to a crazy chewy stout. Know your beer and match it accordingly.

For example:

If deep-frying seafood use the following beer in the batter:

Flathead – Lager or a Pale Ale.

Cod –Pale Ale or an English Bitter

Sardines – a Japanese Lager

Oysters – Stout or Porter

Note: The beer that works in the batter will generally be the correct beer to drink with the final dish. Remember though there are always exceptions!

RECIPE

BEER BATTER                                         Makes enough for four medium pieces of fish

220g self-raising flour

1 x 330ml bottle of cold beer (the appropriate one)

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Sea salt

In your Kitchen Aid with the whisk attachment, add the flour and beer and whisk. Do not over whisk as a few lumps adds a bit of extra texture. You can do it by hand.

Pre-heat your fryer to 180ºC. You can use a heavy based saucepan over a medium heat with a thermometer but a small domestic fryer is well worth the few dollars. I have a Breville fryer, it’s brilliant.

Dredge your ingredient (ie fish) in flour, tap to shake off any excess then coat in the batter.

Fry for a few minutes or until golden brown, remove from oil and drain on kitchen towel. Season well, immediately.

Some suggestions of things to batter and fry:

• Fish, prawns, mussels, oysters

• Banana, pineapple

• Onion Rings, potato slices

• Hot dogs, pork sausages

Who am I kidding, you can deep-fry almost anything!

NOTE:

You can add some freshly ground spices to the batter to give a flavour kick if you like.

Try deep frying fish in a beer batter laced with cumin, coriander and paprika to give a Moroccan direction. Serve it with a Moroccan zucchini salad and yogurt.

The images below show beer battered Flathead tails. I’ve used a Kooinda Pale Ale in this batter. The Pale Ale’s texture and flavours match beautifully with the flathead. Buy a six pack, that way you get to enjoy the beers with the final dish.

Posted in Beer batter, cooking with beer
Tags: Beer, Beer batter, cooking with beer, Fish, Flathead, Fried

I recently read an article that states that the recipe most searched for on Google is… wait for it… pancakes. This did surprise me more than a little, but then again who doesn’t love a good pancake? They’re so effortless to make it astounds me there are actually packet mixes out there, and people buy them! They’re made from basic pantry staples, and so much better from scratch. No excuses people.

Known by many names around the world (pancakes, hotcakes, griddlecakes, flapjacks, crepes, dosas, boxty and drop scones to name just a few) the pancake takes many forms, uses many ingredients and comes in many sizes. From sweet to savoury they are enjoyed in some form by pretty much every culture around the world and have been gracing our tables for centuries.

As I did with the humble cup cake on MasterChef, I’d like to make a beery injection into pancakes and give a Chris twist to this old favourite.

Beer does a couple of things to the pancake batter. Firstly it adds a nice earthy, maltiness to the flavour and secondly the carbonation in the beer adds air to the batter, making it lighter and fluffier. If you use a good ‘live’ beer the yeast also helps with the flavour and lightness.

It is very important to use the right beer for the job. Just throwing in any old lager would not be pleasant to say the least. You need to go with a mild Porter or Stout to get the best results. Porters and Stouts by their very nature are quite sympathetic to doughs and batters. “Beer and milk?” I hear you say? Trust me, this combination works like magic. And no, it doesn’t end up tasting like a beer!

RECIPE

BEER PANCAKES                                                           Makes 6 medium pancakes

1 egg

1 cup self-raising flour

½ cup mild Porter / Stout (I used Coopers Dark Ale)

½ cup full cream milk

Unsalted butter to cook with

To serve

Maple syrup, the real stuff

1 punnet of seasonal berries

In your mixer with the whisk attachment, add the egg, flour, beer and milk, whisk until combined. You can easily do this by hand.

Melt the butter in a heavy based frying pan over a medium heat. When the butter has melted add the batter, around ½ a cup at a time. Do not over crowd the pan, do 1 or 2 at a time.  When small bubbles start to appear on the top of the pancakes they are ready to be turned. Cook for a further 45 seconds or until browned on the bottom and remove. Continue this process until all the pancakes are done.

Drizzle with the maple syrup and berries and serve immediately.

NOTE: Some people make their pancakes with buttermilk. This does not work in this recipe as the beer curdles the buttermilk.

For those of you who do not know what buttermilk is…

Buttermilk was originally the liquid left over form churning butter from cream. In modern times it refers to a lightly fermented milk product made from adding bacterial cultures during the processing of low fat milk. Contrary to its name, buttermilk contains no butter and is low in fat, 2% in fact. Buttermilk is slightly acidic, this reacts with the raising agents in the batter and adds to the lightness of the final product. Buttermilk is easily obtained from your local supermarket.

Posted in Dessert
Tags: Beer, cooking with beer, Dessert, pancakes, porter, stout