Cookin again

Dannyalcatraz · Mar 14, 2016

Stopper it for later use.

It makes for a KILLER marinade ingredient. While water or wine are more common, it could be used to deglaze a pan for making a sauce that goes on steak. That chili I just made? The first step is cooking the pork shoulder with low heat (@200-250degF) in 8oz beer per 2.5lbs of meat.

You might also look for other bread recipes. Around here, Shiner Bock bread is a big seller- it is kind of like a sourdough.

Umbran · Mar 14, 2016

Dannyalcatraz said:
Stopper it for later use.

I perhaps should get some beer-bottle sized stoppers, as this is not an uncommon occurrence. Why is it that only beer comes in bottles that can't be reclosed?

It makes for a KILLER marinade ingredient.

And, this is a case where I wouldn't care if the beer/ale went flat. A little planning and it could be used for a recipe later in the week.

You might also look for other bread recipes. Around here, Shiner Bock bread is a big seller- it is kind of like a sourdough.

I did find a very common beer bread recipe to use tonight's bottle up.

3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 cup sugar
1 (12 ounce) can beer
1⁄2 cup melted butter (1/4 cup will do just fine)

(the baking powder and salt may be omitted if you are using a self-rising flour.
Mix all ingredients but butter. The butter can be incorporated into the dough, or poured over the dough when you put it in a greased loaf pan. Or, you can incorporate some of the butter, and our some over - it helps control how soft the crust is.
Bake at 375 F for one hour.

Dannyalcatraz · Mar 14, 2016

You can probably find corks for @$5/bag of 6 or so in places like Bed, Bath & Beyond, Crate & Barrel, etc. Should fit a beer bottle, too. And most stores that sell wine or spirits also carry reusable bottle stoppers.

You could also hit BB&B (or C&B, etc.) and get one or 2 bottles that you could decant your beer into. They come in a lot of sizes- I have some for homemade oil vinaigrette dressings that are about the size of a typical condiment bottle, and others almost liter sized. Just make sure its easy to clean. Bottles with tiny necks or that are ridiculously tall are just nightmares.

Oh yeah, just remembered: some beers are corked like wines, and others have threaded caps for screwing on & off. Take a closer look to see if yours has a screwtop.

Dannyalcatraz · Mar 14, 2016

A question: is there a medical reason you don't drink beer or is it simply you don't care for it?

I ask not being nosy, but for a reason- just like with wine or spirits, you have to make sure to use the right kind of beer in a given recipe. What might work in one recipe might be terrible in another because different beers have different flavors. And cheap beers might bring unwanted flavors to the party, so again, just like with wine, you want to use beer that is good enough to consume in and of itself.

That said, sometimes it doesn't matter all that much.

For example, I have marinated pork ribs in Guiness, Blue Moon, Shiner Bock, Killians Red and Newcastle Brown Ale. Regardless of the beer, they've always come out tasty and tender. But the beer's flavor is but one of several in the marinade, along with lemon juice, worsterchire, herbs, peppers, etc. And if the optional BBQ sauce is added... The beer is just one note among many.

HOWEVER, tasty as my red pork chili was, I think the beer I used- Killians- was too dark & sweet for the dish. Had I stopped after the first step of low & slow cooking, the resulting pulled pork dish would have been just fine. But the chili? I was fighting the Killian's flavor all night- a paler, dryer beer would have worked better.

TL;DR: if you have a medical reason against drinking beer, enlist the help of a beer afficionado to help you choose what could work best for your recipes. Otherwise, perhaps a little taste testing is in order. I personally didn't find a beer I enjoyed until I was @24 or so. And in the intervening 2 decades & change, I've only added a couple handfuls of beers to my approval list...and some of THOSE are out of production or not available in the USA.

Scott DeWar · Mar 14, 2016

Grolsch, a pale ale made in Netherlands, comes with a stoppered bottle

I have drank it, I remember I liked it, but I do not remember what it tasted like.

here is another pic. notice the top.

alternatively, you can make more pizzas!!

Umbran · Mar 14, 2016

Dannyalcatraz said:
A question: is there a medical reason you don't drink beer or is it simply you don't care for it?

No medical reason. I just never developed a taste for it. I dislike the taste of straight beer, or wine, or anything with enough alcohol to be called an "alcoholic beverage". I find the alcohol just overwhelms my palate in an unpleasant way.

Alcoholic beverages make fine *ingredients*, mind you - both for their own flavors, and for the fact that there are some flavor compounds that don't dissolve in water, but do dissolve in alcohol. I find them to be like fish sauce - excellent in the recipes that call for it, but good gracious you don't drink it straight! The result is that my friends are surprised to see how many varieties of liquor I keep around, for a teetotaler

I currently have... bourbon, (admittedly cheap) red and white wines, sherry, saki, vodka, rum, several (I think 4 or 5) cordials, and two kinds of beer in the house. I don't drink *any* of it.

I ask not being nosy, but for a reason- just like with wine or spirits, you have to make sure to use the right kind of beer in a given recipe. What might work in one recipe might be terrible in another because different beers have different flavors. And cheap beers might bring unwanted flavors to the party, so again, just like with wine, you want to use beer that is good enough to consume in and of itself.

I am lucky, in that a couple of my local liquor stores actually understand me. When I say, "I need some of X, for cooking," they are bright about it. They don't treat me like an imbecile, or a weirdo. They almost always suggest things in the middle of the road in quality/price. They know I care about the flavors, so they don't try to sell me cheap stuff, but they know that really high-end liquors will be lost on me, and in my applications. They even have measure-conversion tables at the checkout, so when I need things on the level of tablespoons, they can sell me the right number of nips.

The result of consulting them yesterday for the ale-dough pizza last night was *awesome*. Not enough ale to taste beery, just enough to taste yeasty.

Haven't tried the beer-bread we made with the rest of the bottle, but I expect it'll be a fine accompaniment to a rustic soup we plan for our gaming group tomorrow.

TL;DR: if you have a medical reason against drinking beer, enlist the help of a beer afficionado to help you choose what could work best for your recipes. Otherwise, perhaps a little taste testing is in order.

I generally work with the counsel of others. Straight beer and ales taste, to me, like rotting asparagus that's starting to ferment. Straight wines and hard liquors typically taste like paint-thinner to me.

Umbran · Mar 14, 2016

Scott DeWar said:
Grolsch, a pale ale made in Netherlands, comes with a stoppered bottle

Yes, such things exist, but the overwhelming majority of beer bottles in retail are (ime) not resealable.

alternatively, you can make more pizzas!!

That's a lot of pizzas. Like, a dozen, I think.

Scott DeWar · Mar 14, 2016

Umbran said:
Yes, such things exist, but the overwhelming majority of beer bottles in retail are (ime) not resealable.

they are re-sealable, i am mostly sure. You know of what I have been through to say of what my memory is like, so take that with a grain of salt.

That's a lot of pizzas. Like, a dozen, I think.

Say the word and I will invite myself and some others over!! (ha ha ha j/k)

Dannyalcatraz · Mar 14, 2016

Umbran said:
Alcoholic beverages make fine *ingredients*, mind you - both for their own flavors, and for the fact that there are some flavor compounds that don't dissolve in water, but do dissolve in alcohol. I find them to be like fish sauce - excellent in the recipes that call for it, but good gracious you don't drink it straight! The result is that my friends are surprised to see how many varieties of liquor I keep around, for a teetotaler I currently have... bourbon, (admittedly cheap) red and white wines, sherry, saki, vodka, rum, several (I think 4 or 5) cordials, and two kinds of beer in the house. I don't drink *any* of it.

Our Monsignor is also a teetotaler, and keeps a well-stocked bar. You are NOT alone.

I am lucky, in that a couple of my local liquor stores actually understand me. When I say, "I need some of X, for cooking," they are bright about it. They don't treat me like an imbecile, or a weirdo. They almost always suggest things in the middle of the road in quality/price. They know I care about the flavors, so they don't try to sell me cheap stuff, but they know that really high-end liquors will be lost on me, and in my applications. They even have measure-conversion tables at the checkout, so when I need things on the level of tablespoons, they can sell me the right number of nips.

Good, good.

My personal rule of thumb is that darker beers work best when cooking beef, American-style beers, paler ales & wheat beers are good for poultry, and pork is kind of a "universal recipient" (depending on the recipe, as mentioned).

I haven't tried beer with seafood much, but from what I have seen and tasted, I'd treat it like chicken. One exception is that some of the sweet Carribean beers work well for things like shrimp when the recipe is ALSO focused on sweetness.

I generally work with the counsel of others. Straight beer and ales taste, to me, like rotting asparagus that's starting to ferment. Straight wines and hard liquors typically taste like paint-thinner to me.

I won't advise you to add a vice by finding better alcohol to drink, but I had a similar reaction to most beers until I tied some of the better ones. My most recent discovery was the Limbic beers of Belgium, which are high in alcohol content, but also tend towards fruity flavors.