BEER’S BOUNTY

THE SECRET INGREDIENT

WE ALREADY KNOW THAT BEER’S NOT ONLY GOOD IN A BOTTLE, BUT THERE ARE MORE WAYS TO USE IT IN FOOD THAN FRIED FISH BATTER, WRITES CLIFFORD ROBERTS.

The ingredient which gives beer its  oth and bubble – carbon dioxide – is a great element in a batter for fi sh or onion rings. The ingredient which gives beer its  oth and bubble – carbon dioxide – is a great element in a batter for fi sh or onion rings.

Larousse Gastronomique is billed as “the World’s greatest culinary encyclopaedia” and it stretches to beyond 1 350 pages in the current edition. It’s a weighty tome – both in volume and in content and is a virtual food bible to all devotees of matters gastronomic. It still contains editorial which nowadays could be deemed politically incorrect since the world – and diners – have moved on, fi nding turtle soup and delicate songbirds (ortolan) morally reprehensible.

It notes that in the 15th century salt cod was worthy of the fi nest tables while fresh sturgeon, cod and dolphin were reserved for the king. (Note that it doesn’t specify if this is indeed the dolphin – like Flipper of the TV series fame – or mahi-mahi or dorado which is called dolphin in Hawaii and Spain respectively. Apparently the confusion is because of the latter’s early scientifi c classifi cation as being part of the dolphin genus.) Of course, salt cod swiftly became the food of all people because of its ability to keep rather than spoil in the days before refrigeration. And then this culinary bon mot (some might add, of course): “Frog-meat, which is no more than a tit-bit, is nevertheless easily digestible”. The section on frogs, covering several preparations over a page-long, goes on to describe the preparation of more than just the legs, in riveting detail. Strangely, beer as an ingredient is woefully neglected. The book acknowledges “[beer] is a refreshingly and slightly stimulating drink that has food value,” but lists only one food-related dish: beer soup, with a parenthesis indicating “German cookery”.

Dilute ½ cup (150g) of light roux made of butter and fl our with 1 ½ quarts (litres) of light beer. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Add 2 teaspoons (12g) of fi ne sugar and a very small pinch of powdered cinnamon, bring to the boil, then simmer for 25 minutes. Just before serving, thicken with 1 cup (2 decilitres) of double cream. Pour boiling into a soup tureen, over thin slices of toast.

It’s probably true though: famous beer foods that jump to mind generally won’t be those to hail from France. Think of steaming beef pies made with stout (Guinness, especially); stews with the same, like Flemish karbonade; and, chocolate desserts like brownies and ganache.

Forgotten the yeast for surprise bread-baking on your camping trip? Chuck in a can of lager instead. Then there was the craze of the lager chicken braaied slow and propped straight up over a half-can of beer.

And what about good old beer-battered fi sh-and-chips? The serious folks at Scientifi c American write that “beer makes such a great base for batter because it simultaneously adds three ingredients—carbon dioxide, foaming agents and alcohol—each of which brings to bear diff erent aspects of physics and chemistry to make the crust light and crisp.” The CO² helps spread the batter mix and contributes to the texture; the foaming agents assist with insulation and lend the gold-brown colour; and, the alcohol moderates the internal temperature and crisping the crust. Now you know.

Still, many breweries with restaurants seemingly remain on the side-lines when it comes to beer-in-food. When asked, some choose to dip in, but only ever so slightly. The bistro at Devil’s Peak only currently off ers olives in IPA with lemon, rosemary, garlic; and, beer-battered onion rings.

“Beer makes such a great base for

batter because it simultaneously adds

three ingredients—carbon dioxide,

foaming agents and alcohol—each of

which brings to bear different aspects

of physics and chemistry.”

Gauteng’s Hogshead brew pub has beer-battered peppadews filled with feta, mozzarella and blue cheese. Darling Brew has come up with a way to use spent grain from its Slow Beer and Bone Crusher – beer grain crisps.

Wesley Hurn at Hoghouse Brewing Company in Cape Town says that half-way through the smoking process of their short rib, a liquid marinade that contains its Porter Draught is added. “The beer steams into the meat adding a beautiful and rich flavour.

“We use our pilsner draught as the liquid ingredient for our onion ring batter … [and] a very small amount of our African Pale Ale draught in our house-made BBQ sauce. We occasionally make a beer bread where we use beer as a substitute to water when mixing our dough.

“This adds a lovely malt flavour to the bread,” he says, adding the admission that they haven’t been too adventurous with “weird and wonderful” combinations.

Mad Giant brewmaster Eben Uys reckons he hasn’t tasted anything to convince him beer as an ingredient can improve a dish. He prefers his beer in a glass and is only too happy to pair it with food. “You just lose a lot of good flavours of beer when you cook with it.”

Now the gang on the foodie side of the fence – like Karl Tessendorf and Greg Gilowey, authors of the just-released BEER FOOD FIRE (Penguin Random House SA) – will disagree. The pair were finalists in television’s Ultimate Braai Master 2011/2 and now host Beer Country, their own show.

“There are many ways to play with beer,” their chapter on cooking with brew begins. “Half the fun is exploring new, tasty ideas and seeing what happens. Think about beer styles and their characteristics, and match their intensities to the dish you’re trying to create.”

What follows are nifty guides that include:

Beer salts to finish a dish, like weiss, lemon and thyme, that involves basically reducing the beer to a sticky liquid, mixing in your ingredients and drying it out in the oven;

Beer butters, that can be used on all kinds of dishes from meat to pancakes; and Beer mayo, beer BBQ sauce, beer mustard and beer (and bacon) jam.

Not all the recipes in the book contain beer, but there are several great examples (see recipes with this article).

Ultimately, the trick is not to think of beer as a single ingredient, but many. Each individual style in the diverse field of beer, and even within sub-categories, is what you have available to cook with. You’ll encounter everything across the bitter spectrum; floral to herbal, spicy to fruity; acidic or bubbly; high and low in alcohol and beers that have a viscosity higher than sherry. Any chef will tell you, the rest is about experimentation: linking flavours and textures, even when it seems counter-intuitive. Sometimes direct opposites attract. Go on: play. It’s only beer, not a critically endangered species..

AMBER ALE STICKY LAMB SHANKS By Wild Clover Brewer, Stellenbosch Feeds 4: Prep 1 hour: Cook 3 hours 10 minutes. 4 free-range lamb shanks A glug of oil for basting Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 6 whole garlic cloves, crushed 6 sprigs of fresh rosemary, roughly chopped The Beer Barbecue Basting: A glug of oil for frying ¼ C finely chopped onion 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 C tomato sauce 1 C amber ale 5 Tbsp. honey 5 Tbsp. dark soy sauce 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 tsp paprika 1 Preheat the oven to 160°C. Coat the shanks with oil and season generously with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. PIace the shanks into a roasting dish and scatter the garlic and rosemary in the dish. Cover with foil and bake for 3 hours or until fork tender. The shanks will be finished on the braai, so they shouldn’t be fall-apart tender at this stage. When the shanks are done, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. 2 To make the basting, heat the oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat, and fry the onion until golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Reduce to a low heat, simmer and stir occasionally to combine the flavours. Continue to simmer until the sauce has reduced to a semi-thick consistency. Remove from the heat and set aside until it’s time to braai. 3 Baste the shanks generously with basting sauce and braai over medium heat coals for around 10 minutes, turning frequently. Remember to baste with every turn and be careful when handling the meat because it is already cooked through so it will be soft. Serve your sticky lamb lollipops with a cold brew and tuck in.

REAL HOT CHOCOLATE WITH STOUT Feeds: 4-6 • Prep: 10 minutes. Cook: 10 minutes 1 C double cream 1/4 C full-cream milk 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 2 tsp brown sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla essence 150 g Lindt 70% dark chocolate, finely chopped 1 C stout A small handful of salted cashews, crushed A pinch of dried crushed chillies A pinch of sea salt In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, add the cream, milk, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla. Whisk to combine and when it starts to get warm, add the chocolate. Continue whisking as the chocolate melts. Once completelycombined,add the stout. Continue whisking slowlyuntil the mixture justbegins to boil, then remove from the heat. Add some crushed nuts to the bottom ofyourglasses/mugs,then pourin the hotchocolate. Add anotherdash ofcream ifyou like,top with a sprinkle of crushed chillies and salt,then baskin the gloryofreal hot chocolate.