Beer And Food

Shake & Bake Hop Fried Chicken

Sean Z. Paxton — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:23:47 EDT

Shake and Bake Hopped Fried Chicken

Oh yea! The classic buttermilk fried chicken gone to the hopheads! By making a green buttermilk full of goodness, the chicken is also seasoned and begging for a beer, as both hops and malt are used in this recipe.

Makes: 1 chicken, 8 piece

Ingredients:

1   ea       free range organic chicken, washed, dried
1   quart       buttermilk
1   bunch       fresh thyme , washed, dried and chopped
1   bunch       Italian leaf parsley, washed, dried and chopped
6   ea       cloves garlic, peeled
2   tablespoons   kosher salt
1   tablespoon   black pepper
4   tablespoons   Amarillo hop powder*

2   cups       all-purpose flour, unbleached
1   cup       malt flour (favorite brewers malt ground fine into a powder)
2   teaspoons   kosher salt
2   teaspoons   Amarillo hop powder*

6-10   cups       vegetable shortening or lard

Directions:

   Remove the chicken from the bag and rinse the bird under cold water, removing the special sack. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Let rest.

In the pitcher of a blender, add the buttermilk, thyme, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and hop powder. Turn on high and puree until the mixture is smooth.

Take the chicken and place on a cutting board. Butcher the chicken into 8 pieces, traditional (2-leg, 2-thigh, 2-breast, 2-wings) or un-conventionally (cleavertized). Place into a container, large enough to hold all the pieces and pour the buttermilk mixture over the top. Cover and refrigerate for 12-48 hours. This will give the buttermilk time to tenderize the meat and infuse the flavors.

When you can’t wait anymore, drain the herbed buttermilk from the chicken by using a colander. In a sealable plastic bag, add flour, malt flour, salt and hop powder; seal and mix well.

Place a large cast iron pan (dutch oven) over a medium heat burner. Add shortening, oil or lard and heat to 325°. This temperature will prevent the chicken coating from burning and the inside from bring raw… Take a piece of chicken, one at a time, add to the flour bag, seal and shake baby! Using tongs, remove the chicken piece and shake off any extra flower (it will burn in the oil) and place in the oil. The oil level should come up about ½ to ¾ of the way up the sides. Fry the chicken on each side for about 12-15 minutes. The crust on the outside will be a nice golden brown. Try not to move the chicken very much during cooking, as it will break apart the crust, making a more oily fried chicken and cause the crust to fall off.

Once cooked, remove from the oil, letting drain for a few moments and place onto a rack placed over a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Let cool and then EAT!

* Hop powder is made by taking dried hop cones and pulsing in a clean coffee grinder until a fine powder is formed.

Variations:

Instead of just Amarillo hops, try a variety, like you would for an IPA or DIPA. Think about citrusy hops, spicy hops, dang hops; it’s all about personal taste. And you are the chef!

Here is a video of the chicken frying and finished as well:

Dried Fruit Compote & Monk’s Blood

Sean Z. Paxton — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:32:40 EST

Dried Fruit Compote made with Monk’s Blood Ale

This compote is a great component of a cheese plate or board. We all think Wine and Cheese, but beer is so much better with the fermented milk we call cheese. This works great with any stinky Belgian like cheeses, Cow Girl Creamery Red Hawk or even a Stilton or strong Blue.

Makes: 2-3 cups

Ingredients:

½    cup          dried Bartlett pears, chopped
½    cup        medrol dates, pitted and chopped
½    cup          dried cherries, preferably Montmorency, pitted
½    cup          dried figs, stems removed and quartered
3-4    tbsp      orange juice, to brighten the flavor, but not a dominate flavor
2-3    tbsp      local honey or D2 Dark Candy Syrup
2    tsp            orange zest
1    tsp            ground coriander
½    tsp           freshly ground nutmeg
1    ea             cinnamon stick
1    pinch       sea salt
1    pinch        freshly cracked black pepper
750    ml      Belgian Dark Strong, ie Chimay Grand Cru, Rochefort 10 or Monk’s Blood

(Think dried fruit flavors that echo the fruits added above. Or change the fruits to mimic the flavors of the beer.)

Directions:

In a medium sized pot, add all the ingredients. When pouring the beer, pour like you would into a glass, leaving the sediment behind and the head to a minimum. The level of the beer should be almost covering the dried fruits. Place the pot over a medium flame and slowly bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low. Stir frequently, to prevent any scorching. Cook until all the fruit has plumped and the liquid has almost disappeared. Taste and adjust flavoring if needed. More orange juice will brighten the flavors, more honey will sweeten the compote and give a nice syrupy texture.

For Service:

Have a few different cheeses, from different types of animals’ milk. Think texture, style and taste. Have some different artisanal cheeses, crackers, sliced pears, toasted or candied nuts and a local honey.

Beer Inspired Thanksgiving

Sean Z. Paxton — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:51:35 EST

Tired of that dry bird? Wanting something different on the Thanksgiving table this year? Look know further.

Here are some fun ideas and recipes for Thanksgiving. In this months Beeradvocate magazine, I invited our close BN friends; Shaun O’Sullivan, Pete Slosberg, Roger Davis, Jay Brooks and Arne Johnson over for dinner to have a Turducken, with a beer twist.

For more on this story and recipes, check these links out:

homebrewchef.com/ThanksgivingBeerMenu.html

homebrewchef.com/anatomyofabird.html

Thai Inspired Pumpkin Coconut Ale Soup

The Homebrew Chef — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 05:02:47 EST

After tasting Patrick Rue’s beers at GABF, I was inspired to think of ways to pair foods that would complement The Bruery’s unique and food friendly brews. Hearing Patrick on The BN, I invited him over to share some of my food thoughts with him. The following recipe would go great with their Trade Winds , a Tripel style ale infused with Thai basil.

Thai Inspired Pumpkin Coconut Holiday Ale Soup

With the time change of Fall, hard squashes, holiday ales and lots of spices enter our kitchens. Bringing these different ingredients together creates a soul warming soup that captures the time of year was the goal of this recipe. Taking an unorthodox approach to season this soup, I created a Thai paste brings heat from chilies, spices like kafir lime leaves, nutmeg, cumin and coriander, plus ginger, garlic, shallots and white peppercorns. These flavors work to add lots of character to this soup that can be used as a starter or served as a main course.

Serves: 10 as a starter or 4 as an entree

Ingredients:

2          tablespoons     peanut oil
2          each                   yellow onion, medium sized, peeled and sliced
4          each                   shallots, peeled and sliced
¼ - ½   cup             Thai paste (see attached recipe)
29        ounce       pumpkin puree
12        ounce             coconut milk
32        ounce       Anderson Valley’s Winter Solstice
1      each          tangerine, freshly juiced

                                 Toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish
                             Anderson Valley’s Winter Solstice Foam
                               Cyrus Black Flaked Salt

Directions:

In a medium sized pot over medium heat, add peanut oil. Once the oil starts to ripple with heat, add onions and shallots, stirring often too lightly caramelize, about 7-9 minutes. Add the Thai paste (or store bought version to your tastes. If using a store version, add only a few teaspoons as it is usually stronger in flavor and has more heat), stirring to combine and cook for 2 minutes. Add the pumpkin, coconut milk and ale, bringing to a simmer. Cook the soup for 15-20 minutes. Purée soup with either a hand blender (for a more coarse consistency), food processor or a blender (for a very smooth texture). Adjust seasonings with either more Thai paste for more spice/heat or salt and pepper and add tangerine juice. Serve into bowls, and garnish with pumpkin seeds, ale foam and Cyrus Black Flaked Salt.

To make the foam, add 4 ounces of beer to a container that is wide enough to fit a hand blender into the base. Add 1 teaspoon of Lecite from El Buli Texturas line or Will Power LECITHIN. Both are a soy lecithin powder that will create a stable foam. Using a hand blender, froth for 1-2 minutes to create foam head, similar to Belgium lace. Let mixture sit for 1 minute before serving, to let any liquid in the foam fall out of suspension. Spoon on top of each bowl.

Ebenezer's Pub - Belgian Beer Dinner

The Homebrew Chef — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:18:10 EDT

Blogs have been written about 2008 being the "Year of the Beer Dinner." I didn't take this very lightly when Chris Lively asked me to do a beer dinner in Maine. With De Struise and the Ebenezer's Pub hosting a Belgian Beer Festival, least I could do was make a feast for folks to enjoy and compliment the fine beers that Chris shared with the guests. For a full story and pictures of the event, please visit: http://www.homebrewchef.com/EbenezerPubBelgianBeerDinner2008Story.html

Was great to meet the BNer's who made the trek out to Lovell. I had a great time meeting you all.

Cheers!

Sean

Chris Lively and Frank in front of kegs of Pannepot, Pannepeut, Black Albert and Tsjeeses.