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Do you cook with beer or wine?

 
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Do you cook with beer and wine?

I like cooking with beer or wine.  Nowadays, I never have any as I do most of my shopping online.

Why do you cook with beer or wine?

Lets talk about what food are better cooked with beer or wine

Here is an article from Allrecipes about how to cook with beer:

Cooking with beer adds a deep, earthy flavor to savory dishes such as chili, soup, and stew; and a nutty, caramelized flavor to baked goods. It's great for just about every cooking technique, too: baking, braising, deglazing, battering, sauces, marinating, and simmering.



https://www.allrecipes.com/article/how-to-cook-with-beer/

Here are some related threads that might be of interest:

https://permies.com/t/174630/Basic-Kitchen-Chemistry

https://permies.com/t/189777/Rice-beer

https://permies.com/t/26290/Minute-Wine-Recipe

https://permies.com/t/2575/venison-recipes

https://permies.com/t/6181/permaculture/Homemade-Wine-Leftovers

https://permies.com/t/68024/favorite-adult-beverage

 
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Off the top of my head, the things I do regularly: Some red wine goes into marinara and similar. Fondue gets white wine or beer. We use a lager when making frijoles. I sometimes use wine as a braising liquid.

And I've also done things like make ice cream or sorbet that included one or the other and also poached pears in wine, but none of that is normal for us.
 
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I definitely do. I think it adds an extra depth of flavor. People complain that they can never get their home cooked food to taste as good as the food they order at a restaurant. I think not cooking with wine is one of the reasons.

Wine goes into pretty much any meat dish cooked in a pan for me. If I'm browning meat and need to deglaze the pan, I will almost always use wine to do so.

I don't use beer very often. The only time I can think that I'll do that is occasionally when I'm braising a large cut.

About a year ago I started buying cheaper box wine specifically for cooking. It lasts wayyyyy longer in the fridge than anything in a bottle and is usually cheaper too. It usually has a convenient little dispenser too.
 
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Beer cheese, right!

j

What would a nice  soft pretzel be without a cup of silky smooth beer cheese?
 
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Yes!  I keep an ample supply of wine …..maybe 60 bottles….maybe more. ….    Marsala, Chianti, Chardonnay, Sherry, Rhine, Port.  It is all for cooking.   My wife uses it for canning fruit. I use it in stew, spaghetti, chicken dishes, etc.    You know, if you add enough wine,  even the worse cooked meals can start to taste pretty good.

 
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I second John's point - guests compliment your wine-fortified food much more if you also give them wine prior to consuming said food!
 
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Anne Miller wrote:Do you cook with beer and wine?

I like cooking with beer or wine.  Nowadays, I never have any as I do most of my shopping online.

Why do you cook with beer or wine?

Lets talk about what food are better cooked with beer or wine

Here is an article from Allrecipes about how to cook with beer:

Cooking with beer adds a deep, earthy flavor to savory dishes such as chili, soup, and stew; and a nutty, caramelized flavor to baked goods. It's great for just about every cooking technique, too: baking, braising, deglazing, battering, sauces, marinating, and simmering.



https://www.allrecipes.com/article/how-to-cook-with-beer/

Here are some related threads that might be of interest:

https://permies.com/t/174630/Basic-Kitchen-Chemistry

https://permies.com/t/189777/Rice-beer

https://permies.com/t/26290/Minute-Wine-Recipe

https://permies.com/t/2575/venison-recipes

https://permies.com/t/6181/permaculture/Homemade-Wine-Leftovers

https://permies.com/t/68024/favorite-adult-beverage



Yes, and with liquors, too.  I use them to enhance flavors or to balance acidity/sweetness.
 
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I do not use wine or beer often, but I do use it sometimes.

The main one that I would use beer in probably would be for beef stew. It adds something additional to the mainly savory symphony of flavor.

Wine might pop up here or there to deglaze a pan but that is even less usage than beer.
 
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Pork ribs get cooked in the slow cooker with the spices, some sweetener (honey, brown sugar, molasses, etc.) and a bottle of beer!
When done, toss them on the grill to lightly char the outside.

White wine goes in every stir-fry. No exceptions.
 
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Yes, I cook with beer or wine. It typically goes into the chef rather than the food.
 
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Beer is a definite in pancake batter.

Red wine in beef recipes, such as stew and gravy. And it’s a must in spaghetti sauce.
 
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Anne Miller wrote:Do you cook with beer and wine?

I like cooking with beer or wine.  Nowadays, I never have any as I do most of my shopping online.

Why do you cook with beer or wine?

Lets talk about what food are better cooked with beer or wine



Yes. I just bought two small bottles of (organic) apple cider to cook with. Or at least one of them (maybe I'll drink the other one). Today the new cast-iron pot is going to arrive which I ordered (the old one is too used-up, and I think it wasn't real cast-iron). And I got some goose from a friend who knows the hunters. So that will be my first 'stew' in the new pot.  
If I don't get goose I use beef and then it's red wine, not cider.
The recipes I use are traditional Dutch/Belgian. Not difficult, but take many hours on a small fire (gas stove). You want to know more? I'll try to translate ...
 
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
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I didn't wait until you asked for a translation. I started translating the Stewed Goose ('Gestoofde Gans' in Dutch) recipe.
Here it is:
Stewed goose legs

Needed for four:
4 goose legs
butter
150 gr (5 oz?) bacon (cut in small cubes)
1 small swede / rutabaga
¼ celeriac
1 large carrot
3 stalks of celery
1 onion (cut in rings)
oil to fry in
7 dl (about 1 ½ pint) apple cider
cup of (chicken) stock
2 bay leaves
½ tablespoon thyme (finely chopped)
½ tablespoon rosemary (finely chopped)
1 clove of garlic
3 apples (cut in cubes)
black pepper and salt

How to:
1. On not too hot fire bake the goose legs in butter, until nicely browned.
2. Bake the bacon cubes in a hot pan.
3. Cut the vegetables in cubes of about half an inch.
4. Fry onions and vegetables in oil in a large pot for a short time.
5. Add the goose legs and bacon, stir, add the apple cider. Bring to a boil.
6. If needed add some stock.
7. Add herbs and garlic.
8. Let it simmer on very low fire until the meat is so soft it comes loose from the bones. Tis can take three or four hours, depending on the size of the goose legs. To be sure you can feel with a fork.
9. Then add the apple parts, let them become soft (not fall apart). Take out the bay leaves and stems of thyme and rosemary.
10. Take the bones out of the goose legs.
11. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with cooked, baked or mashed potatoes, or with rice.

'Eet smakelijk'.

 
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
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Next I'll translate is a Belgian recipe with beef and beer.
 
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I love making soups. Whenever I make beef/venison stew, I always sear the meat chunks and then deglaze the pan with red wine and add that to the crock pot. Delicious.
 
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Sam Adams boils a mean braut...
 
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
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I found out you (English speaking people) probably use the word 'casserole' for this cast-iron pot. So if you use my recipe, please change 'large pot' into 'casserole'.
 
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That is so funny Inge that it must be contrived.  In American English, a cast iron pot is often called a Dutch oven.
 
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
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Carmelo Panucci wrote:That is so funny Inge that it must be contrived.  In American English, a cast iron pot is often called a Dutch oven.


Yes, it's a funny story.
The 'Dutch oven' is not Dutch. I read why it is called 'Dutch': it's a certain process for casting iron, that's a Dutch invention. But the cast-iron pot called 'Dutch oven' was a British product. With the British it came to America, together with that name.
It was unknown for Dutch people until a few years ago, when on the internet this was shown as a pot to use on wood fires!
 
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
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To make clear what kind of 'large pot' we (here in the Netherlands) use for our traditional 'stewed' dishes, I photographed an add from the 1950s (found in the old cooking book that belonged to my mother). BK is the most known Dutch brand (yes, it is still!) of pots and pans. They are not made of cast-iron, but of steel with enamel (inside and outside).

The Dutch word is 'braadpan'.

 
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Thanks for this post! I don't drink alcohol, nor does my household except very very rarely, yet somehow the fridge out in our shed gets populated with beer and cider after a gathering. Cooking will be a good way to use some of them! I'd certainly like to braise some pork with cider and mustard...
 
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The why is easy: Wine will tenderize meat. but I love to do various sauces with a bit of wine. When I can beets, like for pickling, I make sure to keep every ounce of beet juice and then I make wine out of it. Just regular wine, nothing fancy. The color is a transparent deep crimson. While the juice is still warm, I put it in a crock with a piece of toast on which I put yeast. A little sugar helps too. I cover with a cloth so critters don't fall in. When it is done "working", I filter it.
This is basically my recipe but I do not add pepper to it:
https://www.food.com/recipe/beet-wine-30101
It is so simple that I make a batch every time I can beets. You will be surprised at how not 'beety' it tastes. I like it for cooking wine but I can use it as a drinking wine too. You will be surprised at how strong it is.
Do not cork it too tight for a while, just in case it is still "working".
I have not made vinegar out of it, but I suspect that if you were to add a little bit of the "mother", it would turn into a fine vinegar.
 
Douglas Alpenstock
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^ Now that is very cool.
 
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We want to do this more often.  Currently we make wine sauce for pasta very occasionally and yes, we get a special box wine which is made for that and similar purpose as it keeps longer.
 
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
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I promised a recipe with beer ... Here it is:
Flemish Beef Stew With Beer

Needed for 4:
1 kg (2,2 pounds) beef from the rib ('chuck roast'?)
3 tablespoons course mustard
oil and/or butter
200 ml ( 1 small cup) of beef stock (warm)
2 onions
3 stalks of celery
3 twigs of rosemary
3 tablespoons of apple syrup (the spreadable kind)
½ pint of dark (Belgian) beer (not cold)
salt and pepper

How to make it:
Whipe the beef dry with a piece of kitchen tissue. Sprinkle salt and pepper, spread mustard and apple syrup all over it. Cut in large cubes.
Peel and cut the onions. Cut the celery.
Heat a large casserole, pour oil in it (add some butter if you like), bake the beef so it browns at all sides. Take it out.
Put the onion and celery in the casserole (if needed some more oil), bake for 2 to 3 minutes while stirring.
Put the beef back, pour beer and stock over it. Add rosemary. Bring it to the boil, then set the fire very low, put the lid on the casserole and let it simmer for 2,5 to 3 hours.
Serve with green beans (haricots verts) and Belgian fries (large thick potato fries).
 
John F Dean
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I need some help.  What is Apple syrup?  And, what is spreadable apple syrup as opposed to what other kinds there may be?   I get the feeling I am about to get educated.
 
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
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John F Dean wrote:I need some help.  What is Apple syrup?  And, what is spreadable apple syrup as opposed to what other kinds there may be?   I get the feeling I am about to get educated.


I found a picture showing it (hope it will be visible here):

Appelstroop is the Dutch name.
It's made of cooked apples, cooked and stirred so long it has become a thick brown 'syrup'.
Maybe you think of a syrup to make a drink with, tasting like apples, that's why I mentioned that it's 'spreadable'.
 
Anne Miller
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Wikipedia says it is Apple Butter:

Apple butter (Dutch: appelstroop ) is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by long, slow cooking of apples with apple juice or water to a point where the sugar in the apples caramelizes, turning the apple butter a deep brown.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_butter
 
John F Dean
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I had suspected it might be like Apple Butter.  The photo shows something a little more syrup like that the Apple Butter I know.
 
John F Dean
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Hi Inge,

Thanks for the photo.   It is a product I am not familiar with.  I am going to try o hunt it down.
 
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
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Anne Miller wrote:Wikipedia says it is Apple Butter:

Apple butter (Dutch: appelstroop ) is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by long, slow cooking of apples with apple juice or water to a point where the sugar in the apples caramelizes, turning the apple butter a deep brown.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_butter


Although wikipedia thinks 'appelstroop' is the same as 'apple butter' to me it doesn't look like it's the same! Appelstroop is much more concentrated.
I found a little more information: first they extract juice from the apples, then the juice is cooked and stirred in copper kettles until it's a thick syrup and then it's poured into jars, cans or cardboard vessels (depending on the brand).
 
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Beer or wine is always included in any slow cooked venison or beef recipe (venison usually.)  We utilize both the shanks and the neck of the deer, buts that are often ground or discarded because people don't know what to do with them.  In my opinion, they're the best parts of the animal.  I have to be careful, though.  I tried buying wine and freezing it in half-cup portions, but I ended up thawing it out and drinking it. LOL  A funny story:  years back I tried Coq au Vin with a very old rooster.  I used a whole bottle of wine and literally cooked him 2 days.  The gravy was fantastic.  The bird was a no go. LOL And, on an aside, if you don't do alcohol one really good way to tenderize meat is yogurt.  To my mind much better than meat tenderizer, pineapple or vinegar.
 
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I love how both bring out different vibes depending on what you're making. Beer’s got that malty, sometimes hoppy edge that can add depth to things like stews, chili, or even batters for frying. A good dark beer can really make a beef stew rich and hearty, and lighter beers can work wonders in a beer-battered fish or onion rings.
Wine, on the other hand, is all about that acidity and the complexity it adds. Red wine’s awesome for slow-cooked meats, like in a classic beef bourguignon, where it helps tenderize the meat and builds a deep, savory sauce. White wine, on the other hand, is killer in lighter dishes, like a lemony chicken piccata or a seafood pasta. It adds brightness and a bit of acidity that cuts through richer flavors.Cooking with beer or wine is all about layering in flavor and making a dish feel a bit more special.
 
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