Cooking With Beer: IPA Queso Dip

With the big game right around the corner, you need a great dip in order to really set your party up for success and there is no greater dip than a queso dip. Gooey, melty, and spicy the perfect queso dip can be the cornerstone for your party and by adding beer… it is all the better. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I have been working on perfecting this recipe for the last few years. Tinkering with spices, beers, and peppers to ensure that this recipe is perfect in every way. Now that I have cracked the code for the perfect beer cheese dip I will share it with you.  

When it comes to the beer, an IPA will be your best bet and not just any IPA will do the job. This is a job for the New England IPA (e.g. hazy boi). West Coast IPAs will make the dip too bitter, while East Coast and English IPAs won’t make much of a difference and the juicy hop of the New England style is perfect. When it comes to ABV I would stick to 5% to 7% as any higher will give the dip a weird boozy taste. For me, using ‘Julius’ from Tree House Brewing has been the perfect beer but if you cannot get ‘Julius’ any beer that follows those guidelines is perfect.

Now here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

¼ cup canola oil

2 poblano peppers

1 jalapeno pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup whole milk

½ cup IPA beer

2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded monetary jack cheese

1 cup shredded low moisture-full fat mozzarella cheese

1 roma tomato

salt and black pepper to taste

 

Method:

Roughly mince the peppers being sure to de-seed them. I like to keep some of the veins of the jalapeno for the spice but if you do not like a lot of spice just remove it all. Using half of the canola oil (about two tablespoons or so) sauté the peppers until softened using a large sauté pan. Then add in all of the spices and stir for about one minute or so until the spices are fragrant.

Next, add in the rest of the oil and stir until all of the peppers and spices are coated. Then add in the flour to start the roux. Cook out the raw taste of the flour for a few minutes until the flour is light golden brown and then add in the milk in stages roughly ¼ of a cup at a time. This will ensure that there are no lumps in your roux. Once all of the milk has been added stir until thickened and then add in the beer ¼ cup at a time.

Once the beer has been incorporated and thickened as well, add in the cheddar cheese. After the cheddar has melted slightly then add in the monetary jack and mozzarella and fold in until melted. Once the cheese has melted add in your diced and de-seeded tomato and gently fold in.

Finally, you can transfer your dip into the serving tray or serve in your cast iron pan. Optionally, you can put this under the broiler to crisp up the top if you’d like as well.

Cooking With Beer: Allagash Jerk Chicken

North meets south in this is a recipe I have been working on for some time. Tinkering with it to get something truly special and while I will continue to play with it, mostly because that is just how I cook, I feel that this is something truly special and is absolutely delicious.

When it comes to the beer, I used Allagash ‘White.’ Not only because it is my favorite Wit but in my humble opinion it is one of the best Belgian Wits on the market. While you can use another Wit, I do not see why you would do so as ‘White’ is just fantastic. However, if you must, just make sure it has coriander and citrus in it as they help bring out those ingredients in the brine and marinate.

Brine:

6 cups water

1 habanero pepper

1 bay leaf

1 knob ginger

½ lemon (plus its juice)

1 clove of garlic

¼ cup dark brown sugar

¼ cup kosher salt

1 tablespoon Black Peppercorns

1 tablespoon Allspice berries

1 teaspoon Coriander seeds

24 oz Allagash White

1 tray of ice cubes

 

Marinate:

1 knob ginger

4 cloves of garlic

2 fresh bay leaves

¼ of a medium size onion

3 scallions

½ cup cilantro

2 habanero peppers (3 if you like it spicy)

2 tablespoons fresh thyme

1 tablespoon allspice

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon coriander

½ teaspoon clove

½ cup low sodium soy sauce

½ cup Allagash White

¼ cup Worchester sauce

¼ cup lemon juice

 

Method:

Bring the water up to boil and then add all of the ingredients for the brine except the Allagash and Ice. Let boil for five minutes before taking off the heat and then add to your brining bucket and then add ice and Allagash. Once the brine is cold then place your chicken into the brine and let sit for 24-48 hours.

Next, take the chicken out of the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken on a tray and put back into the refrigerator for 12 hours to allow the skin to tack up.

For the marinate, combine all of the solid ingredients and spices into a high-powered blender (rough chop the ginger, scallion, and onion) and pulse five times. Next, add the liquid ingredients and blitz until it is chunky-smooth. Once the chicken is ready, place into a plastic bag with the marinate and let sit for 24-36 hours.

When you are ready to cook, take the chicken out of the refrigerator and let sit for 15 minutes. Bring your smoker up to 275 degrees Fahrenheit, I used a combination of hickory and cherry pellets, and then place the chicken skin side up for 30 minutes and then flip so it is skin side down. Cook to an internal temperature of 160 degrees and then let sit for at least 15 minutes (the carryover heat will cook to completion).* and then enjoy.

*NOTE: my smoker has a very high deflector plate that acts almost like a broiler. If your smoker doesn’t have one, then you may want to put it under a broiler to crisp up the skin. If you are using a grill, you will definitely want to introduce some smoke through wood chips.

While this recipe is very time consuming it is most assuredly worth it. Proper Jerk Chicken is a labor of love using the brine, marinate, and smoke to make something that is warm, spicy, and smokey all at once. Even if you cannot brine the chicken and just want a nice chicken marinate for the grill this is perfect for you.

Cooking With Beer: Chili

While the Super Bowl this past Sunday saw Tom Brady win number seven (not a Buccaneers fan but happy for my guy) I was able to make chili. Now, whenever I make chili, I do tend to experiment a little with my spice paste and with the beer.

Finished Product

When it comes to beer in chili I have seen people use Mexican style lagers and saisons but I have always had great success with stouts and porters. Typically, I stay away from pastry stouts as I think their sweetness would have an adverse effect with the meat. I also stay away from stouts and porters with certain flavors like peanut butter, marshmallow, coconut, and vanilla. I look for stouts and porters that feature chocolate, coffee, and oatmeal. I did recently experiment with a milk stout that produced an exceptional batch of chili, my theory is that the lactose in the stout acted similar to the milk/cream that is added when making a Bolognese sauce to make it creamier. It did produce a richer chili. I also try to go with imperial stouts as the flavors are more intense. This time I used an oatmeal stout from Beer On Earth called ‘Stout’s Meal’ that produced a slightly lighter chili that was still quite delicious. Here is the recipe so you can try it for yourself.

Spice Paste:

2 dried ancho chilis

3 dried pasilla chilis

5-6 dried arbol chilis (these are for spice, add/reduce to increase/decrease spiciness)

¼ cup dried Dominican Oregano (Mexican or Italian is fine)

2 tablespoons black peppercorns

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon thyme

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)

1 tablespoon cornmeal (optional)

 

Chili

3lbs chuck roast (or 1lb chuck roast/1lb of 80/20 ground beef)

2 medium sized onions (I prefer vedalia)

1 jalapeno pepper

1 tablespoon canola oil

3 large cloves of garlic

1 16 oz beer

2 cans crushed tomatoes

1 can red kidney beans

1 bay leaf

Salt and Black Pepper to taste 

Method:

For the chili paste, cut/tear the chilis into small pieces and remove the seeds. Place them into a dry pan and lightly toast them until they are warm and fragrant. Then add about two cups or enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and let go for about two minutes. Kill the heat and then let them steep for at least ten minutes. In another pan toast the cumin seeds and black peppercorns until they are fragrant. Next place them into a spice grinder and grind into a fine powder. Combine the chilis, water, black pepper, cumin, oregano, thyme, cocoa powder, and cornmeal into a blender and blend into a smooth paste.

For the meat, I typically take a three-pound chuck roast and cut it in half and grind the fatty portion into ground beef and cut the leaner half into half-inch pieces. If you do not have a meatgrinder get 80/20 ground beef and a 1lb chuck roast and cut that into half-inch pieces. Next, roughly chop the onions and jalapeno pepper and set aside. In a very hot dutch oven or pot add the oil and pieces of the chuck roast to sear adding salt and black pepper and once seared, remove from the pot and let sit. Next, add the ground beef pressing hard to the bottom of the pot to get a hard sear. Add salt and black pepper and once well browned remove from the pot. Then, reduce the heat to medium and add the onions and jalapeno and sauté until they are slightly translucent and grate the garlic into the pot and cook for roughly one minute. Now add the meat back to the pot and thoroughly combine with the spice paste and cook for another minute or so. Next add the beer to the chili and bring to a boil stirring so it does not burn. Scrape the bottom of the pot to release all of the fond and reduce until only about four ounces are left. Now add in the tomatoes, one can of water, and the beans with the bay leaf and stir thoroughly. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low and let simmer for about two to three hours stirring occasionally. If you like a thicker chili then let it reduce further or if it gets too thick then add some more water.

Garnish with cheddar cheese, green onion, and sour cream to enjoy. Feel free to experiment with your choice of beer and let me know what works for you.

Cooking With Beer: Beer Brined and Smoked, Spicy Chicken Wings

 This past weekend we celebrated our dog Bradley’s first birthday. We had a few friends over for a fun, and socially distant party that included good times with great food and beer. Now those who know me, know that I love to cook, and I have been adding beer to recipes for a long time. A recipe that I have been perfecting for roughly a year now is my smoked beer brined chicken wings. They are sweet, spicy, and smokey and if you have the patience, they are delicious. Here is what you will need for approximately three pounds of wings (this would also work for drumsticks or thighs as well):

For the Brine:

6 cups of water

¼ cup kosher salt

¼ cup dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

2 cloves of garlic

1 small knob of ginger

24 ounces of brown ale

One tray of ice

 

For the wings:

3 tablespoons kosher salt

3 tablespoons black pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

3 tablespoons olive oil

 

Steps:

Bring the water to a boil and add the sugar, salt, and peppercorns. Next peel and crush the garlic and roughly chop the ginger and add them to the boiling water. Let the water boil for about five minutes and then take it off the heat. Next, add the mixture to your brining container of choice then add the ice and beer*. Once the mixture is cold then add the chicken wings and brine for approximately 12-24 hours.

*For the beer, I used ‘Old Brown Dog’ a brown ale from Smuttynose. A very good brown ale with nice malty notes and flavors that nicely complements the brown sugar to give the meat a little extra sweetness and juiciness. This will allow you to turn up the heat when you sauce your wings.

Next, take the wings out of the brine and then pat them dry and place them on a tray lined with paper towels and let them sit, uncovered in the refrigerator for another 6-12 hours.  

Before you take the wings out of the refrigerator, in a bowl combine the salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, white pepper, and chili powder. Then place the spice rub into a shaker.  Next, place the wings in a large bowl and add the olive oil and toss to coat. Place the wings on a tray and then coat each side of the wings in the spice mixture and let sit for 15 minutes.

Now I smoked these wings on my pellet smoker, you could roast or fry them but these wings on the smoker are nearly perfect. I smoked them with hickory and cherry pellets at 275 degrees Fahrenheit for roughly two hours, flipping the wings every 30 minutes.  I typically have a small water pan in my smoker as well. 

After the wings have been on the smoker for 90 minutes, take the wings off the smoker and place them in a large bowl and toss them in your hot sauce of choice. I made a sweet and spicy Thai style hot sauce (that recipe to come) and then put them back on the smoker for the last 30 minutes of cooking for the sauce to get tacky. If you like a saucier wing, you can toss the wings in sauce after they have completed cooking.

These wings are a big hit, the perfect combination of sweetness from the brine and spice from the rub and the sauce. Give these a try at your end of summer BBQ.

Every so often I will post a recipe but if you are looking for a great blog with beer recipes, check out The Beeroness. Every so often I will look to her for inspiration when I try to add beer to a recipe. Definitely give her a view