Cooking with Beer Cinco de Mayo Edition "Stout Beef Barbacoa Tacos"

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone! While I have never been a fan of just about every Mexican beer I have had (ok, before you get offended, I'm not saying there is no good beer in Mexico, I'm simply saying I haven't had one yet.....) I love Mexican food more then just about any other "ethnic" cuisine....(second to only Caribbean food!).

One of my favorite Mexican dishes is tacos. Now, if you say "I don't like tacos", hear me out. Saying you don't like tacos, is a very broad statement, like saying "I don't like sandwiches" or "I don't like juice". Contrary to a lot of what people think here in America, tacos are not simply a hard shell tortilla, with shredded lettuce, tomato, taco seasoned beef, with cheese and taco sauce. If that is what you think a taco is and should be, then please stop reading now, and go enjoy your Taco Bell. What I love about tacos is they can be literally almost anything you want them to be. If you like it, you can make a taco out of it.....seriously. Don't limit yourself to just a few basic fillings! One of my all time favorite meals is a good, authentic Baja style fish taco. However, I also love beef, chicken, veggie tacos, you name it, wrap it in a tortilla, and enjoy it.

Ahhhh, The Beeroness.....

For this Cinco de Mayo/taco edition of cooking with beer, I turn once again to my online cooking with beer crush, the lovely and talented Beeroness, and her Stout Beef Barbacoa Tacos!! SO amazing, and pretty easy to make.....
recipe for

So, crack open your favorite beer, and prepare some of these for your dinner tonight!!!


Stout Beef Barbacoa Tacos

Ingredients

• 1 dried Chile Negro pod
• 1 dried Ancho chili pod
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 white onion, cut into large sections
• 1.5 lbs pounds chuck steak, cubed
• 3 chipotle peppers in adobo
• 1 tbs adobo sauce
• 1 cup stout beer
• 1 cup beef broth
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• juice from one lime
• 1 tbs apple cider vinegar
• 12 homemade corn tortillas
• 1 red onion, chopped
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped

 

Directions

• Heat oven to 300.
• Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the dried chili pods, toasting on each side until warm and slightly crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove and allow to cool, tear into pieces and add to a blender or large food processor.
• In the Dutch oven heat the olive oil, add the onions and cook until slightly charred on each side. Add the onions to the blender along with the chipotle, adobo sauce, beer, broth, garlic, lime juice and vinegar. Blend until smooth.
• Return the Dutch oven to heat, add the beef cubes, cooking until seared on all sides, about 6 minutes.
• Add the blender sauce, reduce heat to a simmer, stirring for about a minute.
• Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook at 300 until the beef is falling apart, between 3 and 4 hours.
• Remove from oven, shread in the pot using two forks.
• Transfer to a serving bowl along with all the sauce.

Serve with corn tortillas, onions and cilantro.

 

 

 

There you have it folks! I can't miss, delicious and fairly simple taco recipe that will impress your friends!

 

Until next time

Bottoms up my friends.....

 

and remember, Drink Local

 

The Beer Czar

Cooking with Beer: Beer Brined Corned Beef with Pickled Cabbage Sliders

Happy St Patrick's Day everyone!

One more recipe for this day, I turn once again to my on-line crush, The Beeroness, for this
AMAZING recipe for Beer Brined Corned Beef and Pickled Cabbage Sliders!!

I am actually making this tonight for the family! I'll report back to you, how it is. While its too late to brine your own corned beef, you can still make the sliders! (check out her complete write up on this recipe here.....)

Happy St Patrick's Day everyone!


Beer Brined Corned Beer with Pickled Cabbage Sliders

Ingredients

 

Corned Beef 

• 3.5 lb beef brisket
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 tbs kosher salt
• 3 tbs whole allspice berries
• 1 tbs whole cloves
• 1 tbs ground ginger
• 2 tbs mustard seeds
• 2 tbs whole peppercorns
• 1 yellow onion, quartered
• 2 cups water
• 3 (12 ounces) bottles of stout
• 8 cups ice
Pickled slaw:
• 2 cup red cabbage, shredded
• 2 cup savoy cabbage, shredded
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbs kosher salt
• 3 tbsp sugar
• ¼ tsp groung ginger
• 2 tbs whole dried allspice berries
• 2 tsp whole cloves
• 2 tsp black peppercorns
• _
• 12 soft potato dinner rolls, split to resemble hamburger buns

Directions

• In a large pot or Dutch oven, add brown sugar, 3 tbs kosher salt, 3 tbs allspice berries, 1 tbs cloves, ginger, mustard seeds, 2 tbs peppercorns, along with 2 cups of water.
• Cook on high just until the salt and sugar dissolve, remove from heat. Add 2 bottles of stout (reserve the last bottle for cooking) and 8 cups of ice, stir until ice has melted and brine is cool.
• Add the brisket, cover with lid and refrigerate for 3 days and up to 10.
• Remove from brine and rinse well. Discard the brine and clean the Dutch oven well.
• Place the brisket back in the cleaned pot, along with the onion, pour the remaining bottle of stout and then cover with cold water until the brisket is fully cover with one to two inches of water above the beef.
• Bring to a low boil, cover and reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Simmer for 3 hours or until the meat if fork tender. Move to a carving board, thinly slice against the grain.
• While the brisket cooks, make the pickled slaw. In a sauce pan over medium heat, add the lemon juice, vinegar, salt, sugar, ginger, allspice, cloves and peppercorns in a pot. Bring to simmer just until the salt and sugar dissolve, remove from heat. Allow to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, add the cabbage and onion. Pour the cooled pickling liquid over the cabbage and onion, refrigerate for one hour.
• Slightly warm the buns, fill with corned beef and slaw before serving.

 

 

Hope you have a safe and happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone!!!!

 

Until next time

Bottoms up my friends

 

The Beer Czar

 

Cooking with Beer: Chocolate Stout Peanut Butter Cups

I try to post beer recipes on here frequently. Every time I go searching for a new, exciting recipe, I almost ALWAY find myself landing on one site, and you've heard me talk about her over and over, but The Beeroness has, what I consider hands down, the best cooking with beer site on the web. I've spent hours surfing her site, looking at everything from appetizers, and finger food, to main coarse, to, desserts! Please check it out when you have a moment.

Now, when it comes to desserts, few flavor combinations excite me more then peanut butter and chocolate, so, when I saw this super easy, simple (just 3 ingredients!) and delicious recipe, I had to post it. That's right, peanut butter cups, with beer! Check this out....

Oh and if you get a moment, check out her entire write up on this recipe, its actually quite funny. Check it out here.....

Chocolate Stout Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients

• 8 wt oz (about 1 ½ cups) dark chocolate (60% cocoa content)
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup stout or porter (espresso or smoked work best)

 

Directions

• Add the chocolate to a microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until melted.
• Line a mini muffin tin with mini muffin papers.
• Add about 2 teaspoons of chocolate to the muffin papers (about 1/3 full). Use the back of a spoon to “paint” the sides of the mini muffin papers, making sure to cover the entire paper.
• Chill until the chocolate has set, about ten minutes.
• In a small bowl stir together the peanut butter and stout until well combined.
• Fill the chocolate cups with peanut butter mixture until just below the top.
• Add a small amount of melted chocolate to the top of the peanut butter, making sure to cover
  
  the entire mound of peanut butter, smoothing to make a flat top.
• Chill until set, about ten minutes.

 

Doesn't get much easier, or tastier then that!!! I know what I'm making this weekend!

 

By the way, if you have a favorite beer recipe, and would like to share it, by all means pass it along to me. You can email me at thebeerczar@gmail.com

 

Until next time

Bottoms up my friends

 

The Beer Czar

Cooking with Beer: Beer Braised Pulled Pork Sliders with Chipotle Beer Cheese Sauce

The lovely and talented Beeroness

I mentioned earlier that with the big game fast approaching, I wanted to supply you all with some great recipes and ideas for hosting a Super Bowl Party that are not only easy, but delicious. Well, I figured I would turn to my absolute favorite beer cooking blog, the lovely and talented Beeroness! If you haven't checked out here site, please do. If you are a fan of food, and beer, and cooking them together, this site is for you! (click here to check out her site....)

This time, I found an amazing pulled pork slider recipe! Pulled Pork, that is beer braised, served with Chipotle Beer Cheese Sauce.....seriously, check this out! AMAZING, another hat time to The Beeroness, she continues to amaze me!





Beer Braised Pulled Pork Sliders with Chipotle Beer Cheese Sauce

Ingredients

For the pork:
• 2 tbs kosher salt
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 1 tbs onion powder
• 1 tbs chili powder
• 1 tbs ground cumin
• 1 tbs black pepper
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp dry mustard powder
• 4 lb Pork butt (also called pork shoulder)
• 6 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 cups (2, 12ounce bottles) stout or smoked porter
• 24 slider buns

For the cheese sauce:
• 2 tbs unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tbs flour
• 2 tbs cornstarch
• 1 cup beer (wheat beer, blonde ale, pale ale, pilsner)
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar, do not use pre shredded
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 chipotle chilies in adobo
• salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions

• In a small bowl stir together the salt, brown sugar onion powder, chili powder, cumin, pepper, smoked paprika and mustard powder together until combined, set aside.
• Take out your pork and stab 6, 2-inch deep holes fairly evenly spaced through the meat. Push a clove of garlic into each hole until no longer visible.
• Rub the entire surface of the meat with the spice mixture, using it all.
• In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil until very hot. Sear all surfaces of the meat, even the sides, until browned. The entire process will probably take about 10-15 minutes. Pour the beer over the meat, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for about 3 hours, turning the meat over about every 30 minutes, until the meat is tender and falling apart.
• Once the meat is tender remove from heat, use two forks to shred into pieces while still in the pot (or remove, shred and return to pot). Return to the pot to heat and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove the meat from the pot and discard the liquid.
• Add all cheese sauce ingredients to a blender or food processor. Process on high until very well blended, about 5-8 minutes.
• Transfer contents to a saucepan over medium high heat. Whisk rapidly and continuously until thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Fill slider buns with pork, top with cheese sauce, serve warm

 

OK, so, there you have! Try this amazing recipe, and look for more from this amazing chef at her site, The Beeroness, its impressive! Check out her notes and entire right up for this recipe here....

 

 

Until next time

Bottoms up my friends!

 

The Beer Czar

Stove Top Beer and Bacon Mac and Cheese....the Beeroness does it again!

The Beeroness (she's cute too!)

OK, if you are looking for great sites on cooking with beer, there is really only one site you need to check out, The Beeroness. She is without a doubt (at least in my opinion) the best beer cooking site/blog that I have seen. Her recipes are wide ranging from the simple, 5 ingredient recipes to the much more complex recipes that require  a decent knowledge of cooking techniques and more exotic ingredients. You can find recipes for apps, desserts, man dishes or sides using all styles of beer. I've posted several of her recipes on this site before, and well, every time I look on her site, I see about a dozen more recipes I want to post here. Sometimes I see one that I just have to post, and this is one such post.

 Beer, bacon and mac and cheese, 3 of my favorite things!! Its not only a delicious recipe, its SUPER easy. If you can bowl water and cook bacon, you can handle this one!




Check it out!

Ingredients

• 2 cups elbow macaroni 
• 4 strips of bacon, cut in half
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup beer (pale ale, blonde, bock, and Hef work well, an IPA will give you a very strong beer flavor)
• 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese (fresh grated, pre-shreaded has additives that prevents it from melting properly) 
• 2 tbs butter
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• pinch cayenne pepper
• salt to taste

 

Directions

• In a large pot of boiling water, add the noodles and cook until just before done. Don't over-cook the noodles or this will end up mushy.
• Drain the pasta, return the pot to the stove and cook the bacon until crispy, remove from pot and allow to cool.
• Drain off bacon grease and return drained noodles to the pot.
• In a separate bowl, add the beer, egg and sour cream, beat until well combined.
• Add the butter and the beer mixture to the noodles and return to medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted.
• About 1/4 a cup at a time, add the cheese. Stir until cheese has melted before adding more.
• Add the spices and chopped bacon, stir.
 
Makes 4 entre sized portions.
For her entire article with this recipe, you can click here....
 
OK, it doesn't get much easier, or better then that now does it. Give it a shot and let me know what you thought of it!
 
 
Until next time
Bottoms up my friends!
 
The Beer Czar