Sunday, July 3, 2011

Cooking with Beer...


Brauts and Brew have a long history extending over the grill, atop the stove and in the oven. What I’ve found important, through trial and error, is the relationship to temperature, moisture content, elevation, barometric pressure and latitude during the cooking process. Thus when our friends and proprietors of the Republic Brewing Company launched a Beer Cook-off with the judging based on “Recipes judged for: deliciousness, difficulty and strategic use of beer” I knew a definite advantage in the ‘strategic’ use of beer category.

Now ‘deliciousness’ is an altogether different element but confidence held with the use of Louisiana Hot-link Sausages bathed throughout a ten hour simmer in a frothy, rich brown beer from said taproom carried home in a four pint growler.

So in the end all that remained was the ‘difficulty’ portion of the prerequisites. Hmm, lets see my riverhome kitchen is at 1,850 elevation, 48*52’.59” Latitude, with the current barometric pressure of 29.78 and steady, with a ten hour preparation duration the cooking temperature had to be ~ well, you get the picture. Thus my recipe:

Beer Bath Louisiana Hot-Link Sausages

• One pack of Louisiana Hot-Link Sausages

• 1.5 pints of Republic Brewing Company’s Fit Brown Brew

• A dash of Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce

• One large crock-pot

• Ten hours of on-&-off cooking (mostly on)

Combine the contents into the crock pot early in the day. Periodically check the progress. During each inspection pour one quarter cup of Fit Brown Brew into a measuring up and drink slowly. If your measurements are done correctly the growler will be empty and the sausages cooked at the end of the ten hour period.

Catherine's Frothy Fit Brown Brewbread

3 cups organic all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoon organic granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt


Mix dry ingredients together and add your favorite spices and cheese.
A dainty shake of locally grown and dried Dill
2 Tablespoons of Feta


Add:
12 ounces of Frothy Fit Brown Brew from Republic Brewing Company’s take home growler.



Mix lightly batter will be thick. Add more beer for a thinner loaf.
Spread into a buttered 8 inch loaf pan.


Glaze: 1 brown home grown organic egg & 2 teaspoons Frothy Fit Brown Brew, well beaten
Cook at 375* for 45 minutes.

Bon Appétit...