Tis the Season…For Leftover Beer?

Much like the holiday season’s arrival each year, December also brings the onslaught of holiday parties, open houses, and events. If you choose to host such an event, and designate it as BYOB, you are well aware of the unintended consequences of post-party clean-up: leftover beer.

If you are very lucky, your friends have been kind enough to leave high-quality, delicious, Hoosier-made craft beer. If so, drink up & be merry – you have the best kind of friends, both generous and with excellent taste in beer. There is, however, the possibility that you have been left with what I will term “lesser” beers – those of the non-craft variety or just not to your liking. Aside from hanging on to these beers and trying to return them to their rightful owners, the choice to dump them down the sink is often used. It is with this in mind that I offer a third option – use them for cooking and baking!

This is not to say that high-quality beers cannot be used in these dishes, as they will only enhance the flavor, but sometimes a few leftover, disliked beers can be transformed into something worth eating. Please note, the recipes have been collected from a friend, co-worker, my own experimentation, and one of my favorite cookbooks and all have been properly attributed to those wonderful people. I have used all of these recipes numerous times with much success. With that in mind, please consider the following uses for those lesser beers & may your holiday season be merry.

Beer Bread                            

Recipe Author:                        Marilyn Peters, Aux. #2536

Recipe Source:                        Star-Spangled Recipes, Indiana VFW District 3 Ladies Auxiliary

Oven 350 degrees, bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes

3 c. self-rising flour

2 tbsp. sugar

1 (12 oz) beer*

Blend all ingredients until mixed, then stir 17 strokes. Pour into buttered bread pan. Bake for 1 hour, 15 minutes. Let cool a bit, then remove from bread pan.

*I have used ales, lagers and ambers in this recipe. All have produced a uniquely different, delicious bread.

Bratwurst with Beer & Onions

Recipe Source:                        Aleea Perry

5-6 links of Bratwurst

3 (12 oz) beers*

2 medium onions, sliced

1 onion, sliced.

In a crock pot, layer half the onions, then place the bratwurst, then the second half of the onions. Pour all the beer over the bratwurst and onions to cover. If you don’t have enough beer, add another beer or water to cover. Cook on high for 6-8 hours in the crock pot. When cook time is over, I grill these outside (if the weather cooperates) or inside on a grill pan to give the proper sear to the meat. During that time, I also carmelize the remaining onion for brat topping in a fry pan with olive or canola oil.  

*Any beer will do, you can even mix and match. Serve the bratwurst on pretzel bun rolls with spicy brown mustard and your carmelized onion. Delicious.

Italian Beef                            

Recipe Source:                        Marilyn Knoy, a former co-worker

1 rump roast

1 package dry Italian dressing

1 (12 oz) beer*

Put all the items in a crock-pot and cook on high for 6-8 hours. Take a fork and break it up in the crock-pot about an hour before serving.

* Any beer will do. To serve as sandwiches, I use hard Italian sub rolls. After the beef has finished cooking, I load the sub rolls with the beef, sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and wrap the sandwich (leaving the top/cheesy layer unwrapped), with foil. I bake this in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese melts. Use the remaining liquid in the crock-pot as au jus. Mmmmm.

Chocolate Hefe* Cake          

Recipe Source:                        Sarah J. Gardner, a friend of a friend

Oven 350 degrees, bake for 50-55 minutes

2/3 c. Hefeweizen or other wheat beer*

1 stick of butter

1/2 c. cocoa powder

1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/3 c. sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 large whole egg plus 1 yolk of another

2/3 cup ricotta cheese (or sour cream or unflavored yogurt)

Preheat oven to 350, butter an 8-inch round cake pan.

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, bring beer and butter to a simmer. Add cocoa powder when butter is completely melted and whisk until smooth. Allow to cool slightly.

Whisk together flour, sugar, soda, and salt. In another bowl, beat eggs and ricotta together until smooth. Add chocolate-beer mixture (not too hot, you don’t want to curdle the eggs) and beat just to combine. With a spatula, fold in the flour mixture until completely combined. Pour into cake pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a rack, cool 10 minutes. Then run a knife around the edge of the cake and turn it onto the rack. Once the cake has completely cooled, you can sprinkle powdered sugar over the top if you wish.

*I have made this cake with Hefeweizen, porter, and stout … oh my, the possibilities are endless. Please note, this cake is so delicious, you will wish you made two – one for you and one for everyone else who is lucky enough to share in the cake bounty. Do yourself a favor: bake two, you don’t want to share. Trust me.