Beer-Braised Beef with Italian Salsa Verde

Salsa Verde:

• 1 cup chopped fresh mint
• 2/3 cup chopped fresh dill
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
• 1 tablespoon chopped capers
• 3 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Beef:

• 2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed, cut into 3-inch cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3 cups vertically sliced onion (about 1 large)
• 1 cup fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
• 1 (12-ounce) can Guinness Stout

Remaining ingredient:

• 1 (16-ounce) loaf Italian bread, cut into 16 (1-ounce) slices, toasted

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare salsa, combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

To prepare beef, sprinkle beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add beef; cook 5 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan.

Add 1 teaspoon oil and onion to pan. Reduce heat, and cook 12 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally.

Return beef to pan. Add broth and beer; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour and 30 minutes or until tender. Remove beef from pan; shred with 2 forks. Return beef to pan; stir. Spoon 1/4 cup beef mixture over each bread slice; top each with 1 1/2 tablespoons salsa.

Yield 8 servings (serving size: 2 topped slices)

Thanks to Katherine Cole, Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2006

Beer-Batter Fried Pickles

• 2 (16-oz.) jars dill pickle sandwich slices, drain
• 1 large egg
• 1 (12-oz.) can beer
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Vegetable oil
• Spicy Ranch Dipping Sauce

1. Pat pickles dry with paper towels.

2. Whisk together egg and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl; add 1 1/2 cups flour, and whisk until smooth.

3. Pour oil to a depth of 1 1/2 inches into a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven; heat over medium-high heat to 375°.

4. Dip pickle slices into batter, allowing excess batter to drip off. Fry pickles, in batches, 3 to 4 minutes or until golden. Drain and pat dry on paper towels; serve immediately with Spicy Ranch Dipping Sauce.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Vlasic Kosher Dill Stackers.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Thanks to Southern Living, JULY 2007

Tricked Out Westside Tilapia

• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup malt vinegar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons crushed garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 1 sliced yellow bell pepper
• 1 small can crushed tomatoes
• 1 jalapeno pepper (optional)
• 1 can fire roasted green chilies
• 1/2 can of beer (not light)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 2 lbs of tilapia fillets, rinsed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place tilapia filets in 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle garlic, seasoning salt and pepper all over the filets. Put chopped onion in dish. Pour malt vinegar over the filets. Mix everything and rub into fish with your hands.
3. Lay filets out flat and put can of roasted chilies over the filets. Pour beer over the whole mixture. Add chopped jalapeno for extra heat. Pour can of crushed tomatoes and sliced pepper on top.
4. Cover dish, place in oven and cook for 35-40 minutes or until the fish is flaky.

Yield: 4 servings

Thanks to Coolio's Rules

Red Stripe Chicken

• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 3-pound chicken with a split lemon stuffed into its cavity
• 6 carrots, cut coarsely on the diagonal
• 4 whole garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 onions, coarsely chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, coarsely chopped
• 3 potatoes, peeled and quartered, about 1 pound
• 1 1/2 liters Red Stripe or other beer
• 3 bay leaves

It may be hard to believe that such a sumptuous chicken dish is actually made with beer, but it's the Red Stripe that gives the otherwise straightforward ingredients in this recipe a touch of authentic Jamaican flavor and a tantalizing smell.

1. In a deep pot, heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic, green peppers, potatoes, carrots, bay leaves, and oregano. Saute for 5 minutes. Add the entire chicken, turning it to brown on all sides.

2. Pour the beer into the pot; it should almost cover the chicken. Mix well, and cover the pot. Reduce the heat to medium low.

3. Intermittently stir and add more beer, if needed to keep the chicken bathed. Add salt and cook until well done, about 45 minutes. Serve in a deep platter surrounded with the vegetables, with the broth poured over the chicken.

Yield: 4 servings

Thanks to Tangy, Tart, Hot & Sweet by Padma Lakshmi, copyright 2007 Weinstein Books

Beer Cheese Pretzel and Dip

• 1 (16 ounce) package hot bread roll mix with yeast
• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 1/4 cups beer
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, diced and softened
• 1 (8 ounce) package processed cheese, cubed
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup beer, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. In a medium bowl, mix the hot bread roll mix with yeast and Cheddar cheese.
3. In a microwave or small saucepan, heat the beer to almost boiling. Stir beer and egg into the flour mixture and knead 5 minutes. Allow the dough to rest 5 minutes, then roll into desired shape. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
4. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.
5. In a food processor, blend the cream cheese, processed cheese, garlic powder and room temperature beer. Refrigerate until serving with the baked dough.

Thanks to DOREENB

Bratwurst in Beer

• Beer – 1 can of your favorite
• Water – 1 ½ cups
• Onion (yellow) – 2 medium chopped
• Bratwurst – 2 pounds
• Salt – ¼ teaspoon
• Pepper (black) – ¼ teaspoon
• Butter – 2 tablespoons
• Flour – 2 tablespoons
• Apple Cider Vinegar – 2 tablespoons
• Sugar – 1 tablespoon
• Parsley – just enough to garnish

1. Preheat the grill for medium high heat. (A gas grill with a side burner is recommended for this recipe. But if you need to use the stovetop in the house it will work just fine as well.)

2. Combine the beer, water, onion, bratwurst, salt and pepper in a saucepan over medium heat on the side burner.

3. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook covered for 10 minutes.

4. Remove the bratwurst from the beer mixture and place the bratwurst on the grill turning them frequently to brown them all over. (The brats are done when an instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees.)

5. Remove the beer mixture from the heat and reserve for a reappearance later on for this dish.

6. Meanwhile, place a large sauté pan on the side burner over medium heat. Melt the butter and stir in the flour, cooking for about 6 minutes to make a light brown roux.

7. Then stir in the vinegar, sugar and the remaining beer mixture.

8. Season with salt and pepper and bring the mixture to a boil.

9. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, which is about 10 to 15 minutes.

10. Slice the brats into 1-inch pieces and add to the sauce. Cook for 5 more minutes.

11. Garnish with parsley and you are done.

Thanks to Eat This! Cooking

Ghouls & Goulash

• 1 bag Morningstar Farms Steak Strips, cubed
• 2T vegetable oil
  
• 1 medium onion, diced
  
• 2t caraway seeds
  
• 2T sweet Hungarian paprika (not hot!)
  
• 1/4t pepper
• 1 six oz. can tomato paste
  
• 1 bottle of beer
  
• 1/4t salt
  
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1/4t marjoram
  
• 2 carrots, chopped (optional)
  
• 2 red potatoes, diced (optional)
  
• 1 1/2 cups V8 or vegetable juice (use less if omitting carrots & potatoes)
  
• 2T flour

In a stew sized pot, heat oil and cook onions and caraway seeds until onions are soft. Add cubed faux steak and brown slightly. Stir in all of the remaining ingredients except flour. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes, until potatoes and carrots are soft. If necessary, add flour to thicken.

Thanks to Monica from the Rural Vegan