Light beer recipes: it's like a kitchen on a dock... cooking (with) near water.

January 4, 2013 2:47 PM

I have 8-10 Bud Light beers in cans left over from my New Year's party. I'm not going to drink them... but can I cook with them?

Give me your best cooking with light beer recipes. I'm pretty handy in the kitchen. I do a mean beer can chicken, I can make porter cakes and stout chili, but I'm looking to branch out. Teach me. Nothing is too odd or strange.

Sort of previously.

posted by 1f2frfbf to Food & Drink (31 answers total)

You can use it to make batter to fry things, like fish for fish and chips.

That's all I got. (My personal rule is if I won't drink it, I won't cook with it, but Everyone'sMMV on this.)
posted by rtha at 2:51 PM on January 4, 2013

Best answer: you can boil ribs in beer until they are tender, then throw them on the grill to brown them...
posted by HuronBob at 2:52 PM on January 4, 2013

Best answer: I use cheap beer to marinate stuff for tacos all the time. (The "stuff" in my case is seitan or tempeh, as I am vegetarian, but I'm sure it would be fine for meat as well.)
posted by something something at 2:52 PM on January 4, 2013

Best answer: Boil brats in them! Then sear them off on a grill/broiler, serve with sauerkraut.
posted by fontophilic at 2:52 PM on January 4, 2013 [9 favorites]

Best answer: Beer bread is fun and easy.
posted by letahl at 2:58 PM on January 4, 2013 [2 favorites]

Beer bread is fantastic.
posted by jeather at 2:59 PM on January 4, 2013

Best answer: You can make Welsh rarebit, though some recipes call for stouts and porters.

Or make a beer pizza crust dough.
posted by workerant at 2:59 PM on January 4, 2013

Best answer: Beer bread is so easy and so good. Here's how I do it:

3 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
4.5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Mix together and pour the beer on top. Stir together until you have a batter. Pour into a greased bread pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 45-55 mins. You can add stuff like spices, cinnamon, chocolate chips, cheese, etc.
posted by amicamentis at 3:04 PM on January 4, 2013 [2 favorites]

I add it to chili as the liquid.
posted by cecic at 3:12 PM on January 4, 2013

Best answer: Beer cheese fondue. Some people are very particular about what types of beer and cheese they use in fondue. Me, not so much. I just use whatever odds and ends I have in my cheese drawer and whatever beer I have on hand, including light beer. It tastes different every time, and that's part of the fun. I like veggies, apples, and toasted bread for dipping.
posted by tr0ubley at 3:16 PM on January 4, 2013

Best answer: Clams are good in a sauce with beer. I don't remember exact recipes (look them up), but I remember it being delicious. I don't like it when it's made with beer that has a strong taste, so bud lite would be perfect for me.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 3:16 PM on January 4, 2013

Best answer: Beer Waffles.

Also, this is a tasty non-quick beer-bread. (I use the exact same recipe as amicamentis for the quick beerbread).

On preview: the fondue place near us uses a "Colorado mass-produced lager" in their fondu.
posted by Gygesringtone at 3:20 PM on January 4, 2013

Best answer: Beer braised chuck roast with onions. It's delicious and super easy. The recipe says stout but I made it with the light beer I had on hand and it turned out well.
posted by shoesietart at 3:34 PM on January 4, 2013

I like to braise bratwurst or sausages with onions and peppers in beer.
posted by fyrebelley at 3:38 PM on January 4, 2013

Not just beer bread, but use that beer as the liquid in any bread; it'll add some flavor. I use it in pizza crust.
posted by Sunburnt at 3:49 PM on January 4, 2013 [1 favorite]

Beer Can Chicken
posted by matt_od at 3:56 PM on January 4, 2013 [4 favorites]

Best answer: 1 cup of Miller Lite and 1 cup of AP flour and some salt - that's it - makes an amazing light, crispy deep fry batter for baja-style fried fish tacos. I imagine Bud Light would do just fine as well!
posted by ftm at 4:01 PM on January 4, 2013 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I put beer in risottos instead of wine and it was fabulous. Very hearty, yeasty tasting.
posted by Pomo at 4:38 PM on January 4, 2013

Best answer: I boil my hot dogs in beer. Every time. My dad told me that is the way they used to do it at Ebbits Field in Brooklyn when he worked there selling hot dogs.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 5:04 PM on January 4, 2013

Best answer: Use it as the liquid in a barbeque mop sauce.
posted by Pudhoho at 5:04 PM on January 4, 2013

I've heard that you can wash your hair with beer. Not sure what the end results are.
posted by JennyJupiter at 5:25 PM on January 4, 2013 [1 favorite]

You can actually make pancakes substituting beer for milk. I'd add some butter to the batter for fat, though.
posted by rq at 5:32 PM on January 4, 2013

You can use them to steam a whole chicken. There are plenty of stews that use beer, roasting a la beer can chicken or go old school Germanic tribe and make bread with it. In the Midwest tube shaped meats are poached with onions before grilling.
posted by jadepearl at 5:34 PM on January 4, 2013

Beer brats, just turn on the vent fan.
posted by radioamy at 10:11 PM on January 4, 2013

Sunburnt is right- pizza crust is best with lighter beer. I use mostly semolina flour and a bit of wheat flour, bake without toppings for a bit, then slap on sauce, cheese, etc for a thin, crispy crust.
posted by holyrood at 10:27 PM on January 4, 2013

Best answer: I'm sort of the opposite of rtha. I tend to end up with a couple of cans of beer I don't drink after get togethers. Light beer works well in batters for frying. I use cheap beer for poaching raw sausages. Line the bottom of the pot with sliced onions, add some ketchup and mustard. Simmer the sausages until they reach about 155 degrees inside. Make sure to prick the sausages first, or you'll have jets of hot fat if they burst.
posted by Ghidorah at 10:50 PM on January 4, 2013

You can cook with light beer, but, other than the carbonation, it isn't going to add much to your dish, especially not any real beer taste.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:41 AM on January 5, 2013

Response by poster: Well so far the beer waffles have been a hit, the beer (with and without coffee) bread is proofing, and the others will be tried. Thanks all!

On preview: Thorzdad - I've found the beer taste to be light, but some of the flavors have come through. I'm basically using this as a test for some more flavorful beer later.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 7:52 AM on January 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

Similar to the waffles, if you use just-add-water pancake mix, use beer instead of water. Fluffy pancakes!

Fish (salmon, particularly) grilled or broiled in a beer/lemon/butter sauce is amazing.

If you have a barbecue, make Drunk Chicken. You'll need a smallish whole chicken. Drink a gulp or two out of the beer, top it up with some melted butter, and a little salt and pepper. Remove the neck & giblets from the chicken. Bend the tab on the can upright, and cram the can up the chicken's butt. Run a skewer (two, if you can) through the chicken, snagging the pop tab as you go through, so that the chicken sits not quite all the way down on the can. You may want to set the whole thing on an old metal pie pan to catch drips and avoid flare-ups. If charcoal, put your coals in a donut shape and set the chicken on the grill above the hole. If gas, grill on medium-low. Cook for about an hour, till thermometer says at least 165 internal. Juciest chicken you'll ever have. White wine works great, too. (Never red wine, though. Tried this once, and it really does permeate all the meat; the chicken, though fully cooked, was rosy pink and no one wanted to eat it!)
posted by xedrik at 9:41 PM on January 6, 2013

Response by poster: If anyone's still reading, here's what's up in my kitchen. Beer bread was good, but we preferred the proofed version to the quick version, beer waffles were made and loved, and the leftover batter used for beer pancakes. We tried a light beer stew and a chili, but decided we liked it with Guinness more. The light beer risotto had my wife disbelieving me and trying to find where I'd hidden the wine bottle. We tried two barbecue sauces on apork shoulder but found that an IPA worked best (much to my hop-hating wife's surprise). A beer-tempura was used on Vietnamese-style fried pork,used in wraps and much loved by guests. Thanks again for all the beer-can chicken recipes, I have my own version but I'll be culling some of your more specific hints in the future.

Again, thanks for keeping me occupied in the kitchen whilst my wife works I and I wait for job offers to pour in.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 8:55 AM on January 20, 2013 [2 favorites]

Like xedrik, I've tried beer can chicken, and it was nice, but I don't make it anymore after reading this bit on beer can chicken. Long story short, the can gets in the way of the warm air that would otherwise be cooking the inside, so it takes longer to cook, and most cans aren't made for being put in bbq's, so no one is sure if the labelling leeches into the chicken or not. There are vertical roasters which hold the chicken in the same way, and work just as well.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:02 PM on January 21, 2013