Open Flavor Fridays - Beer is for Baking

A few weeks back I made pulled pork; I do not, regrettably, have a smoker so the crock pot had to do. I’ve used various liquids in the past; vegetable stock, a sort of Franken-broth composed of water, tomato sauce, vinegar, liquid smoke and spices; other, less successful concoctions.

This time around I used a bottle and a half of Left Hand Fade to Black Vol. 2, a smoked Baltic porter out of Colorado. I wouldn’t recommend using a heavily smoked beer like Schlenkerla Rauchbier or Alaskan Smoked Porter, but the smokiness of this one is fairly light and the hint of oakiness was just wonderful.

About six hours in it became apparent that I’d made a miscalculation in terms of how much liquid I should have used, and when I went to the store to pick up some other supplies I was disappointed to see that there wasn’t any of the same beer I’d used or even a decent analog. I decided to use a bottle of Anderson Valley Winter Solstice, a favorite malty, almost sweet beer and by far my favorite winter warmer, for the last few hours. My hope was that the malty sweetness would add something to the mix with counteracting the effects of the smoked porter and it did just that. Definitely the best pulled pork I’ve ever made at home.

Next time around I think I’d go with the same amount of the porter and mix in the winter from the start; since those are both seasonal beers I won’t be able to make this exact recipe again for another nine months or so (and Fade to Black is never the same twice in any case) but I think the key is something dark and smoky (the aforementioned Alaska porter would work well and I have a few other ideas) paired with something really malty. I think something heavily hopped could work, but it would definitely change the dynamic. I’d love to make something like this with a saison, but the thought of using a $15 beer to cook with seems like an ever so slight waste of money.

I’ve found that a dark beer can basically substitute for a stock in almost anything. Stews are kinda obvious, but I’ll use it in chile or almost any other kind of thickish stew.

Bread-wise I’m wondering if the no-knead recipe here could be modified to use beer. Hmm.

On a completely different food subject, as a South Jersey/Philadelphia native, I’m always on the lookout for a good hoagie and cheese steak. I found myself at the King County Courthouse around lunchtime today and saw Tat’s (east coast sandwiches) across from the Smith Tower. Aside from being ridiculously expensive ($8.80 for 8"), I gotta say those guys are the real deal. Italian Hoagie was amazing even if the bread wasn’t Amaroso’s (which they used to import) and the chicken cheese steak had the correct shaved meat (never chunks!). And Tastykakes for sale on the counter. Almost like being there. (sniff)

I use a healthy splash of porter whenever I make my two day pulled pork in my crockpot.

You have to the BeerBistro Cookbook, if you don’t already have it. BeerBistro is a restaurant in Toronto that focuses on cuisine using beer as an ingredient. The book is outstanding.