For fragrant hops: how chefs use beer in gastronomy
Well-brewed beer is traditionally popular among chefs, who add it to various dishes to give them variety and new flavors. On the eve of the large-scale gastronomic festival Baltika Fest, Izvestia decided to find out how foam is used in restaurant gastronomy today.
How beer attracts chefs
The tradition of using beer in the cooking process dates back more than a century and is typical for many national culinary schools.
"Beer is most often found in the cuisines of more northern countries, where residents prefer bitter notes in their food," Kirill Vakhrameev, chef of the Moscow meat restaurant Smoke BBQ, told Izvestia. — The first thing that comes to mind is the Belgian classic — mussels in beer. Or the American way of roasting chicken in a beer can along with a drink, which, like a sauce, helps to make poultry meat tender and juicy.
According to Anatoly Anoshin, brand chef of Yan Primus restaurants, countries with strong brewing traditions have their own signature dishes with foam. For example, in the Czech Republic it is beer soup with fennel seeds, in Germany it is pork knuckle in beer glaze, and in Belgium it is stewed rabbit, previously marinated in beer. Our expert experiments a lot with this drink and cooks various Russian dishes with it, including okroshka and pancakes.
— Beer gives richness, concentration, and can work like yeast in baking, — our interlocutor continues. — It adds extra flavor to soups, and the okroshka needs carbonation and freshness. Meat and poultry with proper stewing — richness of taste.
Beer has become widespread in gastronomy because of its unique taste with a characteristic malt aroma and a well-perceptible bitterness, says Dmitry Bobylev, chef of the Busby gastrobar. It is also great for marinating meat, as it effectively softens the fibers and makes the finished dish more tender and juicy. The use of beer today is absolutely appropriate in light snacks, salads, soups, hot dishes or desserts.
— Such cuts as pork ribs and knuckle require a long languor in something, and therefore we use a special glaze based on dark beer, — Sergey Karpov, chef of the author's cuisine restaurant Favorit at the Igora resort, shared his experience. — Add homemade barbecue sauce to the drink and cook the meat in the oven for about 12 hours in the resulting marinade, and after baking, glaze it in the same sauce with beer.
According to our expert, who is part of the team of chefs at the Igora all-season resort, responsible for the gastronomic program of the Baltika Fest festival, beer in the glaze described above gives the whole dish tartness and a more advantageous depth of taste compared to the sweetness that can be obtained using kvass for the same purposes.
Which beers are suitable for gastronomic purposes
During the heat treatment of beer, alcohol evaporates from it, leaving rich malt and hop notes in the dishes. Depending on the type of drink, they can be spicy, sweet or even smoky.
— We often work with dark beer, because it, like wine, works great when stewing and, combining with meat juices, qualitatively complements the taste of the dish, — brand chef Anoshin explained to our publication. — We use light beer for galantines, and fruit beer is suitable for desserts — for example, pears and apples caramelize well in cherry. Any beer dish should be cooked over low heat, reducing alcohol to the level you need.
According to chef Bobylev, lager and stout are considered the "kings" of beer in cooking. The first one will be able to give any dish a malt flavor, bitterness and a beer character. The stouts have creaminess and chocolate shades, which will add an additional grateful taste to both the meat position and the delicate dessert. The expert advises choosing the variety for cooking that will emphasize rather than interrupt the taste of the main product. He also recommends not adding large amounts of beer at once — it is better to do it gradually and constantly monitoring the balance of taste. And, unless your recipe requires otherwise, it is more correct to use beer at room temperature.
— Beer should be chosen based on the tasks set, — says Alexander Rusakov, chef of the Bibirevo gastropub. — If we want to make Bavarian beer soup, it is better to take porter, it will give a good flavor, light bitterness and the right density to the soup. It is better to add it at the end of cooking, 10-15 minutes before cooking.
Light lagers are perfect for lighter marinades, our interlocutor continues. Their fruity and spicy shades will go well with poultry meat (turkey schnitzel) or fish (fish and chips from cod). Stouts add light caramel and coffee notes to the dish and are perfect for stewing beef or lamb.
— Beer can and should be used in desserts, since any combinations that may initially seem even shocking, if used correctly, can give an interesting palette of taste sensations, — Nikita Gavrilenko, pastry chef of the Beluga restaurant, is convinced. — There are generally accepted combinations like dark beer and dried fruits in cupcakes, as the Irish cook, but you can come up with something more interesting and subtle.
Our expert sees a promising and interesting combination of almond crumble, vanilla ganache, sweet pepper ice cream with boiled condensed milk, with bitterness and hop flavor in beer foam. In this case, it is better to use wheat or unfiltered beer. And the stout will perfectly harmonize with various chocolate desserts.
—Dark beer gives a wide scope for creativity," says chef Vakhrameev. — It can be evaporated and used as the base of a sauce, or it can be used to make a bright hop caramel. To do this, you will need 330 g of sugar, 20 g of water, 200 g of heavy cream and 300 g of stout. The beer should be boiled three times, to a thick consistency, and then combined with cream. At the same time, prepare a syrup of water and sugar in a saucepan, add a hot creamy beer mixture to it and continue to cook for another four to five minutes, stirring gently. After that, let the caramel cool down a little and add the butter until completely dissolved (it will give the workpiece a creamier taste and elasticity). Caramel can be stored for a week at room temperature and a month in the refrigerator.
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