Holiday Beef Carbonade with Singletrack Copper Ale

A modified roast recipe from NPR

Ingredients:

• 3-4 pounds beef brisket, trimmed
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 6 strips bacon
• 3 onions, diced
• 1.5 bottles Singletrack Copper Ale
• 1 cup beef stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 3-4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch lengths
• 4-6 boiling potatoes (~1-2 inch diameter), quartered

Instructions:

• heat oven to 275 F
• season the brisket with salt and pepper
• cook bacon in a Dutch oven until crisp 
• drain, dice, and reserve bacon - reserve the bacon fat in the Dutch oven
• brown the brisket on all sides in the Dutch oven and  reserve on a plate when done
• saute the onions over medium heat and, after lightly browned, add the beer and deglaze the pot
• add the brisket, beef stock, bay leaves, bacon, and tomato paste to the Dutch Oven
• cover and place in the middle of the oven for 1 hour
• turn over the brisket and cook for 1 hour
• turn over the brisket, add carrots and potatoes and cook for 1 hour
• turn over the brisket and continue to cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour - until the potatoes are tender

Man, it has been a hectic few months! Between graduate work, final exams, and the string of holidays I haven't had time for anything else. Yet, as is often the case with things we enjoy, I found a way to sneak some microbrew into Christmas dinner.


I stumbled on this recipe a few months ago and made it once before using the Primal Porter. The porter lent its toasted malt and spruce flavorings to make the roast come across as something one would desire in the heart of winter - hearty and warming. The Singletrack yielded a different, lighter set of flavors that reflected the caramel malts and  aromatic hoppiness of the beer. I paired the roast with homemade mashed potatoes and an avocado salad with a raspberry vinaigrette. I'd love to give a more detailed description of the roast's flavor, but I'd rather tempt you with the promise that the recipe will yield a delicious meal that reflects the brew that is used.

Steak with Ellie's Brown Ale

A modified beef marinade from The Beer Lover's Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 2 bottles Ellie's Brown Ale
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp freshly grated horseradish root
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 New York strip steaks

Instructions:

• combine all ingredients in a sealable container
• place container in a cool place 
• note that the fridge may be too cold
• after the steaks are allowed to marinate, cook them to your liking

Well, I've been wanting to start adding some beer-related recipes to the blog for a while now and decided that a gloomy weekend was the time to do it. Since starting both this blog and homebrewing in general, I have had the opportunity to cook with my homebrew only once - used the Primal Porter to make a beef carbonade and dill-and-beer bread for a few guests about a month ago. Since I don't have any homebrew in the fridge at this point, I decided to use a brown ale from Avery Brewing in honor of the brown I bottled earlier today.

First put into the marinade.

So to the recipe: I found the cookbook referenced above several months ago, and haven't made anything from it until now. You'll note that I only used it for a marinade, which I think comments on the quality of the contents as a whole. That said, this recipe turned out fantastically.

In terms of preparation, it couldn't have been easier - just throw everything together and let sit overnight. I added a bit more horseradish than called for partly because it smelled so delicious and partly because I was enjoying grating the root. I also added extra lemon juice. I'd recommend simply putting it in a cool place overnight rather than in the fridge so the marinade doesn't separate. 

Cooking the steaks was interesting considering I don't have a grill at my current apartment. I used this griddle-type apparatus that sits on two burners. It worked out well enough, though I missed the added flavor of charcoal. The marinade didn't burn, rather caramelizing slightly with the sear on each side of the steak. 

The marinade flavored the beef wonderfully. The flavor profile starts out with the horseradish, which is followed by a hint of cayenne pepper, and finished by a mixture of onion and garlic. The beer came out to a fair extent as well. Ellie's Brown Ale is largely characterized by a brown sugar maltiness, and this is what came through in the meat. The vanilla and nutty flavors that are somewhat apparent in the brew itself didn't come through at all in the meat. 

Wondering what the sides are? As I already noted, this was a gloomy weekend and I had no desire to go to the store to get the best compliments for this meal. So, I made use of the asparagus and russet potatoes I had on hand.