CHEF SAMBRANO: COOKING WITH BEER

Cooking with beer is easy, all you do is add beer to whatever it is that you're cooking. Let's get to some for instances shall we? Let's say you want to make a chicken stew and want to add some body to it, well beer adds body just look at most of us guys that drink beer on more than occasion, we got body…maybe not the six pack abs body, more like beer belly body, so beer adds body..wine? I think not Jackson this is all beer baby!

Here's a simple way to use beer in a simple chicken stew. First you'll get your chicken, more than likely it will be a whole stewing chicken, it's usually an older and larger bird not good for grilling or frying or roasting but long slow cooking, like stewing or braising. You'll no doubt cut it up, remove the legs, separating the thighs, then the wings, and separating the tips etc., then you'll slice off the breast and save the rest of the carcass for soup stock.

The trick to cooking with beer is you don't want to use too many herbs and salts in the beginning. The beer has a flavor to it, it's got those barleys, malts, yeast and all that, so you want to make sure when you stew with beer, add that in at the beginning. Don't listen to anyone but me! Okay? Or else I'll beat your ass! No just kidding.

But you'll brown your chicken, add in some veggies, and some water, and start the stewing process, so add the beer in right there when your chicken is all browned. Add in a can, or two, and let it stew. When the chicken is soft, taste it, what does it taste like? Okay from here you can add your herbs, spices, salts, peppers, and other veggies. Just have a good time, drink your beer accordingly, don't get too obnoxious because I know guys like you, a little beer and you're all over the women… talking loud! C'mon man, just chill out!

So just have fun and keep tasting as you go along your stewing process, just add that beer at the beginning not the end, you want to cook off the alcohol, and cook off all that other stuff in the beer, also the beer helps break down the meat of the chicken and your final product will be chicken that melts in your mouth.

Until next time.