What To Do With Superfluous Beer

I have the luxury (and occasional downfall) of living with a man who works for Budweiser. While this ensures that we will always have plenty of beer in our fridge, this also means we always have plenty of beer in our fridge. Taking up valuable space in our fridge more accurately. I am certainly not one to complain about always having a beer to offer guests, or to enjoy during a Sunday football game, however, we always have more than we can possibly drink, and I just don’t seem to have enough willing participants to take it off my hands. I thought it would be easier to give away premium lager, but it just comes in faster than we can give it out. Enter my opportunity to be creative in the kitchen and find new ways to incorporate beer into dinner, only on the plate instead of in the glass.

I have used beer in many recipes before, my favorite being a beer braised cabbage. I have used it as a simmering liquid to poach chicken, and I even tried it in place of wine in risotto once. That one didn’t turn out so great. Another way I have been known to use it, and listen up here curly-haired sister friends, is to wash my hair. Yes it sounds weird, but it was recommended to me in my teens and it actually does help with the frizz factor. But I digress; this is a cooking blog, not a hair care blog. Back to the kitchen. This recipe was inspired by a cooking competition I saw on food network years ago. I put a whole bunch of kitchen staples in a pot together with a bottle of beer and let it cook down into a lovely thick syrupy glaze, then added some shredded chicken. This is not a recipe that needs to be followed to a T either, some of the ingredients are specialized, so don’t feel pressure to go out and buy pomegranate molasses. Tweak as you see fit.

Beer BBQ pulled chicken

2 bone-in skin-on chicken breasts
1 tsp olive oil
1 bottle of good quality beer, not mexican (I prefer German lagers, pale ales, or Belgian wheats,)
¾ cup ketchup
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs BBQ sauce
2 Tbs cider vinegar
2 Tbs pomegranate molasses (optional or you can substitute cherry preserves)
¼ hoisin sauce
½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder (a bit of cinnamon, cloves and ginger can replace this)
¼ cup orange juice
Juice from 1 large lime
1 minced garlic clove
½ tsp ground ginger
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs honey
Kosher salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Place chicken breasts on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 35 minutes and then set aside to cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin then shred the chicken with your fingers. Set aside.



Place remaining ingredients in a medium sauce pan and bring to a low boil over medium heat. Cook for around 30-40 minutes, until mixture is quick thick. It should coat a wooden spoon or spatula and a line should remain when you run your finger down it. Season to taste, add chicken and stir to combine. Serve on buns or better yet, with sweet potato biscuits, which you can find the recipe for here.

The Base for Everything

I have found over the years of recipe testing and experimentation that homemade chicken stock really does win over store bought. The gelatin that comes from simmering chicken bones creates a thicker stock with richer flavor than any that can be found in a store. It takes a bit of time, but relatively little work and ingredients. Whenever I make a roast chicken, I freeze the carcass and that goes into the stockpot the next time in make stock. I always make a huge stock pot and then simply freeze it by the quart for later use. To make this you will need a large stockpot, but if you don’t have one that will fit 10 quarts of water, simply cut the recipe in half and make it in your largest saucepan. Obviously not everyone has the time or resources to make home made so store bought stock may be substituted when necessary. My recommendations are the free range, low sodium brands from Trader Joe’s or the low sodium Wolfgang Puck brands

Home made chicken stock

4-5 pound of chicken (wings, backs, whole, legs)
2 large onions, quartered
1 whole garlic clove, left unpeeled and cut in half
2 large carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced

Combine all ingredient in a large stock pot and add 10 quarts of cold water. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered 4-6 hours, skimming foam occasionally. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, discarding solids. Pour into quart containers or large Tupperware and refrigerate overnight. The fat will rise to the top and solidify, remove the following day. Will keep in fridge for one week or in freezer up to six months.