Recipes to use up old beer
It’s getting to be that time of year again. You know the time. Halloween is right around the corner and you know what happens after that, roight? You turn around about three times and suddenly Turkey Day and xmas are staring you in the face. Those are two of the main times I try to present a full-fledged meal here at the Landfill and that means…
Time to clean out the fridge. Actually, I keep as little as possible in the fridge these days. That goes for the cupboards too, i.e., non-perishable stuff. Like this weekend I decided to take everything out of my “pantry” shelves, figure out exactly what was there and put things back in such a way that I could *see* what was there. Guess what? There was a whole container of bread crumbs! Why is that significant? Because a few weeks ago we ran *out* of breadcrumbs (or so we thought) and I put them on my grokkery list. I was gonna buy breadcrumbs at Meijer yesterday morning but I couldn’t FIND any (don’t ask) and then when I got home? Voila! That’s the kind of thing I hate. When I think I am out of something and I buy it and then I find another container (or two or three) at home.
So right now, we seem to have a big “clump” of beer on the top shelf of the fridge. Beer that has been there for at least a year, some of it maybe two. Why? Because it is *weird* fortified root beer that nobody likes. I won’t say who bought it or speculate on why they thought it might be good but it seems like the fave beer around here these days is Bell’s Two Hearted and I dunno, if that’s what kind of beer people like, why buy something else? At least not in a six-pack form factor.
So what to do with the Beer Clump? I had an epiphany! Maybe I can use it as a recipe ingredient. So I googled and there were some beer breads and things but I don’t ever make bread and then… Hmmm… Marinade? Yes! I will make marinade outta that stuff. I don’t even really need a recipe for that.
I already have some pork chops marinating in a fortified root beer marinade. One bottle down, six to go. The other stuff in there? Cheese, including 15-year-old cheese from Wilson’s Cheese Shop (I knooooow, but the GG likes it and so did our sister Susie). Chocolate milk boxes that I take to work for my lunch. A huuuuuuge jar of sauerkraut. How old is it? I do not know (but not *that* old). But still. It is a huge jar and only one person here eats it.
Anyway, how do you use up beer that nobody wants to drink (or maybe you don’t have that problem)?
October 23rd, 2017 at 9:31 pm
One idea: make a version of your favorite stew using beer instead of broth or water or wine. Adjust veggie selection and seasoning to “match” beer flavor.
October 24th, 2017 at 6:27 am
Make pancakes with beer instead of water. Ask Harry about this. He didn’t, but a colleague of his did.
Make batter for onion rings with flour and beer. I believe one our roommates at MSU did this.
Boil brats in it. (Sausages, not children….)
Hand them out to the adults accompanying trick or treaters.
Take them to a potluck, forget to bring them back
October 24th, 2017 at 1:02 pm
I pour it down the drain or offer it to friends. 🙂 I tried that fortified root beer and found it vile.
October 25th, 2017 at 6:19 am
Oh, beer in small saucers will kills slugs. (Tho’ it’s probably the wrong time of year for that)