Why put BEER in chili?

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (jorenmathew)

Wed, 15 May 2013 08:13:48 GMT

Great way to put the beer. I liked the way.
Please share more tips, I think it's not worked well.

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (Phildelmar)

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 06:18:48 GMT

Hops, as found in a good IPA, do ad a nice edge

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (elementsrestaurant)

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 05:59:51 GMT

I don't think it taste any better putting chili on beer. Sounds awkward for me never tried doing so.

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (ann peeples)

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 19:43:05 GMT

LOL, Tom!

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (chewingthefat)

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 17:30:55 GMT

ChrisOC

I always have trouble trying to smoke the beer.

You are using cheap rolling paper!

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (leethebard)

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:34:11 GMT

My Italian Grandma frequently added a little homemade red wine (grandpa made it) into the Sunday gravy. It's a fairly common add in. I do it often, Good Italian cooking!...oh and I sometimes put beer in our chili...

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (MetroplexJim)

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:02:30 GMT

Hepcat

Grapes in tomato based sauce? I can't see how that would be a plus. I just think restaurants do it to appeal to the chi-chi crowd, in much the same manner that adding beer to chili would appeal to macho beer drinkers. The two markets might after all correlate very well.

Me though I dismiss both as marketing gimmicks and order something else.

As I recall, Clemenza added red wine to the tomato-based pasta gravy he made for his "soldiers" when they "went to the matresses".

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (Phildelmar)

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 18:26:35 GMT

I never use water

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (CajunKing)

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 17:38:05 GMT

Why add plain water when you could add something that would actually add flavor to the dish. I do add a darker or amber beer to deglaze my chili pot after browning the meat. It adds richness to the dish

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (Phildelmar)

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:54:40 GMT

I use an IPA

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (Hepcat)

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 14:56:18 GMT

Grapes in tomato based sauce? I can't see how that would be a plus. I just think restaurants do it to appeal to the chi-chi crowd, in much the same manner that adding beer to chili would appeal to macho beer drinkers. The two markets might after all correlate very well.

Me though I dismiss both as marketing gimmicks and order something else.

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (Davwud)

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 07:32:02 GMT

senor boogie woogie

I think people who do this are drunken men who thinks for some reason that this would be a cool thing to do for some reason. It's a male, machismo thing. Dunno.

So is this what you think of people who put wine in pasta sauce??

DT

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (MetroplexJim)

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 07:24:24 GMT

1bbqboy

Beer activates the peppers. Simple.

Is there any bio-chemical truth to this or is it an "old wives' tale".

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (bartl)

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 22:49:11 GMT

MetroplexJim
After searing the beef, adding beer deglazes the pot.

I use beef broth to deglaze the pot.

Bart

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (MetroplexJim)

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 10:04:10 GMT

BTW, when I do my "red pasta gravy" I deglaze with red wine after searing the meat. Later, I add more as a "taste" ingredient.

Same deal when Mrs. Metro does her wonderful Boeuf Bourguignon. She uses elements from both Julia Child and Emeril in her oeuvre.

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (MetroplexJim)

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 09:55:42 GMT

After searing the beef, adding beer deglazes the pot.

What little alcohol there is in beer evaporates faster than you can proceed to whatever is the next step in your recipe.

(BTW: anyone that can detect the taste of a 12 oz. beer in a gallon of chili is a better man than I).

Here is my favorite recipe for Texas Chili; it's by Emeril and has a 'five star' rating from those who attempt it: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-live/texas-style-chili-recipe/index.html .

Chef LaGasse deglazes a little later in his process, but his purpose is the same as mine. IMHO, his calling for a particular brand of beer and tequila is just showmanship: BAM!!!

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (bartl)

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 08:57:05 GMT

One thing that hasn't been brought up (except indirectly), and that is that alcohol is a solvent, and will dissolve some things that water won't. That means that, while alcohol itself is flavorless, when added to food, it will dissolve some flavoring agents that the water (or your saliva) does not, and then evaporates, making those flavors available for tasting (usually referred to as "bringing out the flavor", or, as 1bbqboy said, "activates the flavor"). Which explains vodka sauce. However, wines and beers can add additional flavors to dishes which can match them very nicely.

I'm a non-drinker, but I typically keep a hearty red wine, a dry white wine, either saki or a dry sherry, and dark beer in the house for cooking. While the red wine would be good in chili, I typically use the dark beer (although my Texan friends say that if I insist on putting beer in chili, it should be Lone Star). I also have an inherited bottle of Armagnac which I save for special dishes.

Bart
Bart

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (CCinNJ)

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:18:10 GMT

That sounds fancy.

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (Poverty Pete)

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:45:01 GMT

Smoked beer is normally made with either Rausch malt from Bamburg, Germany,
or peat smoked malt from Scotland. I think one of the small maltsters in Wisconsin produces a smoked malt, but I've never used it.

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (CCinNJ)

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:40:43 GMT

You can smoke beer with a Smoking Gun...
http://www.molecularrecip...smoking-2/smoked-beer/

I was never allowed to drink beer. I believe those rules are still in effect.

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (agnesrob)

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:33:12 GMT

ChrisOC

I always have trouble trying to smoke the beer.

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (ChrisOC)

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:51:49 GMT

I always have trouble trying to smoke the beer.

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (Root-Beer Man)

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:03:41 GMT

I could see using a bit of smoked beer in a chili, but I usually just stick to the basic recipe, sans beer and beans.

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (boyardee65)

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:13:16 GMT

I always put my chili instead of water. I think it tastes better.

JMHO

David O.

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (ChrisOC)

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:55:02 GMT

I had an aunt that always put a little beer in the turkey gravy she made with the pan drippings. The first time was by accident. She liked it, and put beer in the gravy from then on.

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (rneiner)

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:44:46 GMT

Beer is good with or in anything!!!

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (hatteras04)

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:46:03 GMT

I've never put beer in chili (not becasue I am against it, I've just never thought of it) but the recipe from Cook's Illustrated for Carbonnade a la Flamande (a Belgian beef, beer, and onion stew) is one of the best things I have ever made. My family loves it so much that they even asked for it for Christmas dinner one year.

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (Twinwillow)

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 21:51:37 GMT

Thank you, TJ. That will be just perfect to quench my thirst.

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (TJ Jackson)

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 21:45:25 GMT

EdSails

I often put a good beer such as Anchor Steam or Arrogant Bastard

Re:Why put BEER in chili? (EdSails)

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 20:31:18 GMT

As Twinwillow said, there are rules and then there is creativity. I often put a good beer such as Anchor Steam or Arrogant Bastard in instead some of the water. It just adds a difference balance of flavor. Putting Bud or Coors in does nothing at all except ruin a good pot of red.