The Art of Cooking with Beer - Northern Ontario Cookbook

The morning sun glares off the massive silver steel vats through the open double garage doors of the brewery. A warm and comforting aroma fills the air, with an underlying hint of something sweet. It’s unexpected, as it’s very much unlike the final bottled product, and quite the contrast to the sterile and industrial look and feel to the atmosphere.

This was my first experience touring a brewery, which also happened to be Greater Sudbury’s craft beer brewery, Stack Brewing. As I was walking toward the brewery from the parking lot, I was greeted by Stack’s brewer, Michael Guillemette, who was walking out of the above mentioned open double garage doors. He showed me around the property grounds as he led me up to the main office building, where I then met with owner Shawn Mailloux, and sales and cellarman Rob Majury.

Since Stack is in collaboration with local caterer Culgins Creative Cuisine, I was also introduced to owner and executive chef Andrew Culgin, which brings me to the point of why I was there in the first place.

After the guys took me on the tour and shared some background on the brewery, I got my hands on a few recipes Culgin produced using Stack beer in the ingredients, like the Saturday Night Onion Soup and Les Portes de L’Enfer Chocolate float.

As you welcome guests into your home over the Holidays, these recipes can aid in the hometown hospitality Northeastern Ontario is known for. Enjoy!

Saturday Night Onion Soup

Ingredients:

• 10 cup sliced onion (about 10 medium onions)
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 can Saturday Night beer
• 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
• 4 cup chicken broth
• 6 slices of thick cut crostini – toasted
• 2 cup grated sharp cheddar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a large saucepan, brown the sliced onions in the butter over med-low heat (approx. 30 min). Season with a little salt and pepper, sprinkle flour on caramelized onions and cook 1 minute longer.

Add the Saturday Night beer and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add chicken stock and bring back to a boil, turn down heat and continue to simmer another 10 minutes. Add more broth or beer if necessary. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

Preheat broiler and place oven rack to middle position.

Ladle soup in 4 oven proof bowls and top with the sliced crostini and grated cheese.

Place the bowls on a baking sheet and put under the broiler until the cheese is golden brown.

Beer and Cheese Dip (Valley Girl)

Ingredients:

• 16oz cream cheese –softened
• ½ cup cheddar cheese – grated
• ½ cup Swiss cheese –grated
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ cup Valley Girl beer
• 1 loaf whole pumpernickel or other bread

Instructions:

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, Swiss, cheddar, garlic powder and Valley Girl in an electric blender until smooth.

Cut the top off the loaf of bread, making a lid for the bowl. Hollow out the loaf, keeping all the pieces of the unused bread.

Pour the cheese dip into the bread bowl and put the lid back on.

Serve with extra crackers, chips and other bread cubes for dipping.

Les Portes de L’Enfer Chocolate Float

Ingredients:

• 1 can Les Portes de L’Enfer beer
• Chocolate ice cream
• 2 tablespoon chocolate syrup
• Pinch of cocoa powder

Instructions:

Pour half of the beer in a pint glass.

Add chocolate syrup and mix.

Place 2 scoops of chocolate ice cream in glass.

Top with remaining beer and either shaved chocolate or a sprinkle of cocoa.

Impact and Cayenne – Citrus Marinade

Ingredients:

• 2 cans Impact Altbier
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon horseradish
• ½ cup diced onion
• 2 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you want hotter)

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in a blender, puree until onions and garlic are incorporated in the marinade.

Keep one cup of marinade aside to use for basting. Use remaining as a marinade for beef, lamb or chicken.

Marinade all meat at least 2 hours for the best flavour.

Stack and Culgins have also produced a barbecue sauce using Stack’s Laser Hosen brew, a dark wheat dunkelweizen beer, which is cleverly packaged in a bottle resembling a beer bottle. The sauce can be purchased at The Lounge @ Culgins, once it’s released in the New Year.

To find out more about Stack Brewing in Sudbury, read the article: Stack brings the return of a brewery to Sudbury.

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