Beer In Curry

[seravitae]

Hi guys and gals,

Anyone made decent curry using beer as an ingredient? Just whipped up a vindaloo in the slow cooker with some white rabbit dark ale (current favourite).

It smells absolutely awesome (not just like beer!), but taste-wise it has absolutely zero body flavours, except the chilli heat and a strong sourness (from the beer/hops??). The sour smell/taste is a lot like soy sauce, which is really unwelcome in a curry.

Very disappointed, was hoping someone could provide some recepies or inform me if i'm breaking laws of the universe by adding beer to indian foods and it will never taste good.

I will continue to eat it out of punishment for being a bad cook. Save me from future punishment!



cheers,

Seb

 

[manticle]

I cook lots of different types of dishes with beer as an ingredient but usually use lower hopped, pale beers in place of red or white wine.

Does merc's book have a curry recipe?

 

[seravitae]

I dunno, that was my first thought. I'll have to track down a copy and have a looksie.

Even if its an inappropriate beer style for the curry, it smells *so danm good* that it warrants trying ways to get rid of the sourness but keep the aroma profile. Two people in this household dont like curry, and I caught them on several occasions with their heads in the slow cooker huffing away.

More of a reason for me to get my AG rig up and going, so I can perhaps play with "Cooking Beers" (is this even a style, if not, why not!)...

 

[manticle]

A quick google brought up two of merc's curry recipes - one was a pork and pumpkin curry and one was a fish curry - both seem to use paler, sweeter/lower hopped beers.

Curry is a bit like soup - always improves by being left a day so maybe come back to it tomorrow?

Won't help your curry much but saison is a fantastic marinade/baste for slow cooked chicken.

 

[seravitae]

Hm, might check out the pork and pumpkin one... Not really a fan of fish in curry.

I usually slow cook stuff for quite some time and eat it the day after as you say, but still a dissapointing batch.

Will keep saison in mind, i've only had a saison once but it was an amazing experience. Keen to brew one.

 

[drew9242]

Yes I have made those curries and both are superb. All of mercs cirrus have a high alcohol beer and gernerally a Belgian blonde. So the trick seems to be to use a Belgian blonde type of beer. Not a lot of dark malt and hops. Just a good yeast and some alchol.

 

[benno1973]

There's a lamb curry in Merc's book somewhere, also with a Belgian Blonde from memory. Was very tasty, and would definitely do this again. But as Drew pointed out, belgina blonde seems to be the theme...

 

[Mercs Own]

I cook lots of different types of dishes with beer as an ingredient but usually use lower hopped, pale beers in place of red or white wine.

Does merc's book have a curry recipe?

Hey guys been away for quite a while - from the site not working sadly!! I have a pork and pumpkin red curry, a lamb and beer curry and an indian sttyle fish curry in my book. I usually use a big Belgian style ale in my curries as I like the malt sweetness and the high alc with generally low bitterness.

It sounds like the white rabbit dark is just a little thin to carry the curry flavour how ever did you also use a stock or did you go all beer? Always combine either equal stock to beer ratios and add stock first so as not to boil the beer and accentuate the bitterness - I sometimes go 2/3 beer and 1/3 stock but it depends on what you are cooking. Hoegaarden grand cru is pretty bloody good for curries and slow braising also as the high alc adds the flavour and the wheat a lovely gentle background smoothness.

 

[browndog]

Guys, surely the multitiude of spices present in a curry are going to make virtually all but the strongest beers redundant right?

cheers

Browndog