Steam Whistle Brewing recently surveyed their fans, friends and followers on the brewery’s Facebook and  Twitter pages to find out if they had any interesting alternative uses for beer.

While many indicated that they prefer their beer for drinking, an overwhelming majority of the alternative uses for Steam Whistle involved using it when cooking, in one way or another.

“Beer is great for cooking because it is so versatile,” said Sybil Taylor, Communications Director for Steam Whistle Brewing. “Though wine is more commonly used in cooking, beer offers a balanced flavour, not too sweet or not too bitter, and adds a rich, earthy undertone to foods without overwhelming the dish.”

The following are just a few of the alternative cooking uses that came out of the survey:

Marinate Meat

Beer is slightly acidic, which makes it an excellent meat tenderizer. Beer also won’t alter the meat’s flavour as much as wine or vinegar-based marinades will. Slice halfway into the meat in rows of ridges to tenderize tougher cuts and to expose more of the tissue to the marinade. Pop into a covered dish, tupperware container or freezer bag with the marinade and refrigerate preferably overnight or at minimum a few hours before cooking.

Do not drink the marinate!

http://www.steamwhistle.ca/fun/recipe_detail.php?id=36

Braise Chops

Cook chops in a pan until browned on one each side. Add the beer to the pan and swirl it gently to combine all of the ingredients. Continue cooking the chops to your desired temperature, about 4 minutes for medium. Once the chops are finished, remove them to a plate and continue reducing the liquid in the pan until it reaches a glossy, gravy-like consistency and pour it over the chops.

http://www.steamwhistle.ca/fun/recipe_detail.php?id=136

Make Pizza Dough

Everyone loves beer with pizza, but what about beer in your pizza! Using your favourite beer in a pizza dough recipe will create a great tasting beer pizza crust. Then serve Steam Whistle Pilsner with your pizza – beer cuts through spicy heat and the carbonation cleanses the oil from the cheese and meat toppings and leaves you ready to taste more.

http://www.steamwhistle.ca/fun/recipe_detail.php?id=142

Steam Clams or Mussels

In a large steamer pot, mix a bottle of beer with a few cloves of garlic and some other tasty ingredients, then add a pound of clams or mussels. Steam until the shells begin to open. Easy as that! The beer imports a nice flavour.  http://www.steamwhistle.ca/fun/recipe_detail.php?id=116

Bake Beer Bread

Beer bread can be a simple  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quick_bread  quick bread or a   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread  yeast-bread flavored with beer. Both  beer and bread have a common creation process: Yeast is used to turn sugars into carbon dioxide and alcohol. In the case of bread a great percentage of the alcohol evaporates during the baking process. Click here for a link to of our http://www.steamwhistle.ca/fun/recipe_detail.php?id=133  Steam Whistle Beer Bread recipes.

Want more? Try one of Steam Whistle’s 150+ recipes for http://steamwhistle.ca/fun/recipes.php Cooking with Beer at your next dinner party.  For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

About Steam Whistle Brewing:

Steam Whistle Brewing, an independent brewery in Toronto, Ontario has a singular focus of making one beer of exceptional quality that Canadians can be proud of. They make their refreshing Pilsner with traditional brewing methods and only four, all natural ingredients (spring water, prairie malted barley, hops and yeast – all GMO free). Opened in 2000, the brewery was named Steam Whistle, drawing from the inspirational sounds of steam rushing from factory whistles, signaling the end of a fulfilling workday and a time for personal reward.  The brewery is housed in an old CP Rail Roundhouse, once home to the steam locomotives that helped pioneer this nation.