Only with beer can chicken taste good – a sentiment shared by passionate beer drinkers. Gourmet meals are enjoyed by many; when one thinks of the beverages served in a high class restaurant, wine comes to mind most frequently. A diner may choose a tasty liquer such as Drambuie or whiskey to enjoy with coffee after a fine meal. It brings to mind silk dresses, tuxedos, a night at the opera. Many traditionalists would be surprised to learn that beer is now on the fine dining menu.
Despite its sporty, pub-crawl, keg party reputation, beer has been transformed into a chilled, foamy beverage served among the elite. It is becoming commonplace for hosts and hostesses to wonder what beer to serve with the meal they will serve their guests. On recent observation at a restaurant, I saw the people at the next table peruse a list of beers, not wine.
What type of beer goes with the dishes served at dinner parties and in restaurants? There are many different types of beer: lager, ale, pilsner, brown, bock, porter and stout. How do these beers pair up with food? There are so many types of food to choose from: Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, British, German etc. The easy answer is to choose what you, the diner, believe to be a great taste match. Everyone’s tastes differ and there are enough choices to go around. For those of you who are stuck and don’t know where to begin, the following is a good place to start.
One possibility is to choose a beer that matches the country of origin of the food being served. I recently went out for sushi and decided to have a Japanese beer with my tempura and maki. I have never tasted the beers from Japan before and I enjoy new experiences. I chose Kirin beer, which was a light, delicate beer ideally suited to the delicate tastes of sushi. The Kirin website (www.kirin.com) claims their beer has complimented sushi for almost a century.
In Mexico and south western United States, some people like to drink chilli beer – a lager style beer that is rich, malty and roasty. This rather hot beer is the perfect match for spicy Mexican offerings such as burritos. I like to drink Corona beer with lime as it is the perfect match for natchos and tacos.
British beef and Yorkshire pudding go best with a stout beer like Guinness. Guinness itself is like a meal in a glass. A hearty meal tastes better with a hearty beer. A stout beer can also be paired with other heavier meals such as lasagne, pasta, pizza and game dishes.
Fish dishes demand a delicate beer mate – unless the fish is heavily battered and deep-fried. Fresh fish tastes best with a pilsner or a light lager. Fish and chips, British-style, can accompany a brown ale or a heavier lager.
Chicken tastes good with almost anything and the choice of beer depends on individual tastes. Dramatic-tasting chicken dishes, such as curried or Thai heavily-spiced chicken can be paired with stronger beers like a malty amber or a dry porter. A roasted chicken might go well with a light lager or pilsner.
To end a dinner, diners may want to try dark ale, cream stout, Oatmeal Stout, Double Bock or Scotch Ale. All of these beers are heavy and sweet and would taste great with cheesecake or tortes. Imperial Stout needs a dessert made with chocolate as it is quite bitter and heavy.
If the dessert is light and fruity, perhaps a fruit-flavoured lambic would go well. Lambics are wheat beers produced in Belgium and some of them are flavoured with raspberry, cherry and peach. It is common sense that a fruity beer would pair well with a fruity dessert.
What an amazing, unique experience it would be to invite friends over for a six-course meal using various beers for each course, pairing each dish with an appropriate beer. It would be the dinner party talked about for years to come.
Chicken Fried Steak
For those who happen to enjoy an unusual cross of flavors and styles, chicken fried steak is something to be experienced. A cross between the classic taste of steak and the simple joys of fried chicken, this increasingly popular method of cooking steak is a wonderfully memorable mix of different flavors. Casual, yet dignified, it is a meal that distinguishes itself with its flexibility and accessible nature. Which makes chicken fried steak the type of meal that can fit a variety of occasions.
Cooking chicken fried steak is not too difficult to make. All it requires is a steak, breadcrumbs, oil and a skillet or deep fryer. Simply cover the steak in breadcrumbs, heat the oil in the skillet or deep fryer, and cook the steak until it is done. If it is being made in a skillet, it needs to be flipped every couple of minutes but, otherwise, there is little that needs to be done until the steak is done cooking.
It is very rare for chicken fried steak to be made from a top quality cut of beef. After all, the steak is not being expected to stand entirely on its own, so it is not vital that it be perfect. Additionally, the frying of the steak has a tenderizing effect on the meat, which also permits a slightly lower quality cut of meat to be used. Obviously, there is a limit, but chicken fried steak is more forgiving than steak on the grill.
The part that really makes the difference in chicken fried steak is the mix of spices that are added to the breadcrumbs. These spices are the savor that truly makes the difference in the taste of the steak and makes it distinctive on the palate. By blending just the right combination of flavors, chicken fried steak can come into its own and really shine. But to get the best blend of spices, the best thing anybody can do is experiment. After all, there is only one person who will always be there to judge the results, and that is the person who cooks it. So any cook who wants to master chicken fried steak would be well-served to try a few new things, take a few notes, and figure out just how to make it just right.
No matter how you make chicken fried steak, it is almost always a welcome addition to the menu. Whether for dinner after work, a Sunday brunch, a picnic, or a get-together with friends, chicken fried steak can be a fun addition to the menu. Unusual, yet familiar, it is a meal that is easy to enjoy and always welcome.
Though it has only recently joined the mainstream, chicken fried steak is an increasingly popular meal both at home and when going out to eat. A distinctive blend of different flavors, it is a meal that is starting to receive its proper due as a dish that is well worth the effort. So give chicken fried steak a try and see why it is becoming the new recipe of choice for people who love steak.
Cooking chicken fried steak is not too difficult to make. All it requires is a steak, breadcrumbs, oil and a skillet or deep fryer. Simply cover the steak in breadcrumbs, heat the oil in the skillet or deep fryer, and cook the steak until it is done. If it is being made in a skillet, it needs to be flipped every couple of minutes but, otherwise, there is little that needs to be done until the steak is done cooking.
It is very rare for chicken fried steak to be made from a top quality cut of beef. After all, the steak is not being expected to stand entirely on its own, so it is not vital that it be perfect. Additionally, the frying of the steak has a tenderizing effect on the meat, which also permits a slightly lower quality cut of meat to be used. Obviously, there is a limit, but chicken fried steak is more forgiving than steak on the grill.
The part that really makes the difference in chicken fried steak is the mix of spices that are added to the breadcrumbs. These spices are the savor that truly makes the difference in the taste of the steak and makes it distinctive on the palate. By blending just the right combination of flavors, chicken fried steak can come into its own and really shine. But to get the best blend of spices, the best thing anybody can do is experiment. After all, there is only one person who will always be there to judge the results, and that is the person who cooks it. So any cook who wants to master chicken fried steak would be well-served to try a few new things, take a few notes, and figure out just how to make it just right.
No matter how you make chicken fried steak, it is almost always a welcome addition to the menu. Whether for dinner after work, a Sunday brunch, a picnic, or a get-together with friends, chicken fried steak can be a fun addition to the menu. Unusual, yet familiar, it is a meal that is easy to enjoy and always welcome.
Though it has only recently joined the mainstream, chicken fried steak is an increasingly popular meal both at home and when going out to eat. A distinctive blend of different flavors, it is a meal that is starting to receive its proper due as a dish that is well worth the effort. So give chicken fried steak a try and see why it is becoming the new recipe of choice for people who love steak.
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