You may remember that I mentioned my trip to Texas in a previous post. Well, one of the main highlights of the calendar in Texas is the annual state fair, held in Dallas - and at the State Fair of Texas, the highlight is the food. And almost all of it is deep fried... from fairly "normal" items such as corn dogs and spiral potatoes, through to more exotic dishes including deep fried twinkies and deep fried butter balls. And in 2010, the award for the most creative food went to fried beer.
This invention, covered in media around the world, consisted of ravioli-shaped pockets of pretzel dough, containing beer (still in liquid form) and deep fried. And even though each piece only contains a mouthful of beer at most, this being America - and deep in the bible belt - you have to be 21 to try one.
I realised, of course, that I had to try making this myself. It's one of those things which has been on my to-do list for ages... somewhere between watching Citizen Kane and painting the windowsills. But finally, the time had come. First I started by preparing the beer filling. I knew that I'd have to somehow set the beer before making the parcels. There were basically two options - freezing the beer, or setting it with a bit of gelatine - but I didn't want to risk the filling of the finished product being either icy or gelatinous. I ended up going for a hybrid approach... a little bit of gelatine, and a short period of time in the freezer. The result was a sort of sticky beer slush.
Next I made the dough out of flour, egg, and crushed pretzels. This stuff was hard to work with, and very hard to roll thin. But eventually I had ten thin discs rolled out, and I was ready to make the parcels. I made five of them, carefully filling each one with the beer goo, and sealing the edges with egg. I put them in the freezer for ten minutes, and then it was time to fry them!
I started by frying a bit of leftover dough to test the oil temperature, and was delighted to find that it tasted delicious... sort of like a crisp, brittle, pretzel flavoured biscuit. I had high hopes for this, and proceeded to fry the dough-encased beer packages.
Unfortunately one of them had sprung a leak, and when the freezing cold beer hit the oil, the thing fucking erupted, spitting out oil in all directions. I was terrified that it was going to catch fire, and I actually started preparing a wet towel to throw over the pan. Luckily it wasn't necessary in the end, and I bravely fished the thing out, through a shower of boiling oil.
Anyway, after a quick sprinkling of salt, it was time to taste them. The casing was nice and crisp, and the beer had fully melted (without being too hot). But how did it taste? Let's just say that if you like the idea of a mouthful of flat beer mixed with hot salty pastry, then this will be right up your street. As long as you don't mind beer spilling everywhere as soon as you bite into it.
Taste
Classification
There are certain gifts I seem to receive every year at Christmas. Socks (boo). DVDs (better). Booze (much better). Chocolate (now we're getting somewhere). But I think it's safe to say that this Christmas was the first time I'd been given one of these...
Guitar shaped moulds... but what for? Jelly? Ice? Little ice lollies? Probably all of the above. But I decided that the latter option would be the most useful.
Given the shape of the moulds, I had to think of a suitably rock n roll flavour for the lollies. So... what is the most rock n roll drink? Jack Daniels? Tequila? Jager? Beer? All wrong - the most rock n roll drink known to man is, without doubt, Snakebite and Black. An ice lolly mixture has to be sweeter and more intense than a drink would be, so I put in more blackcurrant than you'd usually use, and also added a splash of apple juice.
As more observant readers will have noticed, there are moulds for an electric guitar, a bass guitar, and an acoustic. It seemed sensible to eat the electric-guitar-shaped-lolly first, since acoustics are for school kids, grandpas, and dorks like James Blunt. And the bass is for simpletons who can only manage one note at a time.
The next time we get anything resembling Summer weather, I'll be making another batch of these suckers.
Taste
Classification
Do you know the feeling when you get to the bar and can't decide what to order - a beer or a cocktail?
Well... me neither, I usually know exactly what I want. But I needed an excuse to combine these two unlikely bedfellows, and I can't currently think of a better one.
Beer geeks will scoff at you. Cocktail aficionados will turn their noses up at you. But here is a selection of beery cocktails, ranging from crass to classy (by my standards), adding some of my own twists along the way.
Honourable Mentions
Some cocktails were considered, but didn't make the cut...
Snakebite and Black - a tasty combination of lager, cider and blackcurrant, which allows sixteen-year-olds to pour alcohol down their necks as quickly as possible. But you don't need me to show you how to make one.
Michelada - mixture of beer, lime juice, tabasco and worcester sauce... tomato juice and tequila are also common ingredients. Popular in Mexico, this is one of the most common beer cocktails. Not included here because it sounds absolutely disgusting.
Hangman's Blood - there are various recipes, but the most common seems to contain no less than five shots - whisky, brandy, gin, rum, and port - topped up with Guiness. I must admit I am curious to try this, but despite having all the ingredients at home, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
So onto the main event. To assist me with the tasting, I had the help of a special guest, FeedTheTang.
Car Bomb
1 measure Baileys
1 measure Irish whiskey
Half pint of Guinness
Fill a double shot glass with Baileys and Irish whiskey, and drop the whole thing into half a pint of Guinness (in a pint glass). I used Guinness Foreign Extra, just for fun. You have to drink it quickly before it curdles... in just a few seconds, solid lumps of brown crud start to form. Yum!
Tang's Tasting Notes : "There's no way I'm drinking that. No way."
Alcoholic Dr Pepper
2 measures amaretto
2 measures cherry beer
Lager
Coke
Simply put the amaretto and cherry beer into a glass, and top up with equal quantities of lager and coke. It really does taste a lot like Dr Pepper!
Tang's Tasting Notes : "Very sweet. Tastes more like a fizzy drink than a cocktail."
Frozen Beer Margarita
2 measures tequila
1 measure Cointreau
4 measures lager
3 measures 7up/sprite
Water
1 lime
Blend the flesh of a lime with the other ingredients except the water. Put in freezer - the alchohol will not freeze solid, so you will be able to easily mash it up with a fork after it comes out. Add a little water, and shake it all up to make a slush.
For that authentic touch of luxury, coat the rim of the glass with lime & salt. Serve with a lime wedge. This recipe makes 2 small glasses of delicious margarita!
Tang's Tasting Notes : "Very nice! Sour. Strong. Not too sweet."
Blood and Sand
1 measure scotch
1 measure vermouth
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 measures blood orange juice
Cherry beer
Shake the scotch, vermouth, sugar, and the blood orange juice, until the sugar is dissolved. I don't have a cocktail shaker, so I used a plastic bottle. Pour into a glass and top up with cherry beer.
Tang's Tasting Notes : "Not bad. Actually quite nice. Tastes very alcoholic."
So, the Margarita was the clear winner. Possibly the only drink here that transcended the novelty of the original premise, and something I know I'll be drinking again!
Classification
