Summer Grilling Recipes with Beer

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- If your summertime menus feature cold beer on a hot day, here’s another way to enjoy your best brew: whisked into your favorite recipes for the grill. A real flavor-enhancer for so many dishes, beer offers a variety of styles that can provide anything from smokiness to cocoa, to sweet fruit to a hoppy bitterness to your favorite recipes.

From the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) in Alexandria, Virginia, here are three summertime recipes that highlight the flavors of various beers. They are perfect for Father’s Day celebrations, children’s parties or any backyard entertaining occasion.

Orange and Beer BBQ Turkey Sliders combine the great flavor of Wheat Beer with orange, honey mustard and cilantro, all packed into these delicious small bites. Nick Solares, publisher of Beef Aficionado, writes that the slider is a “reduction of the burger to its ideal form,” and indeed these mini-size burgers will please and amuse adults and kids alike. Ground turkey meat, as opposed to ground beef, holds down the fat and calorie content, and serves as a more neutral basis for the addition of the sweet and Asian flavorings. Serve the sliders with sides of cole slaw and grilled corn on the cob, and pour cold Lagers or Wheat Beers to complement the meal.

Another terrific recipe for the grill is Hawaiian Lager Baby Back Ribs. Whisk together a marinade of Lager Beer, pineapple or orange marmalade, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, chile paste and soy sauce, and let the pork baby back ribs marinate for several hours, or overnight. Use this same sauce to make a grilling baste, and grill or broil the ribs for a wonderful smoky finish. To speed up cooking time, this recipe calls for pre-cooking the meat in a low temperature oven for seventy-five minutes before grilling. These ribs are terrific served with a dark, rich porter beer.

Serve either of these dishes with Pale Ale Cabbage Slaw, an easy side dish that works well for a crowd. Start by shredding together red and green cabbage, then adding chopped carrots and sliced sweet onion. Make a dressing by combining and cooking a hoppy Pale Ale Beer, grape seed oil, cider vinegar, honey Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Pour over the slaw, toss in sugar and dill seeds and serve.

Orange and Beer BBQ Turkey Sliders

Makes 12 sliders (serves 4 – 6)

Turkey Sliders:

1 bottle (12 oz) Belgium-style Wheat Beer

1 ½ pounds ground turkey

½ cup finely diced red bell pepper

½ cup dry garlic-and-herb seasoning breadcrumbs

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/3 cup chopped basil

1/3 cup chopped scallions

1 tsp grated orange zest

1 tsp salt

Orange Beer BBQ Sauce:

½ cup fresh-squeezed orange juice (reserve orange shells)

¼ cup honey mustard

¼ cup light brown sugar

½ cup diced shallot or onion

2 TBLS cider vinegar

1 ½ TBLS tomato paste

1 ½ TBLS butter

12 brioche or other small dinner rolls

Prepare the turkey sliders by combing in large bowl ¼ cup of the Wheat Beer, ground turkey, red pepper, breadcrumbs, cilantro, basil, scallions, orange zest and salt. Stir to mix well. Shape mixture by ¼ cupfuls into twelve three-inch round sliders, about ¾ to 1 inch thick. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together remaining beer, orange juice, honey mustard, brown sugar, onion, vinegar, tomato paste and butter. Stir to blend well. Add reserved squeezed orange shells to the saucepan and bring mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; boil 15 minutes, stirring frequently, or until sauce is thickened and mixture is reduced to 1 cup. Discard orange shells. Cool sauce to room temperature. Reserve ½ cup of sauce for serving with sliders.

Spray broiler pan or grilling rack with olive oil cooking spray. Prepare gas or charcoal grill or preheat broiler. Place sliders on grill or under broiler and cook 8 minutes, turning and brushing sliders with orange beer BBQ sauce, until fully cooked through. Serve on split soft dinner rolls with reserved sauce.

Nutrition Information, Per Serving:

500 calories; 18 g fat; 6 g saturated fat; 53 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 17 g sugar; 29 g protein

Hawaiian Lager Baby Back Ribs

Serves 4

1 bottle (12 oz) flavored Lager Beer

½ cup ginger-orange marmalade or pineapple marmalade

¼ cup hoisin sauce

2 TBLS sesame oil

2 TBLS rice vinegar

2 TBLS reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 ½ tsps minced garlic

1 ½ tsps chile paste

2 racks (4 lbs) baby back pork ribs, cut in half crosswise

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

In large bowl, whisk together Lager Beer, marmalade, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, soy sauce and chile paste until well blended. Place ribs in a 2 gallon-size plastic food storage bag; add beer marinade and seal bag. Turn bag several times to coat ribs. Marinate ribs in refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight, if possible.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a broiler-pan bottom with foil for easier cleaning. Remove ribs from refrigerator and pour marinade into a medium saucepan. Place ribs on a broiler-pan rack; cover tightly with foil. Place ribs in oven and roast 1 ¼ hours, or until meat is tender between ribs.

While ribs are roasting, bring reserved marinade to a boil. Boil 12 – 14 minutes, stirring once or twice, until marinade is reduced to a thick glaze and about 1 cup.

Prepare gas or charcoal grill, or preheat broiler. Season ribs with salt and pepper. Brush ribs on both sides with reserved glaze. Place ribs on grill or on broiler-pan rack and under broiler. Grill or broil for 6 – 8 minutes, turning ribs a few times, until slightly charred in a few places.

Transfer ribs to a cutting board. Brush with any remaining glaze. Cut into single-rib portion sizes.

Nutrition Information, Per Serving:

670 calories; 46 g fat; 16 g saturated fat; 25 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 17 g sugar; 35 g protein

Pale Ale Cabbage Slaw

Makes 12 servings

1 pound red cabbage, finely shredded

1 pound green cabbage, finely shredded

1 package (1 pound) carrots, shredded

1 sweet onion, thinly sliced

1/3 cup sugar

½ tsp celery seeds

1 bottle (12 oz) Pale Ale Beer

1/3 cup grape seed oil

¼ cup cider vinegar

1 TBLS honey mustard

1 ½ tsps salt

½ tsp black pepper

In large bowl, toss red and green cabbage with carrots and onion slices. Combine well. Sprinkle with sugar and dill seeds; toss again until evenly distributed.

In large saucepan, pour beer and bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes. Whisk in grape seed oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and pour over cabbage mixture; toss briefly, then cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

When ready to serve, toss slaw and drain in colander.

Nutrition Information, Per Serving:

130 calories; 6 g fat; .5 g saturated fat; 17 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 11 g sugar; 2 g protein