Beer and Brewer Magazine

Just because the calendar says it's Autumn doesn't mean you have to prepare for hibernation just yet...in this sunburned country there are plenty of warm days left to enjoy summer's last hurrah.

Tempura Oysters with a Stout Shot

Richard Fox
British chef personality, broadcaster and author of The Food & Beer Cookbook
Serves 2

Ingredients
1 egg
25ml fridge-cold stout or porter (Coopers Best Extra Stout, Sinha Stout, Mountain Goat Surefoot Stout, Bridge Road Robust Porter)
50m1 ice water
70g sifted plain flour
12 live oysters

Method

1. To make the batter, gently beat the egg and add the stout and water, lightly whisking with a fork. Add the sifted flour, and very gently mix, making sure you keep the mixture lumpy.
2. Shuck the oysters with an oyster knife and drain off the liquid.
3. Ideally use a thermostat-controlled deep fat fryer between 175ºC and 195ºC. Failing this, heat a pan of oil to this temperature. Make sure sure the oil doesn't come more than three-quarters of the way up to the pan. It is up to temperature when a cube of fresh bread browns in 1 minute.
4. Dip the oysters into the batter and very carefully lower them into the hot oil. They will be ready in approximately 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
5. Serve with one on top of a shot glass of porter or stout of your choice.

Carbonade Australien

Garrett Oliver
Brewmaster of The Brooklyn Brewery, author of The Brewmaster's Table and the United States foremost authority on the subject of traditional beer.
Serves 4

Ingredients
1kg boneless leg of lamb, cut into 1" cubes
3 large yellow onions, sliced
650ml Belgian Dubbel Ale (Chimay Rouge, Corsendonck Brown, Westmalle Dubbel)
30g butter
30ml peanut oil
3 cups beef, veal or lamb stock
6 fresh thyme sprigs, bound with string, or 1 bouquet garni
2 Tbs sugar
3 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 Tbs tomato paste
1 Tbs nutmeg
½ cup golden raisins
1 large Granny Smith Apple, peeled and sliced into a dozen pieces
salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil and butter in a large, heavy skillet over high heat. When the skillet is very hot, add the meat with some salt and pepper, stirring frequently until well-browned on all sides. Using a slotted spoon, lift the meat from the skillet and set it aside. Turn the heat down to low, and stir the flour into the remaining fat and cook until smooth and golden. Set the mixture (roux) aside.
2. To a heavy pot, add the lamb, then the onions. Add the stock, herbs, nutmeg and sugar. Add beer until the meat is entirely covered. Bring to a boil, then add tomato paste. Cover and simmer gently for 1 hour.
3. Remove the lamb with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Using a chinoise or other strainer, strain the sauce into another pot.
4. Place the meat in the pot with the strained sauce. Add the roux and the raisins, continue cooking for 1 hour. Add the apple slices, and cook for a further 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
5. Serve with mashed potatoes or frites.

Prawn & mango salad

Bill Taylor
Chief Brewer for Lion Nathan and author of Beer and Food - A Celebration of Flavours.
Serves 4

Ingredients
4 cups mixed salad leaves
12 large green Tiger prawns peeled, deveined
250g mango pieces
15ml juice & zest of ½ lime
10ml light olive oil
20ml white vinegar
50ml ale (James Squire Golden Ale)
1 tsp honey

Method

1. Peel the fresh mango. Slice from one half approx 125g thin slivers and retain for the salad. Coarsely chop another 125g of the flesh and place a food processor. Add the lime juice, finely grated zest, ale, vinegar and honey. Blend until mango has been pureed. While the blender is still running drizzle the olive oil slowly into the mix.
2. Mix the salad greens and mango slivers and lightly mix through some dressing. Prepare a bed of the salad on each serving plate.
3. Preheat a sizzle plate or the BBQ and cook the prawns, turning only once. Season with pepper as they cook. Place 3 prawns on each plate, spoon a little of the mango dressing over each prawn and finish with a touch of coarse sea or river salt for texture and taste.

Bitter Chocolate Mousse with Pale Lager Jelly and Raspberries

Ed Halmagyi
TV Chef and presenter on Channel 7's Better Homes and Gardens
Serves 4

Ingredients
350ml Hijos de Rivera Estrella Galicia, or other pale lager such as Scharer's lager, Abbots lager or Cascade premium
4 Tbs caster sugar
3 gelatine sheets
400g bitter chocolate, chopped finely
350ml cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
250ml mascarpone
3 Tbs icing sugar
2 Tbs raspberry jam, warmed and sieved
1 punnet raspberries
1 Tbs blackcurrant liqueur

Method

1. Warm the beer and sugar until the sugar dissolves.
2. Soften the gelatine in cold water then dissolve in the warm beer mix.
3. Pour the jelly into a lined cake tin and refrigerate for 2 hours to set, then cut out 5cm discs using a biscuit cutter.
4. Boil the cream and vanilla and whisk into the chocolate until smooth.
5. Set aside to cool stirring occasionally.
6. Whip the mascarpone and icing sugar to soft peaks and fold into the chocolate mix with a spatula.
7. Line the base of four 1¼ cup ramekins with baking paper and grease the sides with butter. Half fill with the chocolate mix, then place a disc of jelly in the centre and top with more chocolate mix, smoothing the surface flat.
8. Refrigerate the mousses for at least 1 hour to set. Let them sit for 10 minutes before turning them out onto plates (or eat them straight from the ramekins!)
9. To serve, paint a series of parallel lines with a small brush on each plate using the jam, then place a mousse off-centre, topped with the berries that have been tossed in the liqueur.

Serve with: a sweeter style lager like the Estrella Galicia or Bintara lager from Rutherglen, Victoria.