For this installment of In the Kitchen, we decided to keep our wine in the cellar and reach for a bottle of beer. After all, April is North Carolina Beer Month. So what better time to cook with beer?
We took this recipe from Boulder Beer Company in Boulder, Colorado. It’s call the Planet Porter Bison Stew. But instead of using its brown porter (that we can’t get here anyway), we used a couple cans of Raleigh Brewing Company’s Hidden Pipe Porter. There are so many great NC porters to choose from, but staying right here in Raleigh seemed best for this easy to make recipe.
Take 1 large red onion and finely chop it up and put in a skillet with 3 tablespoons vegetable oil. After the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes, add 8 garlic cloves, minced, 1/2 tablespoon of chopped rosemary leaves and salt and pepper. Transfer to a soup pot and set aside.
Now take 1 pound of bison steak and cut into 1-inch cubes and cook in the skillet until browned on all sides. Let the fond build at the bottom of the skillet. Once cooked, transfer the bison to the pot with the onions. De-glaze the skillet with 3/4 cup of the porter, scraping the fond into the liquid. Transfer the liquid in the skillet to the pot, then add the rest of the porter. We used a total of two 12-ounce cans.
Bring stew to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 15 minutes. Then add 4 cups of beef broth, 4 carrots, peeled and sliced, 4 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped, 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed and 2 bay leaves. Reduce heat and simmer another 30 minutes.
The last step is to make the white roux. Combine 2 tablespoons softened butter and 1 tablespoon corn four and 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour. Mash with fork to create a paste and add to stew after first 30 minutes of simmering. After roux is added, cook an additional 30 minutes.
And there you have it. Enjoy with a can of Raleigh Brewing’s Hidden Pipe Porter. Other porters we considered were Foothills’ People’s Porter or Burial Beer Company’s Ulfberht Baltic Porter.
