I got an interesting sounding recipe in a press release today from Houston’s Saint Arnold Brewery. The recipe is for an appetizer called Fried Beer. Now, if you know me, you already know I’ll eat anything fried. There isn’t anything fried that isn’t improved by the process, at least in my opinion. My favorite sandwich is a Monte Cristo; a ham, turkey and cheese sandwich that’s battered and deep-fried. Yum. So this recipe has my name written all over it.

From the press release:

Saint Arnold Brewing Company may not be advertising in this weekend’s Big Game, but it is hoping to win the battle for buzz with an out-of-the-bottle innovation: Saint Arnold Fried Beer. Saint Arnold Brewing Company is the oldest craft brewery in Texas.

Developed by Houstonian Matt Schlabach and his team, the Carnies, Saint Arnold Fried Beer was the winning recipe in Saint Arnold’s One Pot Showdown this past weekend. Made with Saint Arnold Winter Stout, Saint Arnold Fried Beer is a delicious finger food that would make a great addition to any Super Party. Second place went to the Guzzlin’ Gourmets for their “Amberized Green Chili,” with the Backyard Militia’s “Brown Ale Pumpkin Soup,” taking third.

“Saint Arnold is proud to contribute to the growing understanding that beer is a great complement to food and can be a terrific ingredient as well,” said Brock Wagner, founder of Saint Arnold Brewing. “We may not have a Texas team to cheer for this year, but we sure can show our friends in New York and New England how to throw a great party.”

A total of 30 teams participated in the first annual cooking contest. Every recipe had to include Saint Arnold beer as an ingredient and each had to be cooked in a single pot in the Saint Arnold parking lot. The event raised $1,800 for Meals on Wheels.

The recipe is listed below:

Saint Arnold Fried Beer

Recipe by the Carnies, winners of the First Annual Saint Arnold One Pot Showdown.

Ingredients

• 2 Sticks of Butter
• 1 Cup White Sugar
• ¼ Cup Pale Malt Syrup
• ¼ Cup St. Arnold’s Winter Stout
• 1 Egg
• 1 Tsp. Vanilla
• 2 Cups Flour (+ additional for rolling)
• 1 Tsp. Salt
• 1 Tsp. Cinnamon
• ¼ Tsp. Nutmeg
• ½ Tsp Baking Soda
• ½ Tsp. Baking Powder
• 1-1/2 Cups Oats
• ¾ Cup Chocolate Chips & Butterscotch Chips (Any Ratio of the two totaling ¾ cup, i.e. 3/8 cup each)

 

To make the dough

1. Begin by creaming the sugar and butter together with a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
2. Turn off the mixer and then add in the malt syrup, stout, egg, and vanilla. Mix until incorporated.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and baking powder.
4. While the mixer is going, alternate adding the flour and oats to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until everything is incorporated.
5. On low speed or by hand, mix in the chips until thoroughly incorporated.
6. Chill cookie in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

To make the batter

1. With a fork or whisk, mix all the dry ingredients until thoroughly incorporated.
2. Add the beer and beaten egg and mix until no large lumps appear. The mixture will have some pea-sized lumps in it but should have nothing bigger.
3. Adjust the amount of beer as necessary to achieve a consistency of thin pudding or pancake batter.
4. Allow batter to sit for 10 minutes before using.

Putting it all together

1. Take chilled cookie dough and form into a disc a little less than 2 inches in diameter and about ½ an inch thick.
2. Roll in flour until completely covered and dust off the excess.
3. Dip discs into beer batter and cover completely. Remove with a fork or slotted spoon to drain the excess batter. Be sure that the dough is completely covered by batter.
4. Fry in 375˚ F peanut or canola oil for 3 minutes or until golden brown and delicious.

Saint Arnold’s owner, Brock Wagner, in he tasting area of his Houston brewery. My family made the trek there after the Craft Brewers Conference in Austin last year.