Pale Ale Drunken Drumsticks

People say chicken is boring. I say they don’t know what they’re talking about…..or they’re doing it wrong. There's literally thousands of ways to do chicken. Take, for example, this recipe. Summer time. People are using their grills. Pale ales in hand. One of the best examples of the style....Marshall Brewing's "Arrowhead" pale ale. Citrusy, fruity, hoppy, grassy, awesome. Great with grilled meats. Today though, we're going to make a spicy, peppy glaze to go on some drumsticks.

Ingredients: (serves 4-6)
1 lg pkg of chicken drumsticks (12-16)
1 12oz bottle of pale ale
1/2 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice
Juice of 1 lime
2 chipotle chile en adobo
3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsp cilantro
2/3 cup ketchup
1 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp honey
Pinch of ground allspice
Pinch of cayenne
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

FYI, my grill is busted. So, I'm doing this in the oven this time.

Preheat oven to 450. Grease baking sheets. Salt and pepper the chicken. Bake for 40 min.

For the glaze....add the beer, OJ, lime, chile, garlic, and cilantro in a blender. Puree till smooth.

Pour the puree in a pan. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk well. Bring to a quick boil, then reduce to medium-low and let reduce for 30 minutes (roughly same time the chicken will be done). Taste and adjust with salt and pepper.

Note- Reducing intensifies flavors. Reducing pale ales and IPAs will bring out more bitter hoppiness, which isn’t necessarily good. If the sauce is too bitter, then add some more honey to balance it out.

When chicken is done, take out of oven, and turn on the broiler. Dip chicken into the sauce and get nice and coated. Place chicken back on the baking sheets and into the oven. Broil for just a couple minutes until dark brown and done.

The skin is citrusy, spicy, smoky, and has a faint hoppy background to it. It’s scrumptious! Pair this dish with the same pale ale. The hops will draw out the heat, the carbonation will lift the skin and fat off the palate, and the maltiness of the beer will play nicely with the meat itself. Serve a zesty black bean and corn salad on the side if you want too.

Blueberry Stout French Toast

I love making my wife french toast. Or actually, she loves me making french toast. Err, actually, she just loves me cooking in general, but especially french toast. Her favorite breakfast. I'm always trying out different versions of french toast for her. Figured I'd put this idea to work and it turned out frickin awesome!

Dark Horse Brewing is one of my top 10 breweries. They're frickin fantastic. "Tres Blueberry Stout" just seemed to be a breakfast beer to me. It's roasty, malty, chocolatey, and has an excellent blueberry note to it. Unique and wonderful. To actually incorporate it into breakfast just made it even more badass.

Ingredients for french toast:
1 loaf crusty italian bread (sliced into 1in thick pieces)
1 cup stout
1/2 cup milk
A good splash of heavy cream
1/4 cup of sugar
4 eggs
2-3 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Good pinch of nutmeg
2-3 tbsp butter (more as needed)
Whipped cream cheese
Powdered sugar
Maple syrup

Ingredients for blueberry stout compote:
2 cups frozen blueberries
1/4 cup stout
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of cinnamon
Juice from 1 lemon

To start, break out a small saucepan and put on medium heat. Add 1 cup of blueberries, stout, sugar, and lemon juice. Cook for 10min stirring several times. Then add in the 2nd cup of blueberries and cook another 10minutes. Turn heat down to low and keep warm.

Heat oven to 200 and set a casserole dish inside. Set a large skillet on medium-high on stove. In a shallow dish whisk together the stout, milk, cream, sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Place bread in the dish and let soak up the custard. Flip and coat other side of bread. Add butter to hot pan. Place bread pieces in skillet. Cook in batches. Cook 2-3 minutes per side. When done, place in casserole dish in oven to keep warm. Finish cooking rest of french toast.

When ready to eat, place one piece of toast on plate. Spread cream cheese on top. Place another piece of toast on top and cover with the blueberry stout compote. Dust with a little powdered sugar and maple syrup if wanted.

Voila! Pair with a breakfast stout or a good witbier.