Top Tips for Beer & Food Matching - Beer & Beef

In the latest of a series which shows how to get the best from particular food and beer pairings, our expert columnist and food blogger KRISTIN JENSEN gives her tips on matching beer and beef - the ultimate ‘dude food’ combo -

Beef and beer is the ultimate ‘dude food’ combo. Which of course is not to say that ladies don’t love it too, but you know the kind of thing I’m talking about: burgers, pot pies, spicy chilli and big heaping bowls of stew. Rib-sticking stuff.

Beer’s hoppy bitterness is a good contrast for the richness of beef, while roasted and caramelised malt flavours complement those same flavours in roasted or chargrilled beef. And don’t forget that beer’s carbonation also works to counteract heavy foods and strong flavours, scrubbing your palate clean to enjoy the next bite.

Generally speaking, you need a strong, earthy beer with a heavier body to stand up to beef’s bold flavour. Strong ales and malty beers like stouts and porters are good contenders. If you can, try to pick a beer that has a sharper, hoppy edge, as opposed to one that’s on the sweet side, to play up the contrast between the beef and the beer. Some Irish craft beers to try are O’Hara’s Leann Folláin Full-bodied Extra Irish Stout, White Gypsy Belgian Dubbel and of course the Eight Degrees Knockmealdown Porter used in the burger recipe below.

If you’re looking for Christmas gift ideas for the carnivore in your life, look no further than The Irish Beef Book by Pat Whelan and Katy McGuinness, a definitive guide to cooking with all kinds of cuts of beef.

What’s more, there are several recipes in the book that incorporate beer directly into the dish: beef cheeks and white turnips in beer with a parsley dressing; Rick Stein’s beef, Guinness and oyster pie; braised beef shin and Eight Degrees ale pie; and these Knockmealdown burgers. Why not pair a copy of the book with a selection of Irish craft beers for the ultimate gift? As the saying goes, there’s both eating and drinking in it.

Sláinte!

Knockmealdown Burgers

from The Irish Beef Book by Pat Whelan and Katy McGuinness (Gill & Macmillan)

For a burger with the flavour of sweet caramelised onions, try this recipe using Knockmealdown porter, one of our favourite craft beers, produced by Eight Degrees in the beautiful Ballyhoura region of Co. Cork.

Makes 6 burgers

1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 kg coarsely ground beef mince (80:20 ratio of meat to fat)
100 ml Eight Degrees Knockmealdown porter
2 tablespoons brown breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley and/or thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a low heat and fry the onion slowly for about 20 minutes, until soft and slightly browned. Leave to cool.

Combine the beef with the onion, stout, breadcrumbs, herbs and seasoning. Divide the meat mixture into six, and form into flat burgers, pressing a dimple into the centre of each, which will help them to remain flat during cooking.

Cover and chill for an hour so that the burgers will retain their shape and hold together during cooking.

Cook on the barbecue, or on a heavy, cast iron ridged griddle pan preheated to smoking.

There is no need to oil either the grill or the burgers, but if you are concerned that they might stick (because you have used very lean meat), lightly brush the burgers with oil. Place on the grill for about 4 minutes per side for medium rare.

Kristin Jensen is a freelance editor specialising in cookery and food books and has worked with many of Ireland's top food writers and chefs. She writes the Edible Ireland blog and is a co-founder of the Irish Food Bloggers Association