Dumplings brewed in beer have a bready taste with malt notes, they are much more aromatic than ordinary dumplings cooked with water. It cannot be said that everyone likes this dish, but there are still fans of this method of cooking, mainly among the male audience. When heated, all the alcohol from the beer will evaporate, so beer dumplings can be treated even to those who are contraindicated in alcohol.
beer selection
If everything is simple with dumplings – the better the minced meat and dough, the better, then the choice of beer must be approached responsibly. Firstly, I do not recommend cheap brands with a pronounced hop or alcohol smell. Budget beer with its chemical additives will spoil dumplings, definitely.
Secondly, the malt and breadiness can be adjusted. On wheat beer, the aroma of dumplings is more gentle, and on porters and stouts, on the contrary, it is felt very strongly, burnt coffee notes appear.
A proven middle ground is to use any European lager (light beer with moderate bitterness). Dumplings cooked in Zhigulevsky will be slightly bitter.
The technology of cooking dumplings in beer
Ingredients:
- dumplings – 0,5 kg;
- beer (light or dark) – 2 liters;
- salt – 20 g;
- bay leaf – 1 piece (optional);
- pepper, other seasonings and spices – to taste.
Standard proportion: for 1 kg of dumplings 4 liters of beer, 40 g of salt, 1-2 bay leaves and seasonings to taste.
Preparation
1. Rinse the inside of the brewing pot with water (do not wipe), then carefully pour the beer. Moistened walls of the pan will prevent active foaming. Wait until the foam has completely settled; to speed up the process, you can stir the liquid with a spoon.
2. Bring the beer to a boil over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally. During heating, foam may appear again, so the pan must not be left unattended. If the beer begins to foam strongly, you need to quickly remove the pan from the stove.
Attention! When heated and boiled, a persistent beer smell will appear in the room, which is disgusting to many. Take care of proper ventilation in advance.
3. Add bay leaves, seasonings and spices to boiling beer, then salt – at this point, active foaming is again possible.
4. Place the dumplings in the beer. Stirring occasionally, cook dumplings in beer over medium heat as usual: the liquid should boil, and the dumplings should float to the surface, after that another 2-4 minutes.
5. Remove the pan from the stove, cover with a lid and let stand for 2-10 minutes. If the infusion is long (5-10 minutes), it is better not to cook the dumplings slightly.
The longer the infusion, the richer the bread and beer notes.
6. Remove dumplings from beer, serve with lard (optimal), butter or sour cream. You can decorate the dish with chopped herbs.
