Beer in the kitchen: What role does it play and which dishes does it suit?

Good beer and honest cooking

Lokál is a dream which came true – one of a Czech pub where regulars feel at home. In 2009 we opened Lokál Dlouháááá, and the others soon followed. Today we have nine locations – seven in Prague, one in Brno and another in Pilsen.
We serve beer that's fresh, right to the last sip, and real home cooking. Lokál is a place where good beer and honest food matter.

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Basic rule: While most of the alcohol evaporates with the bubbles during cooking, the taste of the beer remains. Lighter beers will impart a slightly bitter flavour and malty aroma to the meat, while darker beers will impart caramel notes to the dish. Light beers go well with light meat and vice versa, but this is not a strict rule. Beer suits sauces, roasts, fish and sweet and savoury pastries. And even desserts.

Cooking and stewing

Beer can take the place of stock in long roasts. It is most often used to baste pork and beef roasts, but it is also suitable for steaks, ragouts, jerked meat, but also with roast chicken.

Beer bubbles, crispy batter

The effervescence of the beer takes care of the crispy texture of the beer batter. The English like to fry fish in it for traditional fish and chips, you can prepare tvarůžky or other cheeses in it.

The presence of beer enhances the flavour of the crispy batter and the crunchiness in turn awakens your palate - not only because we like fried food so much and that's why it's called comfort food.

Beer in desserts and pastries

Fruit beers are of course available for desserts. But at Čestr, a glass of beer on the dessert menu will convince you that even the darkest Kozel beer will add the right flavour to sweets. Their tvarůžky ice cream is topped with grilliáš and finally topped with a cap of Kozel foam.

Beer can also be used in the batter - you can coat apples, for example, in a sweet version of beer batter. Or add a few drops of beer to the yeast dough for a bun or cake - the beer yeast will ensure a better rise and the pastry will be soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Beer buns

It's not just the Czech summer that has a quick, hearty classic in the form of beer buns. The Lokal team has come up with their own recipe: they also add to the mix a good dose of vegetables, making this traditional dish easier to digest.

Beer together with butter is also a great base for the creamy sauce. Try the one made from Kozel by the Lokal chefs.

Ingredients for 6 servings

• 6 sausages
• 50 g celery
• 50 g carrots
• 50 g lard
• 130 g onions, peeled
• 15 g garlic, peeled
• 300 g Slovak (white) paprika
• 45 g honey
• 25 g semolina sugar
• 200 g tomatoes (possibly from a can)
• 450 ml Kozel
• 20 ml Worcestershire sauce
• 20 g hot peppers
• salt and pepper

Procedure

1. Clean the celery and carrots, cut into noodles and fry in lard. Add the onion cut into slices, sliced garlic and pepper, chopped finely. Fry everything and add honey, sugar and finally the tomatoes cut into marigolds.
2. Pour the beer over the mixture and let it cook for about 20 minutes.
3. Season with salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and hot peppers.
4. Preheat the oven to 170 °C. Cut the peeled sausages in half and cut them into crescents. Place them on a baking tray or in a baking dish and bake for about 15 minutes to partially render the fat.
5. Pour the mixture over the roasted sausages and bake for a further 15-30 minutes. Allow the mixture to bubble - cooking it together in the oven will give it the desired fatty flavour.
6. Serve in a deep dish with a slice of fresh bread.

Pork chop with beer sauce

Beer sauces are the perfect accompaniment to fattier pork steaks. The sauce is based on root vegetables, beer, butter, salt and pepper. How to make it?

Ingredients for 10 servings of beer sauce

• 250 g carrots
• 250 g celery
• 3 tablespoons butter + 1 teaspoon to finish
• 250 g onions, peeled
• 200 ml beef stock
• 1 l of black pudding
• salt and pepper
• Pork cutlets (1 piece per person)

Procedure

1. Clean the root vegetables, cut into cubes and fry in butter. When the vegetables start to shine, add the finely chopped onion. Once the onions have browned, add the stock and season with salt and pepper.
2. Let the sauce bubble and then pour in the beer. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and reduce it to ⅔ of its volume. Then blend and strain the sauce to make it beautifully smooth.
3. Fry the chops in a pan (you don't need the extra grease) and then pour off the excess fat and juices.
4. Pour the beer sauce into the pan and thicken it with a teaspoon of cold butter. Heat gently and serve.

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