Booze! It’s what makes the world go round. I’ve been tending bar on and off for almost ten years now. If I’ve learned one thing it’s that no matter what’s going on, people will always drink. I’ve also learned that people love eating food, even more so when it includes alcohol. There are so many benefits to it, as I’ve already shown you, but there’s still some more to learn. Today we’ll explore cooking with liquor. For this article, we are using two of my favorites: Bourbon and Tequila.
Benefits of Cooking with Liquor
The best thing that can come out of cooking with liquor is that your food absorbs the flavor of the booze. Whether it’s in a sauce, a marinade, or a dessert; by letting the food soak in the liquor, you add another element to the meal.
It also helps you save a lot of the fat that comes after you cook your meats. Once you remove your chicken (clear rum) or steak (whiskey) from the pan, add the liquor and use a fork to scrape the caramelized bits off the pan and make a sauce. Then pour that sauce over the meat or some vegetables.
As for desserts, you don’t want to just dunk your cake into a pot of vodka. You can certainly add a few tablespoons to the cake batter to spike it a notch. You can heat up some chocolate sauce and drizzle some rum in there before adding it to your ice cream. There are so many ways to make dessert even better by cooking with liquor.
Dinner Recipe
Sugar Steak with Bourbon
Ok, so like I explained before, you should pair your alcohol and food based on color. Whether it’s wine, beer, or liquor, this truth holds strong. Dark meat requires darker booze. This recipe is a simple sugar rub on whatever steak you want that adds that perfect kick of the best drink of all…bourbon.
Ingredients
2Â 10 ounce ribeyes
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/3Â cup of bourbon
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
Salt to taste
Process
Place steaks in a large bowl. Add sugar, bourbon, and red pepper flakes on top, rubbing the sugar and pepper flakes into the meat. Put steaks into a 1-gallon plastic bag with the rest of the mixture. Be sure to get all the air OUT OF THE BAG! Seal and let rest in the fridge for three hours.
Heat up the broiler, or grill if you don’t feel comfortable, and place the steaks on a baking pan. Season the steak with salt and put it under the broiler, about six inches from the flame. Broil for three minutes on each side to get that perfect medium rare (if you want your steak cooked well done, you’re a monster). Let the steak rest 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving with potatoes.
Dessert Recipe
Margarita Cookies
Yup, dessert is awesome. Whether it’s drinking a great stout, a better scotch, or having an amaze-balls brownie or cheesecake;Â dessert rocks. What makes it even better is that you can truthfully add any type of alcohol to your dessert. Rum cakes, bourbon balls, or vodka shots are all pretty damn good. But here’s a great way to add that wonderful liquid know as tequila. This recipe will take some time so be patient.
Ingredients
1Â cup unsalted butter
1Â cup sugar
Zest one lime
2Â eggs
1 1/2Â teaspoon triple sec (orange liqueur)
4 teaspoons tequila
1/2 teaspoon salt
2Â cups flour
10Â drops green food coloring
2 tablespoons sugar (save for coating)
1Â tablespoon salt (save for coating)
Process
Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add one egg and mix well. Zest the lime over the top, pour in the tequila and triple sec and mix. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and salt together. Add to the alcohol/egg mixture slowly. Put the food coloring in and mix well. Cut the newly formed cookie dough in half and put on wax paper. Roll each half to form a log and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whip the other egg up and brush on to the two logs of dough. Mix the sugar and salt you saved for the coating and roll the dough in it. Cut the dough into 1/4″ slices and place on a cookie liner on a baking tray about an inch apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes, let cool and enjoy.
