When Irish Eyes Are Smiling - Guinness Fondue

St. Patrick's Day is HERE!!!!!

It's that time again....  Yes, it's time for me to don my sacred, if a little scruffy, Guinness hat and do something fun and interesting with this most Irish of brews.

Come on..... "Say ya like my hat, Shannon!"

The only difference this year, is that I chose to use Draught instead of the Extra Stout.  Though I must admit that I had to rack my brain a little to come up with something this time.  It had to be REALLY good since I messed up last year and missed St. Patrick's Day all together, being absorbed in my quest for Sauce Nantua and Mahi Mahi Mousseline.

Then it struck me.  I love Traditional Irish Soda Bread, so I should do something with that.  But Guinness Soda Bread just didn't sound all that appetizing.  I may bake my Soda Bread unconventionally, but that is simply because I lack a bastible (Dutch Oven), but I am a purist when it comes to my ingredients.  So I thought about using it in bread pudding with Guinness.  But I am really stuck on the Irish Whiskey Bread Pudding I usually make.....  I mean, why drink beer when you can have whiskey, right?

Then, since I was cooking all sorts of German food this last week, it suddenly hit me.  Fondue!  Soda Bread would make excellent dipping fodder.  Hmmmmmmm  Would Guinness make an decent base for a nice Cheddary fondue?  You bet your shamrocks it does...  Use a nice Irish cheese (I chose Kerry Gold Dubliner) and you are all set for a Swiss classic with a seriously Irish twist.

After all, aren't we ALL a little bit Irish on St. Patrick's Day?

Guinness Fondue

(With Toasted Irish Soda Bread)

Olive Oil, in a spray can
1 Loaf Traditional Irish Soda Bread (with no frills)
14 oz Dubliner (Kerry Gold), shredded
1 TB AP Flour or Corn Flour
1 tsp Mustard Powder
1 clove Garlic, sliced
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 1/4 cups Guinness Draught
1 tsp Lemon Juice

Cube the Irish Soda Bread and lay it out on a baking sheet and spray with olive oil.

Toast bread in the oven at 350F degrees for about 10 minutes, just until it begins to color; set aside

Toss shredded Dubliner with Flour (either AP or Corn) and Mustard Powder in a medium bowl or a zipper bag, set aside.

In a small sauce pan, heat oil and saute garlic until it becomes fragrant.

Remove the garlic slices and add Guinness and Lemon Juice to the saucepan.

Bring to a simmer and slowly add the Cheese, a little at a time, stirring until completely melted before adding more.

Once all the cheese has been incorporated and everything is silky smooth, move to a fondue pot or a small crock pot set on low.

Dip toasted chunks of Irish Soda Bread until your hearts content. (No fondue forks? Skewers work well)

Don't forget to chase it all down with another Guinness.  :)

Want something Green?  Forget the artificially dyed Pilsner....  Dip chunks of Granny Smith apple.

But my favorite dipper of all, is crispy bacon....  Muah ha ha ha!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
~~

For other Guinness Stout recipes see....

Guinness Cake with Bailey's Frosting

Guinness Ice Cream

Guinness Mousse

The Black and Tan - Stout Brownie & Malted Gelato

Into Bushmills instead of Guinness?  Check these out instead.....

Irish Coffee (Caife Gaelach)

Irish Whiskey Bread Pudding

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Wordless Wednesday - Home Corned Beef & Savoy Cabbage with Potato Pancakes

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Old English in the Modern Age - Corning Your Own Beef

I figured since St. Patty's day was fairly close, being Saturday, that I would share my recipe for, what has become, the quintessential food of all American St. Patrick's Day celebrations.... Corned Beef.

So WHY is it called "corned" beef when it contains no corn?  Well it seems that, back in the day, salt didn't exist in the refined form we know today as "Table salt".  It was much more of a rough product back in the days of yore. The particular unrefined salt used for brining (corning) came in chunks about the size of a corn.  I don't mean the size of Corn corn, I am referring to the size of a "Barley Corn".  Is this confusing yet?  :)  You see, the old English word for any type of hard particle or grain seed was "Corn" in much the same way we use the blanket term "Grain" now days.  Think of grains of wheat and grains of sand as being wheat corns, corns of sand or, in this case, corns of salt.

Maize from America was originally named "Indian Corn" but this was eventually shortened to "Corn" as Old English became Modern English, and terms like Barley corn, Wheat corn and Rye corn sort of fell to the wayside.  Unless you are singing about John Barleycorn while consuming large quantities of beer.  But that is another post.

We don't purchase our salt "chunky style" these days, but good old Kosher Salt will work just fine. It's OK, you can still refer to the process as "Corning beef" and the end product as "Corned Beef".  I don't think the Old English police will arrest you for using the wrong salt.

The secret to good home corning of beef is to make sure that 1) your brine is really cold, and 2) making sure you "Swiss" the brisket really well with a meat fork or one of those tenderizer gadgets with the rows of little blades or pins so the brisket has more surface area to make contact with the brine.

With those two things in mind, Corning Beef is really very simple.  True, the ingredient list is fairly long, due to the spices, but the process of making the brine is very easy.  The hardest part is waiting 5-10 days before steaming/boiling it up and consuming it.  I prefer to wait the full 10 days, but I am getting a late start this year... So I am only going to get 6 days in before it must be cooked. Once you have corned your beef (at 10 days), you can continue to store it in the refrigerator in the zipper bag for up to 1 week, but no longer than that.

The reason for this is that this particular recipe lacks Potassium Nitrate (Niter, Salt Peter, Pink Salt).  I do not feel comfortable adding potentially cancer causing chemicals to my food, so it will not keep as long as one you buy from the store.  I am OK with that, since I plan on eating it immediately (and I usually do) after the curing is completed.  If you want your corned beef to last longer, go ahead and add about 1 1/2 - 2 TB Pink Salt (Potassium Nitrate) to the brine.  Your brisket will be "pinker" than mine and will last a little longer in the brine.

Corned Beef

2 quarts (1.9 liters) Water
1 cup (170g)(6 oz) Kosher Salt
1/2 cup (115g)(4.1oz) Dark Brown Sugar
1 TB Black Peppercorns (See, we still call them "corns")
2 tsp Mustard Seed
2 tsp Coriander Seed
1 tsp Red Pepper Flake
1 Cinnamon Stick, broken
10 All-Spice Berries
8 Juniper Berries
8 Clove Buds
2 -3 Bay leaves (I used three cause mine were pretty small)
1/2 tsp ground Ginger
3 cloves Garlic
2 lbs (910g) Ice (1 quart of water, frozen into ice cubes)
1 sprig of Thyme
5 lbs of Beef Brisket (I chose a point cut instead of the flat end)
1-2 gallon zipper bag
 A large stainless bowl, to prevent leaks in the refrigerator

Combine Water, Salt and Sugar in a large saucepan.

Bring to a simmer and add Peppercorns, Mustard seed, Coriander seed, Pepper Flake, Cinnamon, All-Spice, Juniper, Clove, Bay and Ginger.

Bring back to a simmer, then add the Garlic cloves.

Simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

While the brine is simmering, fill a large pot with the Ice.

When the brine has finished simmering, move from the stove top and pour the brine over the ice.

Stir until the ice melts and cools the brine to about room temperature.

Place in the refrigerator or freezer for at least 1 hour. (You need the Brine to be at 40 F (4 C) degrees)
When the brine is completely chilled, remove the Brisket from the refrigerator and stab it all over with a meat fork to allow the brine to penetrate.

Place the slab o' meat in a 2 gallon zipper bag.

Place the Zipper bag in a stainless steel bowl.

Pour the cold brine over the meat and add the sprig of Thyme.

Close the bag, removing as much air as possible, and move the whole kit and kaboodle to the refrigerator and let it hang out for at least 5 days, preferably 10.

Agitate the meat and the brine at least once every day to ensure the brine doesn't separate and that the spices don't set on 1 section of the meat through the entire corning process.

And there you have it....  15 minutes of work combined with lots and lots of waiting.....

See, I told you it was pretty easy.

Mangia!! (in 5-10 days)
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When Irish Eyes are Smiling - Guinness Chocolate Mousse

'Tis that time of year again.  The Wearin' of the Green, Rainbows, Pots of Gold and Wee Little People scampering about.   Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Though try as I might, I can't seem to reconcile the idea of Green Beer.  What does green beer have to do with driving the snakes out of Ireland?  Did I miss something?  My  historical knowledge must be lacking.

While beer boasting some artificial chemical dye is not really my forte for this particular holiday.  I do still have my ongoing tradition of preparing some form of delicious treat from that famed Irish Stout... Guinness. 

I must admit that I had help though.  The Oregonian's Food Day had run a series of Guinness based recipes for St Patrick's day. So I sort of borrowed the recipe this year, instead of laboring in experimentation like I usually do.

Granted, all I really did was "borrow" the ingredient list.  I have my own methods for preparing mousse, just in case anyone who might be sensitive to any possible contamination of Salmonella happens to be consuming said mousse.  Thus, instead of simply beating egg whites with sugar and folding everything together, I made a Meringue via the Swiss Method (Cooking over simmering water)  This also creates a move velvety texture as well as stabilizing the mousse a little better if it happens to sit at room temperature for too long.  BONUS!

Thus it was, for St. Patrick's Day 2011, Guinness Irish Stout and Bushmill's Irish Whiskey hidden in a French Mousse formed of Swiss Meringue.  Funny!

Guinness Chocolate Mousse with Irish Whiskey Cream

9 oz 70% Bitter Chocolate, finely chopped
5 large Egg Whites
4 large Egg Yolks
1 1/3 cups Heavy Cream; divided
1/3 cup Guinness Stout (not draught)
1 TB Instant Espresso
3/4 cup plus 1 TB granulated Sugar; divided
2 TB Bushmills or Jameson

Place the chocolate in a bowl and set over simmering water until melted and smooth.

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, but leave the water gently simmering on the stove, for you will need it again to make the Swiss Meringue.

While the chocolate is cooling, separate the eggs.

Add the yolks to the warm chocolate and whisk briskly to avoid scrambling them. (it will look really thick and odd though)

 

In a small pitcher, mix 1/3 cup of the Heavy Cream with instant Espresso Powder.

Add both the Heavy Cream/espresso mixture and the Guinness to the chocolate and whisk until smooth and glossy

(think of it as a Guinness laced ganache)

Place egg whites in the bowl along with 1/2 cup plus 2 TB (130 g) of the sugar, then place the bowl over the simmering water.

Use a thermometer to monitor the temperature of the whites and whisk them while the warm, allowing the sugar to melt completely.

Once the mixture reaches about 130 degrees, begin whisking more forcefully until temperature reaches 140 degrees. (you need to keep it the whites moving or they may scramble)

Remove the whites from the heat and continue beating with whisk until firm peaks are formed and the bowl can be tipped without any of the meringue sliding down the side of the bowl. (voila!  Swiss Meringue)

Stir a small amount of the Swiss Meringue into the Chocolate mixture to lighten it.

Add the Chocolate mixture to the meringue and fold until all the white streaks are gone.

Divide mousse among 6 Irish Coffee Mugs, or Fancy cocktail glasses, the choice is yours.

Cover with Plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.

To Serve:
In a clean bowl, combine Irish Whiskey and 3 TB Sugar, swirl them together to give the sugar a chance to begin dissolving.

Add the 1 cup Heavy Cream and whisk until stiff peaks are formed.

Gently spoon the Whiskey laced Cream over the top of the mousse and serve.

With a bottle cap if you like, but more importantly, with a spoon.

Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

Mangia!!
~~

Interested in more Guinness Recipes? Check out Guinness Cake with Bailey's Frosting from 2009 or Guinness Ice Cream from 2010.

Happy St. Patricks Day!!!!!!

Just thought I would post some pictures for the occasion. After all, I wouldn't want my blog getting pinched for not wearing green. And since the shamrocks in the forest are beginning to bloom I though it was fitting....

The Trilliums are peaking through the forest underbrush as well..... Which means it's time to go Morel hunting.

The "not so shy" violets popped up 3 weeks ago.....

But we had another freeze at the beginning of last week and they died back... :( But not before I collected enough blossoms for my next project. Hee Hee


But up here, when the Trilliums & Shamrocks bloom, then spring has finally arrived, and it's all good from here.... Oh and yes, things REALLY are that green up here. It just rained yesterday. LOL

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!