5 Latin beer-infused dishes for National Drink Beer Day (RECIPES)

Today is National Drink Beer Day and, as always, I love celebrating food holidays. But I have to be honest: I've never been a huge beer drinker. Despite an occasional Corona or a Negra Modelo, I'm much more a fan of Latin beer cocktails

You know what I definitely AM a fan of, though? Recipes! On a day like today, I can't think of anything better than making an amazing beer-infused Latin dish today. From the classic Michelada cocktail to a beer dessert that will shock you with how amazing it is, plus the three beer-licious entrees in the middle, you're going to love all of these recipes. Trust me on this one!

Read more ¿Qué más? Hispanic Heritage Month: 5 Guacamole recipes for Mexican Independence Day!

Michelada

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Walter Rodriguez/flickr

Ingredients: 1/2 lime, Coarse salt, 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce, 1 dash soy sauce, 1 dash Tabasco sauce, 1 pinch black pepper, 1 dash Maggi seasoning, optional, 12 ounces beer, preferably a dark Mexican beer like Negra Modelo.

Directions:
Squeeze the juice from the lime and set aside. Salt the rim of a highball glass by rubbing it with the lime and dipping it in coarse salt. Fill with ice. Add lime juice, Worcestershire, soy sauce, Tabasco, pepper and Maggi, if desired. Pour in beer, stir and serve, adding more beer as you sip.

Recipe courtesy of Serious Eats.

Cuban Arroz con Pollo

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Sea Trutle/flickr

Ingredients: 4 strips bacon, 8 chicken thighs (bone in, skin on), To taste salt, pepper, and cumin for chicken, 1/2 cup olive oil for frying, 1 large onion (chopped), 5 cachucha peppers (chopped, substitute 1 large green or red pepper), 4 cloves garlic (mashed), 1 bottle beer (12 oz.), 3 1/2 cups chicken broth, 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce, 1/2 teaspoon Bijol Powder, 1 bay leaf, 2 teaspoons oregano, 2 teaspoons cumin, ground, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 3 1/2 cups parboiled rice, 1/2 cup frozen green baby peas

Directions:
1. Sauté the bacon in a large frying pan. Reduce heat to low and let the fat render out of the bacon – about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, season the chicken lightly with salt, pepper and a little cumin. Once the fat is released, remove the bacon, increase temperature to medium-high and add the chicken to the hot bacon fat. Remove the chicken when it is browned on both sides.

2. Add a little olive oil to the same pan you fried the chicken in, and sauté the onion and green pepper until the onion is translucent. Add the mashed garlic and cook an additional minute or two, stirring frequently.

3. Take the chicken broth and beer and pour into a large covered pot. Add the browned chicken pieces, cooked onions and green pepper, tomato sauce, Bijol, bay leaf, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. And hey, why let all that delicious bacon go to waste? Chop it up and toss it in! Bring everything to a rolling boil, reduce heat, cover and cook on low for 15 minutes.

4. Add the rice. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. When the rice has absorbed some of the liquid, cover and simmer on low for about 30-45 minutes, or until the rice is fully cooked and not soupy. Add the frozen peas during the last five minutes of cooking only.

5. For a dinner, serve the whole chicken pieces with the rice. For a party, you may remove the chicken, skin, de-bone and break it into bite-size chunks. However, DO NOT try to substitute any boneless, skinless chicken in this recipe – unless you enjoy serving a disaster!

Recipe courtesy of iCuban.com.

Beer Braised Tacos with Toasted Chile de Arbol Salsa

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Hispanic Kitchen

Ingredients (For Beef): 2 pounds top round London Broil, 1/4 cup steak seasoning, homemade or store bought, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1- 12 ounce bottle of light beer, 2 cups beef broth, 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, Olive oil, 5 quart pressure cooker. Ingredients (For Salsa): 12 chile de arbol, 16 ounces tomato sauce, 2 cloves garlic,chopped, 1 teaspoon salt

Directions: 
1. Cut the beef into 2-inch pieces, season generously with steak seasoning, garlic powder, and oregano. Drizzle with olive oil, set aside.

2. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive to the pot of the pressure cooker, heat to medium/high heat. Sear the beef in batches and transfer to a plate.Reduce heat on the pot. Once all beef has been browned nicely, add the beef back to the pot, add the beer, broth and W sauce.

3. Secure and lock the lid onto the pressure cooker. Raise heat to medium heat and once the safety lock closes and pot has reached the correct pressure, set your timer for 45 to 50 minutes. Turn heat to low/medium until the timer goes off. Never leave the pressure cooker unattended.

4. While beef is cooking, toast the chile de arbol in a small saute pan. Preheat the pan to medium heat and toast, turning often. Only takes 2 to 4 minutes, they will become aromatic and brown in some spots. Remove stems from chiles, and combine with remaining salsa ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth taste for salt. The flavor on this salsa improves the longer it sets.

5. After timer has gone off, remove pot from heat ans wait until the safety lock releases to unlock the pressure cooker and remove lid. Remove beef from pot and shred with two forks. Take some of the broth left in pot and pour over beef to moisten. Serve right away with warm tortillas for tacos. Garnish with chopped cilantro, onion and salsa. 

Recipe courtesy of Hispanic Kitchen.

Latin Spice Rubbed Beer Chicken

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Chef Bill Parisi

Ingredients (For the Chicken): one 4 to 5 lb whole chicken, giblets removed, 2 ounces unsalted butter, 6 whole limes, 1/4 rough chopped sweet onion, 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic, 1 can of Corona beer, 3 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons olive oil. Ingredients (For the Spanish-Style Dry Rub): 3 tablespoons of Kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of dry oregano, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon of onion powder, 1 tablespoon of garlic powder

Directions:
1. Be sure to remove the giblets from the chicken and wash it inside and out and pat dry with at towel.

2.  Rub the chicken down completely with the butter and then rub it down completely (including the cavity) with 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of the Spanish spice blend.

3. Next rub the chicken down with the chopped garlic and finish rubbing the chicken with the juice of 1 lime.

4.  Cut 2 limes in half and stuff them inside the chicken cavity along with the sweet onions.

5.  Pop one can of Corona or Latin beer and carefully place the cavity of the chicken on top of it taking care that the limes and onions do not come out.

6.  Place the beer chicken on a grill on high heat.  Make sure that there is no direct heat underneath the chicken so that it only gets cooked by surrounding indirect heat inside the grill.  It will take 90 to 120 minutes on high heat for the chicken to completely cook.

7.  After the chicken is placed on the grill mix together the juice of 3 limes, honey and olive oil and baste the chicken with the lime-honey mixture every 20 to 25 minutes until the chicken is finished.

8. Before serving remove the beer and halved limes and onions.  Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Chef Billi Parisi.

Cinnamon Macarons with Pumpkin Ale Cream

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Beer for Dessert

Ingredients (For the Macarons): 150 g sliced almonds (no skins), 150 g confectioners’ sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, ground, 2 egg whites, 2 egg whites, 35 g granulated sugar, 150 g granulated sugar, 50 g water, food coloring (to taste). Ingredients (For the Cream): 340 g pumpkin ale, 190 g whole milk, 60 g granulated sugar, 30 g cornstarch, 4 egg yolks, 1/3 each vanilla bean, 1/2 tsp orange zest

Directions:
1. Process almonds, confectioners’ sugar, and cinnamon in food processor until almonds are as small as you can get them. Transfer to bowl and mix with 2 egg whites.

2. Beat 2 egg whites in a stand mixer until they reach soft peaks and then slowly add 35 grams of granulated sugar.

3. Cook the 150 grams of sugar with 50 grams of water until it reaches soft ball stage (240°F). With the mixer running on medium speed, pour the hot sugar in a steady stream down the side. Continue to whip on high speed until the meringue cools to room temp, about 5 minutes. Congratulations, you’ve made some Italian meringue! At this point, feel free to add in some food coloring and whip it in. I added food coloring to both the meringue and the almond mixture, just for good measure.

4. Fold the meringue into the almond mixture. It’s ready when you drop a ribbon of batter on top of the blob and it slowly disappears after about 20 seconds.

5. Using a pastry bag and round tip, pipe 1.5 inch macarons on to a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silpat. If you’ve folded correctly, the “kisses” on top will melt into the smooth top in about 20 to 30 seconds. Let these sit out for about an hour or more until they have formed a skin.

6. Bake at 325°F for 15 minutes. The macarons should barely move against their feet and be firm to the touch when they are done. You can work on the pastry cream while you’re waiting for the skin to form!

7. Reduce the pumpkin ale from 340 g to about 115 g (you’re reducing to about 1/3 of its original glory).

8. Simmer the pumpkin ale redux with the milk and the vanilla bean (scrape out the seeds and sprinkle them in!). This part might get a little gross when it starts to bubble… it may separate due to the acid in the beer. Never fear, egg yolks contain a powerful emulsifying agent: lecithin.

9. While this is warming, go ahead and mix together your yolks, sugar, and cornstarch with a whisk.

10. Once this milk mixture starts to simmer, pluck out the vanilla bean pod and temper the hot mixture into the egg yolk mixture (pour it in really slowly while whisking). Return the whole thing back to medium heat in the pot and whisk until it starts to bubble. Keep whisking for about another 30 seconds. Transf