Father's Day
The Secrets of Cooking with alcohol from two Michelin Starred Chefs: Wilfrid Hocquet and Dan Bark…
It’s Father’s Day on Sunday, so we thought we might help with a bit of inspiration for any special food treats you might be planning with some suggested staff favourites including Bernardini - White Truffle Butter.
Charlie & Ivys Spicy Chorizo Marinade
A marinade packed with hot, smoky and spicy flavours, ideal for roasting, grilling and barbequing. Marinate vegetables, meat and fish for a quick, easy and delicious way to pack your food with flavour.
Myristica Caribbean Coconut Curry Spice Blend
It Goes perfectly with chicken, fish, pulses & vegetables when using coconut milk. We suggest sprinkling it onto your chosen ingredient liberally with a few sprigs of picked thyme before leaving it to marinade.
One annual favourite is a Whiskey & Balsamic Soaked Steak and it got us to thinking about the general tips from some of the world’s leading chefs might share. So, if you are thinking of creating something with alcohol this Father’s Day – here are two tips from top Michelin Starred chefs.
Dan Bark says “If you want to make sure you’ve cooked all the alcohol out, the best technique is through smell or sensation. When you inhale, if there is still alcohol in the dish, you’ll feel a burning sensation in the bridge of your nose. Sometimes you don’t want to cook the alcohol out because you want that bitter boozy finish in your sauce or the dish. In that case, I would suggest treating the alcohol like a seasoning agent, adding it at the end and at serving temperature. Food will taste different at different temperatures, so always do a final seasoning at serving temperature.
If you're cooking with beer, be careful with hoppy beers. The hops will turn very bitter once they go above 83°C. But in applications like sous vide, where you can do precise low temperature cooking, hoppy beers can add interesting green, pineapple, minty flavours to your dish.”
Wilfrid Hocquet says: “What I like the most is using marinade to tenderise meat. The day before, I prepare a marinade with aromatics and alcohol, rub the meat with spices, and cover it with the liquid before placing it in the fridge overnight. The next day, I separate the meat, the liquid, and the garnish. I cook the meat the way I like it.”
If you are doing something boozy for father’s Day – I found this really great run down of savoury recipes with alcohol, including Maple Bacon Beer Burgers, Sticky Bourbon Chicken with Rice, Penne Alla Vodka and the odd sounding Beer Can Chicken and plenty of others.