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Beer Cheese Corn Spoon Bread & How To Throw a Craft Beer Thanksgiving

Beer Cheese Corn Spoon Bread2

As we fly through the fall, hurdling towards the holiday season, our first major stop will be the festival of glutton that I love so much.  While many of you will show up to your respective Thanksgiving feasts bearing bottles of wine, craft beer has earned a spot in America’s Favorite Meal. But there is a bit of a dilemma when it comes to pairing beer with such a huge spread, since very (very) few gatherings this large will allow the opportunity to pair a different beer with each dish, you need to pick beers that play well with many others.

Pick three separate beers for the meal progressoin. The first to pair with the appetizers that you’ve set out as your guests arrive, the second beer to pair with the poultry centric main attraction, and the third for the dessert round.

The Appetizer Beer should be like the food, a warm up for whats to come. Nothing overwhelming, you don’t want to wreck you guest palates before the meals have even begun. Look for something refreshing, clean and bright to get people ready for the onslaught of flavors that are about to come their way. My picks:

Ommegang Witte

Rogue Good Chit Pilsner

Drakes Blonde Ale

The Main Event Beer has to pair with everything from turkey to jello salad (don’t pretend like you don’t have an aunt that always brings that) so it has to be versatile. Look for a beer thats earthy, malty, moderately carbonated and low(ish) hops, you want the beer to highlight the food, not fight with it. My picks:

Smuttynose Farmhouse Ale

The Bruery Saison Rue

Schlafly Bière De Garde 

Dessert Beer will give you a bit more flexibility. You will probably have an assortment of pies ranging from fruit to chocolate, so you’ll need a beer that can mesh well with what you have. Since this is the final offering, it’s OK to go off the rails a bit and mix it up. I love to end a big meal with a malty, big, barrel aged beer, or a strong barleywine beer, it’s a dessert all on it’s own. My picks:

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

Southern Tier Backburner 

North Coast Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin

So now that you’ve got the beer down, it’s time to think about the menu.

beer fodd thanksgiving

Until the end of time there are two beerified offerings that will always grace my late November Holiday Table:

Beer Brined Turkey

Beer-Brined-Roasted-Turkey

Hefeweizen Honey Dinner Rolls

Hefeweizen Honey Rolls6

But you might need more than just turkey and rolls, although those do happen to be the cornerstones of the leftover sandwiches. Here are a few more beerified offerings for your holiday table:

Beer Cheese Skillet Potatoes

skillet beer cheese potatoes_

Stove Top Beer & Bacon Mac n Cheese

Stove Top Beer Bacon Mac and Cheese 4

Pumpkin Ale Farro Roasted Asparagus Pomegranate and Goat Cheese Salad

Pumpkin Ale Farro Roasted Asparagus Pomegranate and Goat Cheese Salad

IPA Sweet Potato Mash

Sweet-potato-mash-FG

Chipotle White Ale Cranberry Sauce

Chipotle White Ale Cranberry Sauce

Porter Pecan Pie

Porter Pecan Pie3

Bruleed Pumpkin Beer Pie

Bruled Pumpkin Beer Pie2

Apple Pie with Pale Ale Mascarpone Cream and Beer Pie Dough

Apple Pie with Pale Ale Mascarpone Cream and Beer Pie Dough

Mile High Chocolate Stout Pie

Mile High Chocolate Stout Pie3

And for that Black Friday Pick me Up: Sriracha Bloody Beer with Chili Sugar Bacon

Sriracha Bloody Beer with Chili Sugar Bacon

And don’t forget about this Midwestern treat that I appropriately beerified, the corn soufflé that goes by many names and usually includes a box of Jiffy mix. Today we skip the mixes in favor of some real life cheese, beer and all kinds of deliciousness.

Beer Cheese Corn Spoon Bread

Beer Cheese Corn Spoon Bread

Ingredients
  

  • 6 tbs butter
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup pale ale beer
  • 8 wt oz cheddar grated
  • 3 cups corn kernels fresh or frozen, not canned
  • 2/3 cup cornmeal
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • 3 large eggs separated
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • pinch cayenne

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375.
  • In a pot over medium heat melt the butter.
  • Sprinkle with flour, whisk until thickened and light brown in color, about 2 minutes.
  • Stir in the milk and beer until well combined.
  • About ¼ cup a time, stir in the cheese, stirring until completely incorporated between additions. Stir in the corn kernels and cornmeal, remove from heat.
  • In a small bowl whish together the egg yolks (reserve the whites), sour cream, salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne. Stir the egg yolk mixture into the corn mixture.
  • In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
  • Stir the egg whites into the corn mixture.
  • Pour the mixture into a greased 2qt baking dish.
  • Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes or until the edges start to turn light golden brown.

Beer Cheese Corn Spoon Bread4

 

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Comments


Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar November 7, 2013 um 3:16 am

So many fabulous choices for beer here. Great spoon bread!!

Reply

Tieghan November 7, 2013 um 5:45 am

I love spoon bread and was honestly (like 5 minutes ago) thinking I need to make spoon bread and fast! People need their Thanksgiving recipes!
I think your beat anyone I could make though. Beer and cheddar is a winning combo!

Reply

Bree (Skinny Mommy) November 7, 2013 um 8:50 am

I love a beer themed Thanksgiving! What a great idea!

Reply

Michelle Lahey November 7, 2013 um 11:24 am

I love a beer themed Thanksgiving, too. Fabulous idea!!

Reply

Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie November 7, 2013 um 11:49 am

Beer thanksgiving, yes! Love this bread.

Reply

addie | culicurious November 7, 2013 um 5:20 pm

thanks for all the pairing tips, Jackie! I hadn’t thought of beer for Thanksgiving but it makes so much sense 🙂

I’m also including this recipe in my round up – so perfect for the occasion.

Reply

Michele Shannon November 7, 2013 um 5:51 pm

This is very similar to a corn casserole I’ve made for years. Looking forward to trying it using some of our home brew. Thanks!

Reply

Sophia @ NY Foodgasm November 8, 2013 um 8:45 am

LOVE all these ideas! Thanks so much for all the craft beer picks and AMAZING craft recipes! YAYYYY a very merry Friendsgiving indeed!

Reply

Shikha @ Shikha la mode November 11, 2013 um 11:19 am

This is the perfect comfort food for chilly fall nights. I kind of want to throw in some jalapeños too!

Reply

Rachael (Fuji Mama) November 12, 2013 um 9:48 am

Spoon bread makes me ridiculously happy. The name makes me want to cuddle up with it, for one, and also it’s just ridiculously comforting and delicious! Yours looks amazing!

Reply

Sansai November 26, 2014 um 2:43 pm

Good call on that barrel aged rasputin. I find this years' to be better than the last few years offerings. Enjoying a delicious Great Divide Old Ruffian right now, which i would choose over the BARasputin for dessert. Ha! like you could go wrong either way.

Reply

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