After making beer jelly and ice cream I wanted to beer-up another kids classic and it didn’t take long for me to stop at chicken nuggets.
Chicken nuggets are brilliant. But imagine them with an extra-crunchy coating of pale malt breadcrumbs and then dipped in some ketchup made with beer... Now you’re talking!
I’ve no idea why I’ve never made chicken nuggets before as they’re so easy. Take a chunk of chicken breast, dip it in flour and then into egg, roll in breadcrumbs and bake for 20 minutes. The beer pimp comes by adding grounded pale malt into the breadcrumbs (about twice as much bread to malt – I used the same malt as for the crème brûlées but not the same malt as the cookies...). The finished nugget is fantastic – really crunchy on the outside with a hint of sweetness from the malt.
And what to dip them in? Beer ketchup, of course. I made a small batch so no firm recipe but I softened onion and garlic, added some herbs and spices (paprika, mustard, a little clove, bay, thyme, pepper), sugar and salt, then a few handfuls of tomatoes and let them bubble down to mush. Then I added equal amounts of beer (for this I used Thwaites Very Nutty Black) and vinegar (balsamic as that’s all I had). I cooked it for about 20 minutes, strained it and pressed all the good stuff through the sieve, then reduced it further to get the right consistency. And it’s really very good. Just like ketchup but with a beer kick – it’d be great in a big burger. I made it with the mild on the first attempt as I didn’t want bitterness; I now want to try making this with Schlenkerla and Rodenbach (instead of vinegar) as I think both would also work.
Chicken MaltNuggets and beer ketchup. A bit of kitchen beer fun but also really tasty!
What else could I give a beery tweak to? And I’ve still got lots of malt left – any suggestions? (there’s not enough in there to brew with...)
Nice one!! i will def be giving these a go! tI think malt would make a great substitute for a lot of things in the kitchen.
ReplyDeletethe lass on great british menu last night did beer can chicken but brushed the chicken with malt extract...looked yummy
I looked at this & thought ahh a nice summery use for those chicken breasts in the fridge, then BUGGER! I haven't got any malt...
ReplyDeleteAny other suggestions, recipe or malt substitute I don't mind?
All you need is some beer fries to go with that and you can start you own beer themed fast food gaff :P
ReplyDeleteAndy - I didn't see that but it sounds good! I've never made beer can chicken so need to change that over the summer.
ReplyDeleteBeersay - Just use breadcrumbs and don't worry about the malt - I made a batch of both and they were both great!
Matthew - I really wanted to have some beer element in the fries (because we, of course, had chips with it!). I thought about par-boiling the potatoes in beer and water or potentially adding some malt to the boiling water. I chose not to in the end as I was a bit beered out from cooking these and the creme brulees in the same day!!
Continuing the Kid's classic, breadcrumbs theme; have you tried beer fishfingers? No idea if that could work but a beer fishfinger sandwich would be a fine thing.
ReplyDeleteStig - I want to make them next! Either in a beer batter or with the breadcrumbs. Then make a lambic mayo to go with them - YUM!
ReplyDeleteMy kids love chicken nuggets since the idea was introduced in the market. No wonder they go crazy every time there's a dip of mayo alongside. This time, they'll try Beer Ketsup. Wonderful post.
ReplyDeleteThe chicken Malt nugs I'll have to try but I love the idea of Beer Ketchup. great work!
ReplyDeletethe beer fries could be done by par boiling them in beer before frying or putting in the oven....i did the mash out of that richard fox book and that called for boiling the spuds in beer...
ReplyDeleteScore. Going to have to try this one soon.
ReplyDeleteSome fantastic food to eat watching Rugby.
ReplyDeleteNice one Mark.