If you want to have your beer and eat it too, we've found even more ways for you to enjoy a drink in the outdoors by adding it to some classic yet easy recipes. We wouldn’t encourage you to just go wasting your beer unnecessarily, but if you have a drop to spare than these are the recipes definitely worth cracking a cold one for. While we pride ourselves on our appetites, we aren’t culinary geniuses, so we’ve sourced these recipes from the experts. These are simple meals that can be whipped up over a campfire, a barbecue, or the caravan stovetop or oven.
Snags with onions cooked in beer:
Ingredients:
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6 red onions, thinly sliced
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1 cup (250ml) lager
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1/2 firmly packed cup (110g) brown sugar
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1/3 cup (80ml) balsamic vinegar
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2 tbs olive oil
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12 pork chipolata sausages
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12 small bread rolls
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Mustard and rocket leaves, to serve
Method:
1. In a deep frypan, throw in the onions, lager, sugar, balsamic, oil, and 1/2 cup (125ml) water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and cook for 40 minutes or until thick and rich. Stir occasionally to prevent the onions sticking to the bottom of the pan. Store any leftover onions in an airtight container — these can keep for up to 1 month.
2. While cooking the onions, preheat the barbecue or another pan to medium-high. When the heat is ready, start cooking the snags. Don’t crowd them, so fry them up in batches if necessary until they’re thoroughly cooked through.
3. Warm the bread rolls on a rack on the barbecue or in a low oven, then split through the middle, without slicing all the way through. Alternatively slice them open first and lightly toast the insides, using the same pan or barbecue surface used to cook the sausages (after removing them).
4. Fill the rolls with mustard, sausages, caramelised onion and rocket. Serve and enjoy.
Beer Battered Crepes:
These crepes are great with sweet or savoury fillings. Try nutella and bananas for dessert, or for a hearty dinner use leftover Bolognese or creamy chicken casserole. Adding beer to the batter makes the crepes much lighter and adds a subtle malty flavour which complements both sweet and savoury ingredients. Makes about 12.
Ingredients:
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3 eggs, lightly whisked
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1 cup (250ml) milk
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1 cup (250ml) beer
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1 3/4 cups (220g) plain flour
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1 pinch salt, to taste
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2 tablespoons vegetable oil
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2 tablespoons butter
Method:
1. In a large bowl whisk together eggs, milk and beer. Gradually whisk in flour. Add the salt and oil then whisk the batter vigorously for 3 to 5 minutes, so it is well-combined. Let the batter sit for 1 hour.
2. Heat a large non-stick frypan over medium heat. Brush it with butter and when it's hot but not smoking. Pour a 1/3 cup of batter into the centre of the frypan and rotate it so the batter covers the bottom of the pan in a thin layer pouring out any excess batter.
3. Cook the crepe until it is just golden on one side; 1 to 2 minutes then turn it and cook until it is golden on the other side; about 30 seconds.
4. Transfer to a plate and keep warm by covering with aluminium foil. Continue until all of the batter is used.
Beer Damper:
And of course no outdoors trip is complete without whipping up a damper.
Ingredients:
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3 cups self-raising flour
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1 teaspoon of bi carb soda
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Pinch of salt
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50gm, or 3 tablespoons of butter
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2 cups of good Aussie beer, your favourite beer is good
Method:
1. Heat oven to 200°C/fan 180°C
2. Mix Flour and soda and pinch of salt together
3. Rub butter into the flour with your fingers until it resembles fine bread crumbs, don't overdo this
4. Lastly mix in the beer
5. Put into a greased pan into the oven or a billy over a camp fire and cook
6. For cooking at home in the oven put into any shape and place onto baking paper
7. Leave wrapped into a tea towel...keeps moisture in
8. When cooked the damper is quite crumbly — perfect for breaking off chunks. When cooled, the damper will be firmer to cut but still soft and moist.
You can get quite creative with the right tools and cooking with beer is just one simple trick to spice up your favourite camping meals. Check out our range of campfire equipment as well to take your outdoor cooking skills to the next level.
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