While beer can add flavor to food, it also increases the calories in a recipe and may add alcohol, depending on how it's prepared. A 12-ounce beer can range in calories from 140 to 200, and a light beer averages about 100 calories, according to the University of Rochester.
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If you want to avoid beer in a recipe for health or taste reasons or because it's not available, there are simple substitutions that will still result a delicious dish.
Beer is used in many main dish recipes to add flavor and to tenderize meat. It also enhances flavor and color when used to baste meats. Beer is used in baking because its bubbles make dough or batter lighter, while its yeast and grain add flavor.
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Kevin Weeks, a personal chef writing for NPR, recommends using beer in the batter when frying food, as it results in a lighter crust.
Broth
When a savory recipe calls for light beer, vegetable or chicken broth or stock can be excellent substitutes. And instead of dark beer, try beef broth or mushroom stock.
Stock and broth can be used interchangeably when substituting for beer. Broth is made by simmering meat in water, usually with vegetables and seasonings, according to Food Network. Stock is made in a similar manner, but includes more bones and less meat.
Use a canned or homemade broth or stock that best matches the other ingredients in your recipe or use chicken or beef bouillon cubes dissolved in water if you don't have broth on hand.
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Soda
Soda can also be substituted for beer. The dish will be sweeter with soda than with beer, but a mildly flavored soda can add a pleasant flavor to the dish. Ginger ale is a good choice because it adds both spicy ginger flavor and sweetness to the recipe.
In recipes that call for dark beer, consider substituting root beer or cola. Soda in a can is easy to substitute in a recipe like beer can chicken, according to Food Network, which calls for standing a whole chicken over an open, half-full can of beer so the chicken is flavored by the steam while it cooks.
Once you open your imagination to the possibilities, it's possible to substitute just about any beverage for beer in recipes.
Choose apple cider instead of dark beer in a stew or for cooking liquid in your slow cooker. Sparkling apple cider or white grape juice are lighter choices that add a slight fruity flavor to chicken or fish dishes.
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In baking recipes, use milk or water in place of beer, or try a recipe such as diet soda cake, which calls for mixing boxed cake mix with a can of diet soda instead of with eggs and oil.
Stir in enough club soda to make a batter about the consistency of thin pancake batter. You don't want it too thick, just thick enough to nicely coat a spoon. Season the batter to taste if desired with seasoning of your choice.
You can use chicken broth, ginger ale, white grape juice, or white wine if your recipe calls for a light beer. Use beef broth, chicken broth, mushroom stock, apple juice, apple cider, root beer, or co*ke instead of dark beer.
For any recipe that requires stout, substituting red wine is an easy one-to-one ratio; you can easily swap one cup of stout for one cup of heavy red wine. (Most soup and stew recipes use stout in conjunction with a broth or other cooking liquid, anyway.)
To prove this point, we fried fish in batters made with beer, nonalcoholic beer, seltzer, and water and found that all the batches with a carbonated beverage did indeed lead to noticeably lighter, lacier crusts than the batter made with plain water.
Why cook with beer? Beer adds a rich, earthy flavor to soups and stews that makes them taste like they've been simmering for hours. Beers with a sweet or nutty taste can add depth to desserts. And don't worry about getting drunk – virtually all of the alcohol evaporates during the cooking process.
The brats have a great depth of flavor cooking in the beer, but if you'd rather eliminate beer as an ingredient, you can easily substitute chicken broth or vegetable broth! The onions become soft and soak up all that flavor in the slow cooker, making them a great topping for the sausages.
Not only does beer work to cut the heat and spice of a proper bowl of red, but the residual sweetness in most beers nicely complements the caramelized meat. Since it's the perfect thing to drink with chili, plenty of people consider adding beer to their chili recipe, but which beer style should you choose?
Also, beer isn't your only option! You can use your favorite soft drink, such as cola or root beer if you prefer. You can get even more creative with an empty, clean aluminum can. Fill it halfway with chicken stock, wine, or any mix of liquid and herbs and spices.
Elevate your chili recipe by adding an extra layer of flavor. Cocoa powder, bacon, cinnamon, ground coffee and tomato paste will all add a rich sweet & salty flavors that are sure to surprise and delight.
Liquids like apple cider, milk, and water can work as beer substitutions in a pinch. They're not ideal choices, but they can help if you're all out of options. Apple cider or sparkling apple cider can work in a stew or cooking.
If you cannot consume alcohol, substitute the Guinness with 2 cups water + 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce + 2 beef bouillon cubes crumbled. This will make it a classic beef stew. Taste FAB, it just isn't Irish Guinness Stew!
Go with a cold stout; although both beers have decent amounts of vitamin B12 (which may lower your risk of heart disease) and soluble fiber (which can help lower LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol), stout is the better choice because it has fewer belly-busting calories. Elizabeth Ward, R.D., concurs.
If not, soda water will suffice. Soda water does give a slightly different texture depending on how hard you work your batter. It tends to be a lot more carbonated than most beer. Sprite, club soda, baking soda with a little vinegar.
Speaking of beer, it's the secret to the perfect batter, which makes it super fluffy, smooth and crispy all at the same time (but if you don't do alcohol, check out the recipe card below for a substitute).
The use of beer is recommended as the fizz in the beer is what lends the batter its light, airy texture. If you really must substitute for a non-alcoholic version, use soda water or carbonated drinks such as Sprite instead. Combination of 75% plain flour + 25% rice flour to keep batter crispy!
The fish in this iconic sandwich is super crispy and super light, thanks to the combination of flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and lager, a type of beer that is more bubbly than most others. For non-beer drinkers, club soda is a perfect alternative.
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