Eat, Drink, & Be Bold with Stag Beer.
IN THE KITCHEN WITH STAG BEER.
Stag is a legacy beer brand with humble beginnings in Belleville, Illinois, just outside of our hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. As neighbors, we came together to create some new recipes to serve a crowd. A few feature Stag as an ingredient, and they all pair well with a cold one. Grab a case and some friends and dig in.
Stag can chicken with buttermilk brine
Ingredients
1 whole chicken, giblets removed, rinsed
1 quart buttermilk
¼ cup hot sauce, such as Crystal
2 Tablespoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 (12 ounce) can Stag
Instructions
After rinsing your chicken, place in a bowl. Combine the hot sauce and buttermilk, then pour over chicken. Let the bird brine for a bit, no less than 1 hour, no more than 4 hours.
Next, pull your chicken out of the brine and dry it off with some paper towels. Mix your salt and pepper together and sprinkle all over the bird, inside and out.
Carefully cut off the top of your Stag can off. Pour half of the beer out (or drink it!).
Heat your grill to medium high, and set it up for indirect heat. Place your opened beer can in a foil pan large enough to catch chicken drippings while you grill. This prevents flame-ups that can scorch your bird. Carefully set your chicken over the beer can, inserting the can into the open cavity. The bird will be upright.
Cook your chicken for about 1 hour, until internal temp measures ~155 degrees. You don’t want to eat the bird until it reaches 165 degrees, but it will continue to cook for a few minutes after you remove it from the grill.
Pumpkin & beer cheese soup with popcorn
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 large leek, thinly sliced and well-rinsed
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 rib celery, diced
2 1/2 tablespoons minced thyme
1 (12 ounce) can Stag
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1 can pumpkin puree
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
Freshly-popped popcorn for serving. Toss with salt and Old Bay seasoning for extra kick!
Instructions
In a medium pot, add olive oil and cook onions and leeks over medium-high heat until softened and onions become translucent, 3-4 minutes.
Add garlic, sliced carrots and celery and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sautée for 4 to 5 minutes, then stir in 2 tablespoons thyme. Add beer and broth and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until vegetable mixture is fork-tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
Next, add butter to a medium pot and melt over medium heat. Whisk in flour gradually to form a roux, then continue to whisk for 2-3 minutes to cook the flour. Whisk in milk slowly, continuing to whisk until there are no lumps and the mixture thickens. Add pumpkin puree and stir until smooth.
In a mixing bowl, toss cheese together with lemon juice. Add it to the milk and pumpkin mixture, then stir until cheese sauce is smooth. Add mustard, smoked paprika, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.
Combine cheese mixture and broth mixture in a blender and blend until smooth (Or, leave combined in one pot and blend with an immersion blender). After blending, pour mixture back into a pot and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes or until soup thickens slightly. Stir in remaining ½ tablespoon of thyme and adjust seasonings to taste.
Ladle soup into bowls and top with freshly-popped popcorn, serve immediately.
Stag Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
2 cups white sugar
¼ cup Stag
1 stick (8T) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
1 cup heavy cream, room temperature
Instructions
In a medium sauce pan, combine sugar and Stag. Heat gently over medium heat until smooth. Then carefully raise the heat to medium-high and get it simmering. This is a bubbly brew! So don’t go too far -- when the mix gets too bubbly and is about to spill over, remove it from the heat to allow it to relax a little before returning it to simmering. Allow to simmer for about 20 minutes, until it’s a rich golden, amber color. Remove from heat.
Add butter in pieces and stir to melt. Mix in cream and return to heat. Stir over heat for about 5 minutes to thicken. Let it cool slightly to thicken even more. Drizzle sauce over vanilla ice cream, apple pie, or eat it by the spoonful.
Winter Salad with Stag Vinaigrette
For the dressing:
Ingredients
¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons Stag Beer
2 Tablespoons minced shallots
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 Tablespoon whole grain mustard
2 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
Instructions
In a small saucepan, bring Stag to a boil and allow to reduce by half, about 7 minutes. While waiting for it to reduce, feel free to sip on what’s left in the can. Once reduced, let it cool slightly.
Meanwhile, sautée shallots until browned. Let cool slightly. While still warm, whisk in whole grain mustard and maple syrup, stir to combine. In a dressing bottle or bowl, combine cooked shallots, mustard, and syrup mixture with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh thyme. Finally, add reduced beer and combine well.
Salad Ingredients
2 pears, cored and sliced
2 cups butternut squash, in 1-inch pieces
2 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
½ tsp each: cinnamon, paprika, cumin, salt
¼ cup pomegranate seeds
3 cups mixed field greens, washed
¼ cup roasted pumpkin seeds
Goat Cheese
Instructions
To prepare squash, toss with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon, paprika, cumin and salt and toss again to coat evenly. Roast seasoned squash on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, until fork-tender and starting to caramelize. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before building the salad.
To assemble the salad, toss greens in Stag dressing -- reserving some dressing to drizzle at the end. Top the greens with roasted squash, pear slices, pomegranate seeds and pumpkin seeds. Add crumbled goat cheese to the top and finish with a drizzle of vinaigrette.
Stag Michelada with Smoky Chili Salt
8 servings
Ingredients
1 32-oz. bottle chilled Clamato, or Tomato Juice (about 4 cups)
2 16-oz. cans chilled Stag
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce (such as Cholula)
1 teaspoon Maggi Seasoning (or soy sauce)
Chili Salt:
2 Tbsp. kosher salt1/2 tsp. chili powder
⅛ tsp. Smoked paprikaLime wedges (for serving)
Instructions
In a large pitcher, combine Clamato, Stag, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and Maggi Seasoning. Stir to combine. Add more lime juice or hot sauce to your liking.
On a small plate, mix salt and chili powder. Rub rims of pint glasses with lime wedges and dip in salt mixture. Fill glasses with ice, add Michelada mixture, and garnish with lime wedges. Serve and enjoy!