Beer and Food - A Taste of Dorset
Susan Nowak reports on a beer and food initiative run by the West Country's Badger Brewery in partnership with small producers in Dorset.
Badger Brewery in Blandford Forum challenged six local producers of craft foods, from smoked fish to cured hams, to devise recipes using its draught and bottled ales. The result was a sumptuous spread at the brewery's visitor centre when the local producers brought their dishes to the launch of a collection of eight recipe cards using beer as an ingredient or to be accompanied by beer.
"This is part of an industry-wide message that beer and food go together," said head brewer Tim Morris, pointing out that Badger ales, with flavours such as elderflower, ginger and peach, offer plenty of scope with food.
A splendid centrepiece was a giant ham with a Tanglefoot beer glaze created by Dorset Farms near Beaminster, a producer of award-winning cured hams and bacon.
Dorset Farms already produces a ham cooked in local cider, but this was the first time it had used beer. The glaze on the 4kg, unsmoked gammon on the bone was made from Tanglefoot with its spicy finish, orange juice and muscovado sugar.
"The brewery approached us to get involved and I think local foods with local beers is a great idea," says sales manager Sarah Chaffey. "We already do a variety of hams, but the response was so good we are thinking of adding this to our selection."
Dorset Farms' Little Windsor pork sausages appear on another card in a recipe for sausage burritos flavoured with Blandford Fly ale; this premium ale contains ginger and is often partnered with spicy or oriental dishes.
This is Badger's second set of beer recipes using local products. The first, released last year, included recipes such as ploughman's cheese soup containing Golden Glory with its hints of peach and melon, and Tanglefoot beer bread.
They were so well received that the brewery decided to issue this second set, using a new crop of local producers. These latest recipes include Woolsery Cheese of Dorchester's sweet pear and goat's cheese tart accompanied by a chilled glass of Fursty Ferret with its malty palate and hoppy aroma, and Bridfish Smokery's smoked salmon in linguine to go with Tanglefoot, while cake maker Honeybuns near Sherborne (which uses free-range eggs from the next village) produced dark chocolate cookies to nibble alongside Fursty Ferret.
A particularly popular recipe is Golden Glory sticky toffee pudding, which contains dates simmered in half a pint of the ale to produce an irresistibly gooey dessert.
It was devised by Colin Newton, chef at Washingpool Farm Shop in Bridport. "We were already selling Badger bottled beers, so knew they go with food," said Simon Holland, who runs the farm shop.
"Colin chose the beer to make the pudding rich and moist. It's now very popular in our restaurant here, and is also on sale in the shop in a microwaveable container."
At the launch, Mark Woodhouse, vicechairman of Badger owner Hall & Woodhouse, underlined the cross-industry approach by urging people to try different beer styles with dishes, including Belgian beer. "It's much more fun than wine," he said.
