Beer and food matching: Best combinations
What with smoking bans, climate change and a new 'face' to get used to on the Big D nuts card, pubs are having to deal with their fair share of change at the moment.
While no one wants to add to that burden, variety, so they say, is the spice of life, and so we've decided to take a punt on fiddling with the format of our regular beer and food matching column.
For the rest of this year, rather than ask our highly esteemed gastronomic specialists to match a beer to a dish, we've turned the concept on its head and asked them to come up with a dish to match to a specific beer style.
Hopefully that all makes sense, but if not just sit back and enjoy the ride. All will shortly become clear as the panel gets to work on dishes to go with a pint of best bitter
Richard Fox, chef and broadcaster: Best bitter is about as traditional a British beverage as one can expect to find - certainly more so than Yorkshire tea, which has always struck me as a bit of an oxymoron. So, what better dish to pair it with than the great British bangers and mash. And given the 'best' prefix on the beer, that's what we need from the food: finest herb infused pork sausages, a rich caramelised onion gravy to give sweet contrast to the bitter, and a velvety, buttery mash.
Ben Bartlett, catering development manager, Marston's Pub Company: Best bitters are around 4% abv and quite often have a subtle fruitiness and moderate hop bitterness. A superb dish to compliment this bitter is Braised Lamb Shank. I like using High Peak lamb shanks that have been marinated overnight, possibly in some of the bitter and slowly braised in the oven for 2-3 hours until the meat is soft and tender. Then serve with mashed potatoes made with a spoonful of your favourite apple sauce. Delicious!
John Keeling, head brewer, Fuller's: In my opinion, classic English best bitter is best enjoyed in the pub by the pint. A bitter such as London Pride is a perfect match for another English classic, steak & kidney pie. The maltiness of the beer will complement the rich flavours and textures of the dish. You could even marinade the meat in some beer to improve its texture. Best bitters - another I'd suggest would be Timothy Taylor's Landlord - are also a great match for bangers and mash or a ploughman's lunch.
Paul Drye, catering development manager, St Austell Brewery: "Best Bitter is as British as Lord Nelson, Winston Churchill and Diana Dors, and I'm sure you would agree that a pint of best bitter and good old British roast beef can't be beaten. But I say it can... Cornish Bitter and Cornish Beef is a combination made in heaven, and tucking into a delicious Cornish under roast, accompanied by a pint of Tribute Ale on a bitingly cold February evening is truly food for the soul.
To make Cornish Under Roast simply place in a large roasting pan large steaks of braising quality beef that have been coated in seasoned flour over a trivet of swede, onion, carrots and potatoes in large chunks, cover with half-beer and half-good beef stock, season with salt and pepper and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Foil over and cook long and low until the meat is tender. Serve with some buttered spring greens, a hunk of soda bread and a foaming pint of Tribute."
Melissa Cole, beer writer: My desert island match for best bitter is a simple beef sarnie - I know it's neither exotic, nor glamorous, but it's just so satisfying. Sinking your teeth into a mixture of cold rare beef and fresh granary bread - topped with salty butter and the thinnest layer of strong horseradish - is just one of life's great pleasures.
It's the sumptuous meaty flavour of the beef, the nuttiness of the bread and the spiciness of the horseradish all combining so perfectly with the biscuity aroma of the malt and the aromatic bitterness of the hops. and, the best bit is, the gentle carbonation of the beer cleanses your palate so you can enjoy it all over again - what's not to love?
John Bexon, Greene King head brewer: "Greene King IPA and curry is a personal favourite of mine. Greene King IPA has a wonderful fresh hoppy character and is bursting with subtle flavours and citrus notes. It's easy to drink, cool and very refreshing. It's a great sociable drink, and is the perfect choice to enjoy with hot spicy curries, the intense aromatic flavours of Thai cuisine and the fiery heat of Mexican dishes."
Rupert Ponsonby, Beer Academy: The intensity of flavour of the food should match the intensity of the beer, so we need foods which pack a bit of depth. But as the reason that so many pub foods taste the way they do is because they were meant that way to match our beers, many pub dishes should hit the spot. But which?
Hoppier best bitters need spicier, edgier foods such as very Mature tangy cheddars - which would overwhelm a normal bitter. But they love spicy curries and tandooris, or any dish where garlic has been piled into the mix - three bitter/sweet tang of the garlic mirroring the same flavours in a tangy hop. .
Maltier best bitters yell for powerful but meatier foods such as big steaks, stews, sausages, meat pies or boeuf bourgignon. But all sorts of game will also go well. Think of all that wild and naturally organics Venison at such good prices - red deer, fallow deer, roe deer or that scampering ugly deer-pig known as the muntjak. Sure, venison is also amazing with Porter, which I suppose is logical as it shares many of the same malt flavours, but venison or wild pigeon, pheasant or game in their season would be great.
Best of all, how about mutton in caper and onion sauce, like a hug from an aged aunt - such an anachronism and yet so comforting.
Next month: What's lovely with lager?
