Cooking with Alcohol on your Blackstone Griddle
By Paul Sidoriak
If you’re feeling adventurous and want to elevate the flavors of your food beyond salt, pepper, and garlic, there may be something hiding in your pantry to do just that.
Alcohol.
Alcohol comes in various forms. Used properly, it can enhance the flavors of certain dishes, leaving behind a unique bouquet of flavors that complement your favorite herbs and spices.
These are a few of our favorite libations for adding flavor to foods cooked on the Blackstone Griddle.
Wine
One of the most common beverages used for cooking is wine.
The rule of thumb with choosing a wine for cooking is that it should be good enough to drink. Something that tastes good on its own should taste good when cooked with food so take that into consideration.
Wines have long been used in European kitchens for deglazing, or removing flavorful browned bits from a pan or cooking surface. If you leave the browned bits (known as fond) behind, you’re leaving lots of concentrated flavors with it. I like using white wine to deglaze most foods I cook on the griddle, but it is especially wonderful with chicken, fish, and pork.
Beer
You can work beer into your griddle cooking various ways because there are so many styles of beer to choose from. A basic American lager seems to be the most versatile but ales, stouts and even porters all have their place.
Consider adding beer to hearty dishes like bratwurst with sauerkraut. As the beer reduces, it will intensify and add a new dimension to your dish.
Firm vegetables like root vegetables, potatoes, and members of the squash family all benefit from adding beer during the cooking process.
Liquors
Different liquors bring different flavors to the party. When used creatively, they can really make a difference in the flavoring of your food.
- Try adding a few tablespoons of coffee liqueur or Irish cream liqueur to your egg mixture when making French toast.
- A splash or two of coconut rum goes great with shrimp cooked on the griddle, giving it a bit of an island taste.
- For a zippy cinnamon treat, use cinnamon whiskey to add flavor to apples, root vegetables, and even chicken wings.
- Bourbon goes well with beef but consider using it with other red meats too. Bourbon works well with lamb but is brilliant with game meat like antelope, elk, and venison.
- Fajitas are fabulous with a few splashes of tequila! Try adding an ounce of tequila to your favorite chicken marinade. It works well to season other fajita ingredients including veggies like bell peppers and onions.
