In January 2004 I won an international beer drinking competition at the bottom of a beautiful mountain in Whistler BC. I’m not sure it would be ‘the’ international beer drinking competition (speed not quantity to clarify) if there is such a thing – but I was still quite proud of my achievement. I was young – what can I say?
Miss Japan shook my hand in awe and Mr US (who also won) refused to take me on in a boys against girls finale.
It’s been almost 7 years since my 15 minutes of fame, and to mark the occasion I present an off-the-cuff slow-cooked recipe that was just waiting to be tried out in Lil’ Bill (my general use/standard slow cooker).
Slow Cooked Chicken and Vegetables in Beer Stew – Serves 2 Adults and 2 Children
4 x Skinless and Boneless Chicken Thighs ( I use Free Range)
2 x Large Carrots
1 x Leek (or half a leek if it is particularly large – as mine was!)
1 x Onion
Quarter of a medium sized Swede
1 x Can/Tin of Beer ( I used a 440ml can but about 1 pint would be about right) – I would recommend room temperature rather than chilled due to the amount of time it would need to heat up when added to the cooker.
Blackpepper
Onion Gravy Granules to thicken sauce to desired consistency
Instructions:
1. First things first – open the can/tin of Beer and leave to stand while you prepare the dish. This will give it chance to settle a little.
2. Heat a pan to medium heat and place in the Chicken Thighs to seal and brown. I don’t add oil, there isn’t any need if you use a non-stick pan.
3. Whilst the meat is browning, peel and finely chop the onion and add to Slow Cooker.
4. Check meat and turn if ready to (seasoning with a little black-pepper), then peel and dice 2 large (or 3-4 small/medium carrots) – add to Slow Cooker
5. Peel and cube approx. one quarter of a medium sized Swede. The cubes should each easily fit on a teaspoon – due to the type of vegetable it is it will take too long to soften if the cubes are too large. Add to Slow Cooker.
6. Wash and dice the Leek. Add to the Slow Cooker whilst separating the rings of diced leek.
7. Add Chicken to the Slow Cooker, on top of the vegetables and pour over the Beer. If the Beer doesn’t cover all the contents then top up with hot water. Don’t drown the ingredients, just cover. Press down the ingredients to ensure that they are covered and there isn’t too much liquid in the Slow Cooker.
8. Place lid on and turn on low for a minimum of 6 hours – I left mine 7 and would imagine up to 8 hours would be fine.
9. When ready to serve, ensure meat is thoroughly cooked (using a meat thermometer if unsure) and then add a few gravy granules to thicken the stew to the desired consistency (be careful to add gradually as it shouldn’t be too thick). I use onion gravy granules to add flavour.
10. Serve straight away in bowls with bread rolls and butter.
How simple is that?
A few of things to add:
1. I drained the liquid when I served it to the kids as I do not know how much alcohol would be in their portion – please always also consider this when driving and eating dishes cooked in, or containing alcohol. They had additional mash instead of bread and butter, as no longer stew consistency.
2. This recipe does not provide large portions, but is about right for a family of four if two are young children. I would suggest doubling the quantities if you like larger portions or are cooking for 4 adults. If you do increase quantities then use a larger Slow Cooker. Slow Cookers should not be filled more than 2/3rds full.
3. I used John Smiths Bitter, but I would imagine most beers would be fine to use. I’m a simple gal – easy come, easy go – there was a can of John Smiths in the cupboard so in it went – no particular science behind it!
4. It was the first time I have ever made it today and it was lovely. Really nice, so overnight I am making a vegetarian version, for lunch tomorrow with friends, and will let you know how it goes.
*Don’t forget that as tempting as it may be to lift the lid and have a stir or a sniff of the lovely aroma, that everytime you do it will increase cooking time by 20 minutes. Reduce the need to stir by always ensuring that you have stirred well when adding everything initially.
** Please note that I am not a qualified nutritionist or professional cook. My recipes are what I put together at home and all amounts etc… are approximate. What I write is my own experience of cooking the recipe. Ovens and ingredients do vary – just go with it, have fun and apply common sense at all times! Practise makes perfect!
Spread the word and let’s start a Slow Cooker revolution!
Please let me know how it goes if you try this recipe in the comments section below….
I should probably get a tweet account so I can tweet your recipes all over creation. This sounds delicious. And I like that you use leeks. I think that sometimes Americans are shy to use them (but will use onion and garlic and celery endlessly). Most of all, I love your anecdote about winning the beer competition. My husband is into beer. He gets a magazine called “Beer Advocate”. I can’t wait to tell him this story!
oops left reply below instead of here…
ps tell Mr RS that sounds like one interesting mag….
I should probably get a tweet account so I can tweet your recipes all over creation. This sounds delicious. And I like that you use leeks. I think that sometimes Americans are shy to use them (but will use onion and garlic and celery endlessly). Most of all, I love your anecdote about winning the beer competition. My husband is into beer. He gets a magazine called “Beer Advocate”. I can’t wait to tell him this story!
oops left reply below instead of here…
ps tell Mr RS that sounds like one interesting mag….
I should probably get a tweet account so I can tweet your recipes all over creation. This sounds delicious. And I like that you use leeks. I think that sometimes Americans are shy to use them (but will use onion and garlic and celery endlessly). Most of all, I love your anecdote about winning the beer competition. My husband is into beer. He gets a magazine called “Beer Advocate”. I can’t wait to tell him this story!
oops left reply below instead of here…
ps tell Mr RS that sounds like one interesting mag….
My Hubby to this day tells this story… his favourite bit is Mr US declining to compete against me haha! We do actually have some dodgy footage somewhere..back in the day when digital cameras were very basic. I didn’t realise you Guys don’t cook leeks very often… They are in a lot of UK recipes, potato and leek soup is a firm favourite over here – which is lovely – I will share that recipe soon. Get a Twitter account and a Slow Cooker (priority the cooker)!!!!!!!!
My Hubby to this day tells this story… his favourite bit is Mr US declining to compete against me haha! We do actually have some dodgy footage somewhere..back in the day when digital cameras were very basic. I didn’t realise you Guys don’t cook leeks very often… They are in a lot of UK recipes, potato and leek soup is a firm favourite over here – which is lovely – I will share that recipe soon. Get a Twitter account and a Slow Cooker (priority the cooker)!!!!!!!!
My Hubby to this day tells this story… his favourite bit is Mr US declining to compete against me haha! We do actually have some dodgy footage somewhere..back in the day when digital cameras were very basic. I didn’t realise you Guys don’t cook leeks very often… They are in a lot of UK recipes, potato and leek soup is a firm favourite over here – which is lovely – I will share that recipe soon. Get a Twitter account and a Slow Cooker (priority the cooker)!!!!!!!!
I wouldn’t stress at all about the beer in the kids’ portion. You’ve got a pint of beer total in there, some of it should cook out (especially with the long cooking time), and the odds of any small child consuming any substantial quantity of it would be next to none.
Put slightly differently….if your kids ate 1/4 of the recipe each (unlikely), and none of the alcohol cooked out (also unlikely), they’d have consumed 4 oz of beer, containing half a tablespoon of alcohol.
Since I’ve seen cough syrups with more alcohol than that, the kids should be fine. 😀
Out of curiosity….what on earth is a medium-sized Swede? The only Swedes I know would *not* appreciate being diced and put in a slow cooker. 😀
Turnip or rutabaga, I think. That’s a swede.
I always like reading recipes written by British people because I have to get out a dictionary. I’m very British-literate because I watch British comedies and dramas almost exclusively, but sometimes one gets me.
I love that they call arugula rocket. I don’t know why we use Italian names for all of our veggies.
Gip
Gip if you like a bit of British Comedy – check out John Bishop (he’s a stand up act) . Also ‘Live at the Apollo’ is a good bit of stand up if into that kind of thing. I love stand up comedy! I thought a turnip was a turnip – because we have those also – need to investigate.
Oh there are sooo many funny replies I could type – but won’t! I knew the Swede thing would get picked up.
Thanks for the heads up on the alcohol – I am a little over the top when it comes to the kids and alcohol content, although I do of course add the obligatory red wine to spag bol…
I wouldn’t stress at all about the beer in the kids’ portion. You’ve got a pint of beer total in there, some of it should cook out (especially with the long cooking time), and the odds of any small child consuming any substantial quantity of it would be next to none.
Put slightly differently….if your kids ate 1/4 of the recipe each (unlikely), and none of the alcohol cooked out (also unlikely), they’d have consumed 4 oz of beer, containing half a tablespoon of alcohol.
Since I’ve seen cough syrups with more alcohol than that, the kids should be fine. 😀
Out of curiosity….what on earth is a medium-sized Swede? The only Swedes I know would *not* appreciate being diced and put in a slow cooker. 😀
Turnip or rutabaga, I think. That’s a swede.
I always like reading recipes written by British people because I have to get out a dictionary. I’m very British-literate because I watch British comedies and dramas almost exclusively, but sometimes one gets me.
I love that they call arugula rocket. I don’t know why we use Italian names for all of our veggies.
Gip
Gip if you like a bit of British Comedy – check out John Bishop (he’s a stand up act) . Also ‘Live at the Apollo’ is a good bit of stand up if into that kind of thing. I love stand up comedy! I thought a turnip was a turnip – because we have those also – need to investigate.
Oh there are sooo many funny replies I could type – but won’t! I knew the Swede thing would get picked up.
Thanks for the heads up on the alcohol – I am a little over the top when it comes to the kids and alcohol content, although I do of course add the obligatory red wine to spag bol…
I wouldn’t stress at all about the beer in the kids’ portion. You’ve got a pint of beer total in there, some of it should cook out (especially with the long cooking time), and the odds of any small child consuming any substantial quantity of it would be next to none.
Put slightly differently….if your kids ate 1/4 of the recipe each (unlikely), and none of the alcohol cooked out (also unlikely), they’d have consumed 4 oz of beer, containing half a tablespoon of alcohol.
Since I’ve seen cough syrups with more alcohol than that, the kids should be fine. 😀
Out of curiosity….what on earth is a medium-sized Swede? The only Swedes I know would *not* appreciate being diced and put in a slow cooker. 😀
Turnip or rutabaga, I think. That’s a swede.
I always like reading recipes written by British people because I have to get out a dictionary. I’m very British-literate because I watch British comedies and dramas almost exclusively, but sometimes one gets me.
I love that they call arugula rocket. I don’t know why we use Italian names for all of our veggies.
Gip
Gip if you like a bit of British Comedy – check out John Bishop (he’s a stand up act) . Also ‘Live at the Apollo’ is a good bit of stand up if into that kind of thing. I love stand up comedy! I thought a turnip was a turnip – because we have those also – need to investigate.
Oh there are sooo many funny replies I could type – but won’t! I knew the Swede thing would get picked up.
Thanks for the heads up on the alcohol – I am a little over the top when it comes to the kids and alcohol content, although I do of course add the obligatory red wine to spag bol…
After a bit of googling my conclusion is that a Rutabaga is in fact a swede – I have never ever heard the word rutabaga before in my life! 🙂 A swede is round(ish) and commonly available Autumn/Winter – in my area kids in the UK used a swede at Halloween – not pumpkins. A Turnip (although very closely related to the swede in colour/flavour etc) I would describe looking more like a large parsnip due to the shape?
After a bit of googling my conclusion is that a Rutabaga is in fact a swede – I have never ever heard the word rutabaga before in my life! 🙂 A swede is round(ish) and commonly available Autumn/Winter – in my area kids in the UK used a swede at Halloween – not pumpkins. A Turnip (although very closely related to the swede in colour/flavour etc) I would describe looking more like a large parsnip due to the shape?
After a bit of googling my conclusion is that a Rutabaga is in fact a swede – I have never ever heard the word rutabaga before in my life! 🙂 A swede is round(ish) and commonly available Autumn/Winter – in my area kids in the UK used a swede at Halloween – not pumpkins. A Turnip (although very closely related to the swede in colour/flavour etc) I would describe looking more like a large parsnip due to the shape?
Oh man Jo- this sounds delicious! My two favorite things, beer and protein combined together!
I would always do beer brats but this is another great idea, I’ll have to try this on a cheat day when I can have beer.
Thanks for sharing this!
Cheers Eric! Had to google ‘beer brats’ – this post has been an education! 🙂
Bet you are counting down to the ‘free day’? – Let me know how it goes if you do try it… I used British Bitter for the chicken one, but today I did a Veggie stew and used Belgian lager and I thought that tasted better.
Oh man Jo- this sounds delicious! My two favorite things, beer and protein combined together!
I would always do beer brats but this is another great idea, I’ll have to try this on a cheat day when I can have beer.
Thanks for sharing this!
Cheers Eric! Had to google ‘beer brats’ – this post has been an education! 🙂
Bet you are counting down to the ‘free day’? – Let me know how it goes if you do try it… I used British Bitter for the chicken one, but today I did a Veggie stew and used Belgian lager and I thought that tasted better.
Oh man Jo- this sounds delicious! My two favorite things, beer and protein combined together!
I would always do beer brats but this is another great idea, I’ll have to try this on a cheat day when I can have beer.
Thanks for sharing this!
Cheers Eric! Had to google ‘beer brats’ – this post has been an education! 🙂
Bet you are counting down to the ‘free day’? – Let me know how it goes if you do try it… I used British Bitter for the chicken one, but today I did a Veggie stew and used Belgian lager and I thought that tasted better.
I have to share this – please see above – this post was featured on a beer blog! How excited was I? 🙂
I have to share this – please see above – this post was featured on a beer blog! How excited was I? 🙂
I have to share this – please see above – this post was featured on a beer blog! How excited was I? 🙂