BREW AND KRAUT

  2 Kielbasa/Polish sausage sticks (or use 3-4 hotdogs)
  1 can or bottle of beer
  1 large can of sauerkraut
  1 can of great northern beans

Cook the sausage in the beer for 30 to 35 minutes. (If using hotdogs, cut that time in half.) Remove sausage, but reserve juice. Place sausage in oven proof dish and bake at 325° for 30 to 35 minutes. (Again, half that for hotdogs.) In the meantime, wash and drain kraut and cut up. Place sauerkraut in reserved beer juice.

Cook over medium heat, covered, for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove sausage from oven and cut into serving pieces. Place sausage in the kraut, then add  the beans. Stir together. Heat until just simmering. Serves 4 to 6.

BASIC BEER MARINADE
BEER BURGERS

  2 lbs. ground beef
  1 large egg

Marinade (good with steaks or any beef cut)
  1 can beer (12 oz)
  1/2 c chili sauce
  1/4 c salad oil
  2 tsp. soy sauce
  1/2 c coarsely chopped onion
  2 cloves garlic, crushed
  1 tsp. salt
  1/2 tsp. pepper
  1 tsp. dijon style mustard

Mix ground beef with the egg and form into about eight patties. In a sauce pan, mix beer, chili sauce, salad oil, soy sauce, onion, garlic, and mustard.  Simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Brush meat with sauce.

Place burgers on grill. Cook 15 minutes on each side or until done to taste, basting frequently with sauce. Season with salt and pepper right before serving.
 

BEER-GRILLED CHICKEN

  1 chicken, about 3 lbs., split in half lengthwise
  garlic powder to taste ground black pepper to taste
  1 pinch salt
  1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
  1/2 c butter
  2 Tbsp. garlic powder
  1Tbs. lemon pepper

Preheat grill to high heat.  In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the beer, butter, 1 tablespoon of the garlic powder and the pepper. Heat in the microwave for 2 minutes, or until the butter is melted and the mixture is hot. Set aside.  (Alternatively, mix ingredients in a saucepan and heat until butter is fully melted.)

Season chicken halves with the garlic powder, ground black pepper and seasoned salt to taste. Brush the hot grilling surface with oil. Place chicken on the grill bone side down. Close the lid and cook for about 45 minutes, or until the chicken skin is starting to blister.

Turn the chicken over, so it is bone side up. The halves will be black and charred, but the chicken meat will be fine. Pierce the membrane of the bone with a fork, going a little way into the meat, and ladle some of the hot beer mixture into the 'C' formed by the bones. Throw a tsp. or so of garlic powder on the coals, close the lid, and seal the vents so moisture and heat stay in.

Repeat ladling the beer mixture into the chicken, and throwing garlic powder onto the coals every 5 minutes, until the mixture is gone. The chicken should be tender and juices should run clear. Serves 2 to 4.
 

TEXAS BEER CAKE

  1 C butter-flavored shortening
  2 C brown sugar, firmly packed
  2 eggs, well beaten
  3 C flour, sifted
  1/2 tsp. salt
  2 tsp. baking soda
  1 tsp. cinnamon
  1/2 tsp. EACH allspice and powdered cloves
  1 C chopped nuts
  2 C finely chopped dates or prunes
  2 C beer

Preheat oven to 350. Cream shortening until soft and add sugar, gradually. Add beaten eggs and whisk for 2 minutes. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and spices and set aside 2 tablespoons. Stir the rest of  the mixture into the cake batter and  beat well. Slowly add the beer to the batter and blend in thoroughly. Beer may foam while beating mix.

Add the fruits and nuts into the remaining flour and spice mix and toss to coat.  Fold into the batter. Pour into a greased and floured 10-inch tube or bundt pan.

Bake for about an hour and 15 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool and refrigerate overnight. Dust with powdered sugar or glaze with lemon or orange glaze before serving. Makes about 12 servings.