Does making your own broth take time? Sure, it does! So does eating a meal. But, I can “Guar-Ron-Tee” dat eating a bad meal takes longer than eating a good meal. Do you want them plates and bowls to end up at the sink with…
This article will not teach you how to divvy up meal-sized portions and stow them away for lunches all week. We’re planning to eat and eat well! And planning for meal to be cooked is how we better ensure that our after-the-day-is-done time is spent…
We’re creating treats for the pups in your life with left over parts and pieces that we cast iron chefs would just have thrown away otherwise. This is a beef and whole wheat treat you can make as easy as cookies.
We make a lot of bone broth. Seems there’s always a jar in the fridge with a brown-colored liquid filling most of the bottom of that jar with a “cap” of a white-ish fat just under the lid and resting on top of that brown liquid. It doesn’t look very appetizing; that’s for sure. But, the soups, stews, chilis, and even gumbos we create with that broth…well…they are memorable moments for sure!
Once upon a time, I am finishing up a broth and my wife comes home, “Ohhh, something sure smells good in here.” There’s a colander of steaming “meat” and, before I could say anything, she picks a piece up and is about to “enjoy” the before-dinner, sneak-a-bite. Luckily, she paused for a moment. After taking a closer look at what she had in her fingers and two inches from her mouth, “What is this?!”
And not one of those, “what is this that you are cooking because it’s so amazing” questions either. This was a “what is this that you are cooking and please tell me this is not for dinner because there’s other stuff in here that ain’t meat” accusatory questions.
Beef Bone Broth Recipe: https://beerandiron.com/2022/05/beer-beef-bone-broth-recipe-in-a-cast-iron-dutch-oven
Chicken Broth Recipe: https://beerandiron.com/2023/03/beer-and-chicken-bone-broth
It did smell good in the house. For sure. That broth was all jar-ed up and ready for the fridge, and that colander of meat-ish stuff sat there ready for the trash but I always had a hard time tossing it. It looked like meat and smelled like meat. But, it sure ain’t meat…at least most of it ain’t meat. I’d even save some of it to give to the dogs as is; you know, a bite-at-a-time. Even storing in the fridge, the hassle of reaching in that greasy zipper bag and pulling out a piece as a bite-at-a-time treat resulted in the dogs really not getting much and then eventually the this-has-been-in-here-too-long worries start. Then…trash.
So, eventually I created this dog cookie recipe that has been such a success with our dogs. I figured I’d share it with you all. No, there’s no beer in these cookies…none that “survived” the cooking process. This recipe is just lagniappe… Bon Appetit! to the pups in your life!
P.S. Dare you to try one…
Most all y’all gonna have a large, flat cast iron reversible grill/griddle.
(affiliate links in this article)
These work best; you can really load up the cookies on all that cast iron “real estate.”
However, piece of cast iron you have will work just fine. A large cast iron skillet will work well to…or a small one with multiple batches.
Food Processor – You’ll be hard pressed to create this recipe without a way to grind the meat-ish mix into the flour and parsley mix.
Rolling Pin – To roll the dough out for cutting.
Fork – Optional to score the raw cookies
Cookie or Biscuit Cutter – I can totally see someone getting a bone-shaped cookie cutter LIKE THIS ONE to cut these cookies out.
1 – 1 ½ Cups of Meat-ish Mix
1 ½ Cups Whole Wheat Flour
½ Teaspoon of Salt
¼ Cup of Oil or Fat
1 Bunch of Parsley (cut the stems off; they will not grind very well)
Step 1: Measure all the ingredients out and separate the dry from the wet.
Step 2: Get the food processor at the read.
Step 3: Pre Heat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
Step 4: Add the 1 – 1 ½ Cups of meat-ish mix to the food processor first. Order is not that important but if you start with the thicker materials and add the flour afterwards, the processing part will work a bit better.
Step 5: Add the Bunch of Parsley. Dogs may like the meat flavor but some of their breath compares to that of Satan himself. Holy moley! Parsley is like a tic tac for doggies (well…not really).
Step 6: Add the 1 ½ Cups Whole Wheat Flour
Step 7: Add the salt. This is optional but encouraged; it’ll enhance the flavor (yes…I have tried one or two).
Step 8: Run the food processor for a few moments until the mixture resembles a crumbly, dry cake mix texture.
Step 9: Add the two eggs. This is the “glue” to hold the cookies together.
Step 10: Add the fat. You could just add some beef fat that you’ve been saving or some bacon fat. You’ll not need too much. We use ¼ of a cup and add more fat if the cookie dough does not form or is too crumbly.
Step 11: Process all the ingredients to a semi-sticky dough ball. Trust me; you’ll have to be patient as the dough comes together. I’ll take a few minutes.
If you add any more “wet stuff,” it’ll just get gummy, and you’ll have to add more flour. If the dough is just not coming together then add more flour. Feel free to drop me an email if you are having trouble with this process. It’s the same process we use to make a pie crust.
Once you start seeing the “wad” of dough start to “orbit” around those food processor blades, the dough is ready to pull out.
Step 12: Remove the dough ball from the food processor and roll the dough flat on an oiled surface. We use oil on wax paper or parchment paper to keep the cookies from sticking. Wetter cookies will be stickier. If the dough is sticking to your fingers; it’s too wet.
How thick do we roll the cookies out?
I like a thinner cookie; it gives the cookie a “crunch” and, as the theory holds, will help keep the dog’s teeth a bit cleaner. But there’s nothing wrong with going from “cookie” to “biscuit.” A thicker cookie (like in the video at time 4:20), will be softer and easier to chew…a good choice for your older, “dentally-challenged” pups.
Step 13: Cut the cookies out. Any shape is A-OK. I suggest not cutting them in squares of you plan to toss them to the dog for catching. Ever had a corn chip “hook” sideways in your mouth? Those edges will cook harder than the center and will likely poke the inside of the dog’s mouth.
Step 14: (Optional). Use a fork to score the cookies for more even cooking. They will not rise; there’s no soda or yeast in these cookies.
Step 15: As round shapes go, there are always those bits and parts left from cutting the cookies. Stack the cut and scored cookies up and gather all the bits and pieces. Roll them back up and cut more cookies out. Keep going until all the dough is cut out into cookies.
Step 16: Place them on the cast iron griddle (the flat side). You could add some oil but it’s not usually necessary unless your cookies are a bit sticky.
Step 17: Bake the cookies in the oven for about 30 minutes. After about 20 minutes you could give them a turn, but this is not necessary.
Step 18: After they are baked, pull them out for cooling. You can either use a cooling rack (LIKE THIS ONE), lay them out on a towel, or you can just let them cool on the griddle surface.
And that is about as easy as it comes.
Beer Beef Bone Broth a rich and nutritious broth made from what most call soup bones and butcher scraps. And it makes the most amazing soup, chili, and stew base you’ve ever wanted to taste.
Broth from a box will get you “this is good stew” complements but, this broth will make stew so good they’ll start trying to speak “this stew is amazing” before they even swallow (so keep a napkin ready).
This is not a typical bone broth recipe and is not for drinking like a “normal” bone broth recipe. We will not add any salt, apple cider vinegar, or vegetables.
As rumor has it, there was this fella named Christopher Columbus that sailed the ocean blue in 1492. Poor fella; was searching for India and the peppercorn plant and found the Bahamas and the bell pepper. Good ‘ol Christopher saw all those peppers and said,…
The foolproof method of creating the perfect rice is right here. A four-ingredient recipe that will offer hints of fresh-baked bread as it simmers followed by a sharp flavor with the perfect, billowy texture.
First of all, this recipe is meant to be used with other recipes. The flavor may be a bit too bitter or sharp for some and a bit too salty for others. However, I know good and well everyone who makes this recipe will take a taste out of the pot…just to see. Be careful; you may just love the flavor…like I do!
Perfect rice is always a 2:1 ratio: two parts liquid to one part rice. Cooking with beer is a little tricky.
Depending on the style of beer, beer is upwards to 95% water. Ethanol (the alcohol in beer) has a boiling point of 78°C (172.4°F) and will “gas off” at that temperature. Water, on the other hand, boils and becomes steam at 100°C (212°F). By the time the beer has reached the point where the rice begins to cook, the alcohol has long since “gassed off.”
Consider that awesome lager you have left in that growler you filled up last weekend that you’ve been saving to cook with. You pour that semi-flat, 6-percent-er in that pot with the rice and the other ingredients at a 2-part rice to a 1-part beer ratio. By the time you start seeing steam, that 2-part is missing 6% of the overall liquid. As the rice cooks, the water that remains will also “gas off” as steam thereby reducing the overall volume even farther. Fear not my young Mageirocophobia-suffering friend, the rice will cook A-OK!
The “sweets” of the beer are less-than-notable after being cooked with rice; and the “bitters” are much more pronounced. With that being said, I love bitter beer and this dish…as a side dish…is right down my alley.
2 Quart Cast Iron Sauce Pot for cooking the rice (okay, if you want to use a different pot for the rice, we’ll let it slide…this time).
The one I have is an old, Asian-made, pockmarked piece that I pulled from a junk pile on the way to recycle. It’s a go-to for sure. I have a metal-lined glass lid to top it with. Every kitchen needs a nice 2-quart cast iron pot. Affiliate Link:
I know many don’t have a pot this small, and that’s okay. Really, any pot you cook rice in will work fairly okie-dokie. My advice is to use a pot that is sized to match the amount of rice you are preparing. A 2-quart pot for a this 3/4-cup-rice-to-1-1/2-cup-beer works perfect. A 5 quart may let things spread out a bit too much and allow for too much evaporation during cooking; your rice will be undercooked. But, a 5-quart will work if this recipe is doubled.
A nice lager will work well. I’d avoid ales; we love that hoppy touch to a beer but the remaining bitters may be a bit overwhelming in this recipe. Lagers are brewed at cooler temperatures and will have a milder flavor than an Ale (Like an IPA).
Avoid the beers with a sweeter flavor like porters and stouts. Sours are brewed with both yeast and bacteria…it’s the bacteria that gives the sour beer it’s sourness. This doesn’t work well in this rice recipe.
With that being said, you can try any beer in this recipe; to each his/her own, right?
Step 1: Put the sauce pot on the stovetop on low/medium heat.
Step 2: Add the 1 ½ cups of beer to the sauce pot slowly to avoid creating a head
Step 3: Add the ¾ cup of rice
Step 4: Add the 1 teaspoon of salt
Step 5: Using the wooden spoon, stir all the ingredients together slowly to avoid the beer “heading up.”
Step 5: Add the Butter (yep…just chunk in that pat of butter…it’ll float and later “disappear”).
Step 6: Leave the rice to simmer. If it boils over, you may need to add more liquid and turn the heat down a bit (the heat may be too high causing the boil over).
Step 7: Once the rice has “risen” above the liquid and the little bubbling has stopped, give the rice a taste. Use your good judgment and experience on what you agree “cooked rice” taste like and the consistency you’re looking for.
About the salt: This recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of salt. Salt is a tricky thing; we use the course Himalayan salt “measures” less than the fine-grind “table” salt. Use less if in doubt based on your experience with your own palate and personal preferences.
Also, use less salt if you are planning to use this recipe as a side dish; the a-bit-too-saltiness is okay with another recipe. The 1-teaspoon salting for a side dish will make it a bit too salty-tasting.
We’re talking easy here. Like in measure, mix, DONE! This is our go-to Taco Seasoning that we’ve been using for years and years. Sorry, there’s no beer here as an ingredient. I put this little recipe here to reference from other recipes that are found…and…
I will have to confess, I love a good stew. It’s the one-potted-ness of it all. One pot! One meal! It’s also the stick-with-it-ness that the stew provides; you know…that rib-sticking kinda meal that just stays with you for a few hours. I do like…
Quick and Easy Beer-Broth Hamburger Stew Cooked in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven
This is very (VERY) similar to the Hamburger Soup recipe on Beer and Iron. And, if you’re askin’ me…which you haven’t yet but I am sure you will…the “stew” version is my favorite between the two. I like a spoon full of “stuff” rather than a spoon full of broth. But, now that you mentioned it (and I know you will), there’s beer in that broth. Hummm…decisions! Decisions! Decisions! The one decision you ain’t gotta make is whether or not you are going to make this stew.
Note: If your ground beef is 85/15 (15% fat), my suggestion is to cook the beef first and let it drain a bit. We drain the beef and catch the drippings. Add those drippings to a Mason / Kerr jar (or other container) and refrigerate. The fat will rise to the top and solidify. You can use that fat to cook with later and the broth to add to a future stew or soup.
If you are using lean ground beef, just rock on! That little bit of fat will add to the flavor of the stew.
This hamburger stew recipe is not “thickened” like my tri-tip beef stew.
You’ll need your inside 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven if you’ll be cooking this recipe on the stove-top. This recipe could be cooked outside in your 10-inch cast iron camp Dutch oven as well.
Get a beer out for this recipe and one for yourself as you prep this amazing meal for the folks you love!
Easy Dump-and-Bake Spanish Rice and Chicken Casserole Baked in a Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Chile Relleno Con Cerveza – Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven Casserole VersionSausage and Tots Easy Breakfast Casserole Recipe – Cooked in a Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Beer Berry Cobbler Recipe – Cooked in a Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Chicken Marbella Recipe – Cooked in a Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven
I am always sharing fresh, flavorful, recipes cooked up in well-seasoned cast iron awesomeness with a bit of my liquid, hop-based, happy-maker as an ingredient.
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