Lots of us will be Barbequing with a beer in hand on the fourth of July – but how many of you plan to use that brew to enhance the flavors of your meal?  From glazing to basting to marinating – a little beer goes a long way to liven up your BBQ.  The simplest approach to cooking with beer would probably have to include the hot dog.  I like to get a rich, flavorful Stout and marinate brats in it for an hour or so, and then throw them on the grill.  Brats don’t generally absorb a lot of the beer while marinating, so I also use a flavor injector to inject the Stout into the dogs as they cook.  This keeps them moist for the entire duration they are cooking and the result is a deliciously juicy beer brat with a hint of stout flavor.  Yum. 

Are  brats a little too elementary for you?  There are lots of other great recipes to choose from:

• Beer BBQ Cowboy Steak: To some, steak is king of the BBQ.  Crown your king with a splash of beer.
• Burgers with Hoison-Stout Sauce: Hoison is a Chinese dipping sauce – add a little Stout to the mix, and you’ve got a winning recipe.
• Beer-Can Chicken: Cooking a chicken over a partially filled beer can keeps the meat amazingly moist and tender.  We’ve actually done this with a Turkey (and a large can of Foster’s Beer) for Thanksgiving and the results were mouth watering.
• Beer Marinated Portobello Mushrooms: If you have vegetarians in the household (as I do), this might be a great option for you (and it uses blonde ale, rather than the darker beers recommended in many of the other recipes referenced here).
• Stoute Chili: What’s a BBQ without a little Chili?  This one’s meaty, but I’m sure the clever cook could sub the beef for veggie grounds or Seitan.
• Beer-BQ Sauce: Have your own traditional 4th of July BBQ recipe?  Then maybe you just need to make a little Beer-BQ sauce to introduce into the mix.