Confirmed: I Don’t Like Beer Cheese

So, I pronounced that we can’t have burgers on the grill every day this summer, then made a (Beer) Cheeseburger Casserole instead. Go figure. I even fired up the grill for cooking the peppers and onions, because I’ve become a little addicted to that grilled flavor they get, in addition to the ease of peeling the charred pepper skins off. I guess I might as well have cooked the hamburger there, too, but that’s water under the bridge. To make it more than a crumbled burger, I made some home fries to mix with the other ingredients, and then decided it might be a good time to try some beer cheese. No, I am not a beer drinker, but I’ve had good luck using it in other recipes, so I thought this would make the casserole special. Unfortunately, I found the combination of beer and cheese to be odd, a little sour, a little bitter in a bad way, while my husband (the beer drinker) said it was good.

Oh, well. You can make some sort of casserole or dip or sauce for your fries with this simple recipe:

Beer Cheese Sauce

Servings: about 2 cups
Time: 15-20 mins
Difficulty: easy
Print

I was trying to use up some heavy cream and half and half, but you could substitute other combinations of milk products in the sauce.

2 tablespoons butter

1/2-1 clove minced garlic

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup half and half

1/2 cup beer

Optional: 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

12 oz shredded cheddar cheese (I used Kerrygold™ Dubliner cheese instead of a traditional cheddar)

Make the roux for the sauce by melting the butter over medium-low heat, then stirring in the garlic, and cooking for 1 minute. Stir in the flour, slat, and pepper until all is combined and smooth.
Pour in the liquids and stir until smooth and thickened.
Stir in shredded cheese until melted.

I poured this sauce over my casserole ingredients and baked it for about 20 minutes, but it could be the sauce for any number of uses.