Front Burner: The perfect pint of Guinness
Sam Dean l The Roanoke Times
Perhaps it is the red hair, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve been obsessed with all things Irish.
I devour Irish poetry and travel guides, replace my old Ireland wall calendar with a new one every January and swoon over my framed copy of “Hellelil and Hildebrand,” a beautiful Irish painting by Sir Frederick Burton.
So why in the Hellelil has it taken me this long to order a draught Guinness? I don’t know, but my face is blushing to match my hair as I write this.
Before you lob rotten cabbages at me, allow me to redeem myself a bit: In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I ordered my first Guinness last week, and I think I’m hooked. It was like a sheep in wolf’s clothing — it looked thick, rich and bitter but was crisp, refreshing and smooth going down.
I’m in good company.
According to the folks at Guinness, world consumption of the velvety black beverage jumps from 5.5 million pints per day to 13 million pints on St. Patrick’s Day. That made me wonder how those numbers look in our neck of the woods.
To continue reading this column, click here.
To see recipes for Guinness Corned Beef (it’s delicious, I made it) and Guinness Stout Gingerbread Cake, click here.
I also came across a very good Web site with lots of Guinness recipes. It’s called Karott.com. A reader called this morning and asked if I’d ever had the Guinness fruit cake, which is on this site. It’s made with real dried fruit, and the reader assures me it is very good, not like the store bought stuff.
Do you have a favorite St. Patrick’s Day recipe? Share it on the blog!
March 17, 2010 - 9:29 AM
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I stumbled across this recipe last week. I think you can actually use any stout in it, but it is called a guiness stout cake so I think it’s appropriate to share here.
http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/11/ganached-guinness-goodness/
It looks delicious and I think I’ll wind up making it for one of the brewer’s guild meetings one day.
B.H., I’ve had that cake before, it’s awesome! I think my friend used Murphy’s stout, which is similar to Guinness but slightly sweeter.
Below is a recipe for guinness ice cream with dark chocolate honey sauce. It is a emeril recipe from food networks site. I have not made this yet but it sounds so delicious!! Let me know if anyone has tried this… I think I will have to put my ice cream maker bowl in the freezer tonight to make this up finally!
Ingredients
12 ounces Guinness stout
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
6 egg yolks
Dark Chocolate-Honey Sauce, recipe follows
Directions
In a large saucepan, simmer the Guinness until reduced by 3/4 in volume, about 8 minutes. Combine the cream, milk, and sugar in a medium, heavy saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the pan and add the vanilla bean halves. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat.
Beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk 1 cup of the hot cream into the egg yolks. Gradually add the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream, to the hot cream. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and reaches 170 degrees F. on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down against the surface to keep a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Remove from refrigerator and add the Guinness reduction, whisking until well blended. Pour into the bowl of an ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.
Dark Chocolate-Honey Sauce:
2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup honey
20 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
In a medium saucepan, scald cream and honey medium heat. Remove from the heat. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Add the hot cream, let sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in the vanilla. Let stand until cool but still pourable. Serve over Guinness ice cream.
And while we’re on the subject of Guinness and chocolate…
http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/car-bomb-cupcakes/
Yum, yum and yum.
Lindsey, re: your column on the perfect pint, you are quite correct. I will say this, the Guinness in a can thing is horrible in my opinion. After I’ve had a pint poured for me, nothing they do in a can works.
One thing an Irish (he was born and grew up in Ireland) bartender told me, usually, the best gauge is to wait a full minute between pours on the draught. So, you do the first pour, then go fix someone else a drink. You return, do the final pour, then go fix someone else a drink. Then you serve the black & tan goodness of Guinness.
I used that phrase to introduce you to another wondrous creation – a true Black & Tan. Here is something that is another step up the ladder for Irish beer lovers. It’s a combo draught concoction.
You pour a glass half full of Harp’s (a Guinness product). Then you turn a spoon bottomside up over the glass, and slowly pour Guinness onto the back of the spoon. You let about 3/4 to 1″ of head form. There’s your infamous Black & Tan.
Some people use Bass instead of Harp’s, but I say – Why pollute a good Guinness with English ale? I love Bass, but in it’s place.
Anyway, that will give you something to try later. Enjoy!
If you think Guinness is good here, it is even better in Ireland. Something about it makes it more rich and delicious.
Lindsey, for your next vacation hop a plane and head to Ireland! Land at Shannon airport so you can get used to driving on the left on country roads and then proceed to eat and drink your way around the island. Guinness is a totally different beverage there, not having to submit to all the rules to get into the US. And the food – absolutely unbelievable! Take a soft side cooler and a bunch of plastic grocery bags (the shops don’t supply them) and after a huge breakfast made from the freshest ingredients at your B&B, trundle down to the local bakery, deli and produce shops and load up with your road food. All local, all fresh, all the time. Tool around and be amazed at the countryside and the people, have dinner in a pub (make sure you check out the seafood, best in the world, imo)and hang out for the music that always starts up in the evenings, sleep in a cozy B&B, and start all over again in the morning. We always plan our trips by checking out the B&B websites that have the best breakfasts, and what town’s farmers markets are when. Mmmm… Cashel Blue cheese, Irish butter, a fresh cottage loaf, crispy apples, pickles and a Guinness to wash it down. Dang! Where’s my passport?
Melissa, the reason that the Guinness is better in Ireland is because that’s the real Guinness. The Guinness ‘imported’ to the US is actually imported from Canada, not Ireland.
Labatt Brewing is under contract to produce all the Guinness for North America. Supposed to be to the same recipe & quality control, but you know how that goes. What happens is that the central facility in St. James, Ireland produces Guinness Essence – which is an extract, essentially, and ships it to breweries in several countries, including Canada. Then Labatt’s adds water, etc. to the extract to formulate the beer, which at 4.2 is lighter than that in Ireland.
Thus the exquisite Guinness you taste over here is made by Labatt’s in Canada using a ‘syrup’ from Ireland, and is watered down enough to make it popular here.
Sort of takes the romance out of the whole deal, doesn’t it? So much for a clover leaf in the head on a pint, eh?
Despite all that, it is worth the time & effort to enjoy one…
I wonder if homebrewers can buy extract from Guiness? That would be pretty cool to brew at home.
I’ve always heard that a black & tan was Guinness & Bass, and that a Guinness & Harp is actually a Half&Half. Which makes Guinness & cider then a black velvet, of course.
But since I’ve been in Roanoke I’ve seen a few restaurants that have screwy definitions for each of those.
I had a Guinness & Currant while in Ireland. They pull a partial pint, let it rest, float a thin layer of currant liquor on top, then finish pulling the pint. Delicious! Who knew!
A Black & Tan can be either Guinness/Harp, or Guinness/Bass. The Irishmen I talked to who were bartenders said that ‘they’ preferred the Harp, because it was also of Irish derivation.
I guess it all depends on where ‘your people are from’…
Mine are from Scotland and Ireland, so I side with those that spurn the Britisher beer in favor of the Motherland’s juice.