Beer Cheese Fondue Recipe (Delicious & Easy) - Craft Beering (2024)

FAQs

What beer is best for beer cheese? ›

In general, when making beer cheese, choose a brew with a light body and subtle flavor profile. Beers in the pilsner, blonde ale, and lager families would all be good options. For pilsners, stick to American styles as they are less hoppy, milder, and far less bitter than their European counterparts.

When making cheese fondue, always use a thickener. Cheese should be shredded and tossed with flour or cornstarch to aid in thickening and to improve the viscosity of the fondue. A good rule of thumb is to use one tablespoon of flour or cornstarch per pound of cheese.

The secret ingredient

However, another key ingredient is a thickener like cornstarch or flour. You toss it with your grated cheese first, coating the fat and protein of the cheese, which stabilizes the sauce and ensures it won't clump when melting.

The advertised reason is that the alcohol will cut some of the protein chains resulting in a fondue that is dippable and not so stringy. Obviously the alcoholic beverage of choice will also add a lot of cheese-compatible flavor as well.

take the pot OFF the heat. The more your heat your cheese sauce, the more it will get gritty. if possible, mix with a good melting cheese -- to make my cheddar sauce, I use 1 part moteray jack (which has no taste (IMHO) but is a really good melting cheese) to 1 part sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese.

While the beer heating up, combine 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of warm water in a small bowl. Add the cornstarch slurry to the boiling beer, whisking constantly to fully incorporate it. Bring the beer back up to a boil, at which point the cornstarch slurry will slightly thicken the beer.

DO: Skip pre-shredded cheese. We know it's tempting, but you should never use pre-shredded cheese for fondue. These packaged cheeses are covered in a starchy, anti-clumping substance that hinders the melting process.

Never let fondue boil, which will cause the cheese proteins to curdle and the oil to separate. This recipe also calls for a slurry of kirsch and a little bit of cornstarch, which will also help to prevent the cheese and wine from separating.

When cheese gets too hot, its protein, called casein, can coagulate into a toughened mass, squeezing out liquid and fat. This is probably what happened with your fondue last year. Pots specially designed for cheese fondue insulate the cheese from the heat.

The recommended non-alcoholic beverage is hot tea. Many Swiss believe, and indeed insist, that it is crucial to avoid drinking cold beverages with fondue, as they are thought to cause the cheese to coagulate in the stomach and potentially cause very uncomfortable digestive distress.

Why do you put lemon juice in fondue? ›

Lemon juice helps stabilize the emulsion of melted cheese and wine, while providing a bright flavor to balance the dairy-fat richness. Keeping the heat low while melting the cheese prevents the fondue from breaking.

The ideal appellations for a successful marriage between wine and fondue. This Savoyard dish goes well with ... Savoy wines of course! Appellations such as Abymes, Apremont, Chapareillan or Roussette are unanimously acclaimed, and Loire wines such as Savennières or Cheverny are also a good choice.

A full-bodied, matured cheese often goes well with heavier beer types, like pale lager, brown ales or even stouts. You might also give a heavy barley wine a try. Sharp blue cheeses can handle a heavy black stout, which can otherwise easily smother other flavors. Heavy, fruity beers also go well with blue cheeses.

Lighter beers, such as lagers, ales and pilsners, will give your bread a lighter color, and mild taste that just about everyone loves. Darker beers like stouts and porters make a darker-colored loaf and have a stronger beer flavor. Hoppy beers like IPAs will give your bread a more bitter taste.

Pale Ale and Philly Cheesesteak

The soft, chewy bread of a Philly cheesesteak is filled with grilled rib-eye beef, either sliced or chopped, depending on who you ask. The sandwich is classically finished off with onions and cheese. Although flavorful, a cheesesteak has a mild taste that pairs perfectly with a pale ale.

Most are fair game for beer batter (Pilsner Urquell, Stella Artois, Modelo, and Firestone Pivo Pils are particularly nice), with the exception of Bohemian pilsner, which comes with a heavy dose of spices that can change the overall flavor of your dish. In a beer batter, pilsner is one of the more low-key options.