For beer and food recipes, 'tis no better source than The Homebrew Chef, Sean Paxton. Sean has been cooking with beer for years and spreads his message across the country: beer is a great cooking ingredient, even better than wine.
But BillyBrew readers already know that, right?
Now on to this recipe. The roasted garlic IPA mashed potatoes are one of a few dozen recipes Sean has on his Homebrew Chef website, but being a garlic guy, and an IPA guy, this one caught my eye first.
How to Make Roasted Garlic IPA Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs potatoes. I used Russet, but you could use any kind really. What do you like?
- 2 heads of garlic.
- 1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter.
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream.
- 4 sprigs of thyme.
- 2-4 tbsp IPA. I went with Avery's IPA. It uses Columbus hops which have an earthy flavor that works well with the potatoes and garlic.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Process:
For the potatoes:
- Skin and chop the potatoes into large chunks. Put them into a pot with water so that they are completely submerged, and then add 1/4 cup of salt.
- Boil the potatoes for 15-20 minutes until soft.
- Drain the water and put the potatoes back into pot.
- Mash with a potato masher, or punch into oblivion.
For the garlic sauce:
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Remove the outermost layer of skin from the garlic heads.
- Cut the top 1/5 of the garlic heads off, trying to leave the rest of the head intact.
- Place each head on a small, square piece of foil. Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil and add 1 sprig of thyme to each. Add some salt and pepper. Wrap up the foil.
- Place the foil balls in the oven and roast for 20-30 minutes.
- Take the garlic out of the oven, open the foil, and let it cool for 5 minutes.
- Using a paper towel so you don't burn yourself, squeeze the garlic cloves into a bowl and mash them with a fork.
- Put the cream, butter, and 2 sprigs of thyme into a sauce pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic and simmer for another 3 minutes.
- Add the beer and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the garlic mixture into the mash potatoes and mix well.
As I say in the video, these are the best mashed potatoes I've had. I can't even think about eating them now unless they are made in this way.
About the beer: It's an important part to the recipe so I want to say a few things about it. What the IPA brings to the table is balance. This is a heavy dish with all the butter, cream, starch, and fat. The IPA adds just a touch of bitterness that cuts through these flavors and brings some relief to the weight of the meal. It's a small thing that makes a big difference. Also, the earthy flavors from the hops do a great job of seasoning the potatoes. They act just like an herb, sprucing up the potatoes with a little green flavor.
Look for an IPA with Columbus hops for that earthy flavor. I don't think one brewed with citrusy hops like Cascade would do as well. I'd really like to try this with Oskar Blues Gubna. Gubna uses Summit hops which some people (including me) think taste like onions and garlic. I'll get shot for saying this, but I don't like Gubna for that reason, but maybe this recipe will bring it back into my kitchen.
Thanks Sean for the recipe. Check out his new show, The Homebrewed Chef on the Brewing Network. I've listened to every minute of it so far and it's fantastic for craft beer fans and foodies.
Have you made roasted garlic mashed potatoes? Ever use beer in it?
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TapHunter says
October 22, 2010 at 2:02 pmI can’t describe how delicious that looks! I’m definitely going to have to try this weekend. What are your favorite IPAs with Columbia or Gubna hops?
Billy B. says
October 22, 2010 at 5:59 pm@TapHunter Yea and the picture doesn’t even do it justice. i’ll have to look up some more commercial IPAs that use Columbus besides Avery. I know homebrewers use them alot, and I once made a great IPA with Columbus. It’d be nice if there was a central place where you could look up a hop and see all the commercial examples that use it. Hm….
The Gubna is Oskar Blues’s double IPA that uses Summit hops. Like I said in the post, I don’t like Summit hops, but I think they’d go great in this recipe.
William says
October 26, 2010 at 10:08 pmHey Billy,
How many people is this recipe meant to serve? It seems like a lot of garlic to use.
Keep the beer and food recipes coming.
Adam says
November 4, 2010 at 4:20 pmLooks great Billy,
I might have to throw a steak on the grill this weekend!
Cheers
Cruckin78 from HBT.
Warren O'Donoghue says
November 9, 2010 at 4:10 amLooks and sounds amazing, I’ve gotta give this a try, thanks for the recipe Billy.
One question : What would you substitute the IPA with if I can’t get any in my local shop (store), I live in England.
Thanks
Warren
Billy B. says
November 9, 2010 at 11:11 am@Warren I would go with an ESB. Most British hops have an earthy flavor to them so that should work well. The fruit you get off the yeast may work nicely too. One other idea is if you used a hoppier German Pilsner. Would love to hear what you use and how it turns out. Thanks for checking out the video.
Warren O'Donoghue says
November 16, 2010 at 3:49 amHi Billy, I tried your recipe and it was as you said AMAZING, my wife and 5 year old daughter were very impressed too and have demanded I make the same again next week, and @William the garlic is perfect and really enhances the flavors. For the beer I used Batemans which I got at our local supermarket here in NW England (near Liverpool) and it worked perfectly, I’m going to try a German Pilsner for next time as you suggested Billy.
Thanks again for a great recipe and keep up the good work 🙂
ps heres a link to the Batemans beer page if you would like to take a look :
http://www.bateman.co.uk/Beers/btcharvest.htm
Billy B. says
November 16, 2010 at 12:53 pm@Warren So glad you made the recipe. I knew you’d love it, and the face that the family loves it too is a great. That beer looks pretty interesting seeing that it’s made with oats, rye, wheat, and barley. It probably gave good complexity to the dish. Thanks for letting us know how it went!
Johan says
January 31, 2012 at 9:49 pmI really like this receipe today I am going to try. A
Billy B. says
February 1, 2012 at 12:05 amYou’re gonna love it.
Luke says
November 22, 2012 at 9:15 pmThese were great, awesome for thanksgivings. I used Left Hand 400 pound Monkey IPA, and added White Chedder, thanks never going to make mashed potatoes the old way again!
Billy B. says
November 23, 2012 at 9:57 amGlad you liked them. 400 pound Monkey is a great idea. I made them again yesterday with an English Bitter and it worked really well too.
bul bul says
October 11, 2013 at 8:55 pmgreat recipe. let try to make a beer. cheers