Whiskey lovers already know that there are some whiskies that go well with certain kinds of foods – but did you know that there are ways you can actually incorporate whiskey into your cooking?
Just as you might do with wine, you can use whiskey as an ingredient in a wide range of savory and sweet dishes, adding new elements of flavor and giving your dinner a real kick.
These Recipes Go Great with Good Whiskey
Naturally, SipDark encourages you to enjoy a fine glass of whiskey while you cook – so as you gather your ingredients, be sure to break out the Glencairn glass, your soapstone whiskey stones, and a bottle of your favorite Scotch. Your cooking experience will never get more enjoyable than this!
1. Whiskey Cream
Whiskey Cream is a delicious addition to your dessert. It goes fantastically with rich desserts like Christmas cake or fruit cake. For these kinds of cakes, consider soaking the fruit in alcohol before serving.
To make whiskey cream, you’ll need:
- 1 tablespoon of icing sugar
- 1 carton of double cream
- 1 tablespoon of whiskey
Take your carton of double cream, which should be at least 280ml, and pour it into a large bowl. Then, simply add your whiskey and icing sugar, and whip it up using a whisk. Hand whisk, or use a mechanical whisk until the cream becomes thick like whipped cream. Mix until the whiskey and icing sugar has been evenly distributed throughout it.
This will create a rich and sweet cream that can be used with a huge range of desserts.
2. Sticky Whiskey Ribs
If you love ribs, then you’ll love this sticky, glazed ribs recipe. You’ll need:
- 4 tablespoons of whiskey
- 3 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce
- 150g of honey
- 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 150g of ketchup
- 140g of chili ketchup
- 2 tablespoons of barbecue spice mix
- 2kg of individual ribs
Start by heating your oven to 160 degrees C, and put your ribs in a big bowl. This bowl will be the place in which you glaze your ribs before they are cooked. Add the barbecue spice mix to the bowl and cover your ribs all over. Place the ribs on a metal rack and then cook in the oven for an hour, until they appear browned.
While the ribs are cooking, you can make your whiskey glaze. You’ll need a sauce pan where you’ll add all your remaining ingredients. Stir everything together in a pan and simmer for five minutes until you see the sauce becoming thick and sticky. Don’t boil the mixture, as you will ruin the consistency.
Once your ribs have browned in the oven, remove them and then increase the heat to 200 degrees C. Pick up the piping hot ribs using barbecue tongs, and dip them individually within the glaze. Place your ribs back on the metal rack, using a metal baking tray underneath it to ensure you aren’t dripping sauce on your worktops or in the oven.
When the ribs have been coated, put them back in the oven for 10 minutes or more, until the glazing is sticky and hot. Remove the ribs and serve however you like – ideally next to a Glencairn glass full of your favorite whiskey!
3. Irish Apple Tart
An Irish apple tart is a delicious dessert that takes a little longer to cook than glazed ribs! To make your own apple tart, you will need:
- 1 beaten egg
- 280ml of whipping cream
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 knob of butter
- 250g of demerara sugar
- 5kg of cooking apples (cored and peeled)
- 100ml of Irish whiskey
- 200g of raisins or sultana
For the pastry:
- 500g of plain flour
- 2 eggs
- 100g of sugar
- 250g of butter
For the savory sugar:
- Zest of 3 lemons
- 10g of sea salt
- 140g of muscovado sugar
To make your savory sugar, you’ll need to heat the oven to 140 degrees C. Take a baking tray and add baking paper to it. Scatter your sugar on the baking sheet, and add the sea salt and zest of lemon. Place this in the oven for a quarter of an hour, which will dry it out. Once you have removed it and let it cool, add the contents into a blender and then pass it through a sieve to get rid of any lumps. This creates your savory salt.
To create the pastry, place the butter and flour into a food processor until it creates a breadcrumb-like texture. Now, add your eggs and sugar, and switch on the food processor until you have a smooth pastry dough. Take the pastry and wrap it in plastic film before leaving it in the refrigerator to chill.
Take a saucepan and add the raisins, whiskey, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer, and then leave it to the side.
Slice your apples into wedges, place butter in a sauce pan, and cook the apples in the melting butter. Add half of the demerara sugar as well as the cinnamon stick, and a dash of whiskey – how much is up to you! Cook the apples for an additional four minutes until they have taken on plenty of color, and then drain the apples to get rid of excess fluid.
Next, turn your oven to 160 degrees C. Take out a baking ring (around 30cm), and grease it. Roll out 2/3 of your pastry to around 3mm and chill for 20 minutes. Prick the pastry using your fork and blind make for 10 minutes.
Then, brush the pastry with a beaten egg and bake for another five minutes. Keep repeating this process until it’s perfect, then leave the pastry to cool in the baking ring. When it’s cooled, then add the mixture of raisins and apples, and roll out a pastry top for the tart, and secure with egg wash. Turn up your oven to 180 degrees C and bake for 20 minutes, until your tart is golden.