Tonight I am going to be sharing three different uses for Big Rock Beer with you. It’s BBQ season, so two of the ideas have to do with cooking. The other tip is sort of near and dear to my heart.

NUMBER ONE: Marinde

You may not know it, but your favourite Big Rock Beer can be used to marinate meat. 

Beer is slightly acidic – and that makes it an excellent meat tenderizer. This allows you to enjoy leaner cuts of meat that  might otherwise be a little too tough. Beer also won’t alter the meat’s flavor as much as wine and vinegar-based marinades. Poke a few holes in the meat, put it in a Tupperware container or a large re-sealable bag and add your favourite Big Rock Beer. Marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours or, better yet, overnight. Great for beef, pork, buffalo, road kill or what have you. Here is The Bix Mix Boys tip of the month: No matter how tempted you may be - do not drink the marinade!

NUMBER TWO: BBQ Sauce

You can use your favourite Big Rock Beer to make Big Rock Beer Barbeque Sauce

The Ingredients are: 

1 medium Spanish onion, diced
1 medium banana pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp capers
5 ripe tomatoes, diced
1 small can tomato paste
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp cumin (except I don’t know what the hell that is, so I usually leave it out).
Dash of ground clove           

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and boil for 10 minutes. Lower heat and simmer about 4 hours until thickened. Cool and refrigerate for 24 hours so the flavours can meld. Then baste everything but the dog with it.

NUMBER THREE: Pass a kidney stone

This one is very near and dear to me. You can use your favourite Big Rock Beer to pass a kidney stone.

As you’ve undoubtedly noticed, beer is a diuretic - it helps flush the kidneys and bladder. This can be beneficial if you’re suffering from kidney stones. You can drink water or cranberry juice, but beer works better. It helps dilate the tubes connecting the kidneys and bladder, which may help you pass a stone quicker and easier. Plus, the alcohol will take the edge off the pain. Which brings us to the second Bix Mix Boys tip of the month. Don’t drink beer if you’re taking antibiotics or narcotic pain medications. You’ll render the drugs useless and make yourself sick. Take it from me, being sick is not what you want when you have kidney stones. They are too much fun all by themselves!

It’s time  for the “Cooking with Jim” portion of the show and, with bluegrass festivals starting soon, we have a good one for you this month.

Are you tired of the same old hamburgers that you seem to get from the various concession stands at bluegrass festivals these days? Why not bring your own makins’ with you to the festival and whip up your own super tasting Big Rock Beer Burgers ~ ones that go great with your favourite Big Rock Beer. You don’t really need a bar-b-q- ~ just turn a shopping cart on  its side and build a fire in it. It’s the perfect mobile bar-b-q with a built in grille. When the coals are ready, you can create your own  super tasty Big Rock Beer Burgers With Big Rock Beer Braised Onions

These burgers take about 1 hour to make with about 15 min prep time.

They are excellent burgers, and with the onions piled on top of the burger, this recipe is one of the Bix Mix Boys favourites.

For the Big rock Beer Braised Onions you will need

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large onion, sliced thin
• 1 cup of your favourite Big Rock beer
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Big rock beer Burgers you will need

• 1 1/2 lbs ground chuck
• 2 tablespoons of your favourite big rock beer
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper
• 4 hamburger buns
• 4 slices cheese (your choice)

Here are the Directions

1    for the Onions: melt butter in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté, stirring frequently until tender - about 5-to-6 minutes. Add 3/4 cup of your favourite Big Rock beer, sugar and salt. Cook until all the beer has been absorbed by the onions and they begin to brown slightly - about 18 minutes. Add the remaining 1/4 cup beer and bring to a simmer to keep onions warm.

2    for the Burgers: In a large bowl, thoroughly combine the ground chuck, your favourite Big Rock beer, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Gently form into 4 patties.

Here is the Bix Mix Boys special tip of the month.  Handle the burgers as little as possible. The more you squeeze them and squish them, the tougher they get. Nobody wants to eat a hockey puck.

 3   Grill burgers to your desired degree of doneness.

4    Toast buns on the grill.

 5   Serve burgers on the toasted buns topped with cheese, braised onions and ketchup.  And, of course, don’t forget to wash it all down with a can your favourite Big Rock Beer. But more importantly, don’t forget to return the shopping cart to get your loonie back.

Prep Time: 10 minutes………..Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 can of your favorite Big Rock beer
• 1 chicken (31/2 to 4 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons of your favorite  Bar~B~Q rub
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Preparation:

Pop the tab off a can of you favorite Big Rock beer and pour half of it over 2 cups of wood chips (preferably hickory or cherry), then swallow the remainder of the can to keep your fluid levels up. You do not want to dehydrate while cooking. Soak chips for 1 hour, then drain. Open another can of Big Rock and take a good long sip. Using a church key-style can opener, make 2 additional holes in its top. Set that can of beer aside.

Remove the packet of giblets from the body cavity of the chicken, then remove and discard the fat just inside the body and neck cavities. Rinse the chicken inside and out, under cold running water and then drain and blot dry, inside and out, with paper towels. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the rub inside the body cavity and 1/2 teaspoon inside the neck cavity of the chicken. Drizzle some oil over the outside of the bird and rub or brush it all over the skin. Sprinkle the outside of the bird with 1 tablespoon of rub and rub it all over the skin. Spoon the remaining 1-1/2 teaspoons of rub into the Big Rock beer can through one of the holes in the top. Don't worry if the beer foams up: This is normal.

Hold the bird upright, with the opening of the body cavity at the bottom and lower it onto the Big Rock beer can so the can fits into the cavity. Pull the chicken legs forward to form a sort of tripod, so the bird stands upright. The rear leg of the tripod is the beer can.

Tuck the tips of the wings behind the chicken’s back. Set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium. Place all the wood chips in the smoker box or in a smoker pouch and preheat on high until you see smoke, then reduce the heat to medium.

When ready to cook, stand the chicken up in the center of the hot grate, over a drip pan and away from the heat. Close the lid on the grill and cook the chicken until the skin is a dark golden brown and very crisp and the meat is cooked through (about 180 degrees F. on an instant-read meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh, but not touching the bone), about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours. If the chicken skin starts to brown too much, loosely tent the bird with aluminum foil.

Using tongs, hold the bird by the can and carefully transfer it in an upright position to a platter.

Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, then carefully lift it off its support. Take care not to spill the hot beer. Halve, quarter, or carve the chicken and serve.

Yield: 2 to 4 servings

The Bix Mix Boys personal experience tip of the month: It’s probably a good idea to have some clothes on when handling a hot barbeque, hot beer and chicken grease.

This month we are doing some basic bluegrass baking and trying our hand at Big Rock beer bread. Now, if you add a few simple ingredients to a can or bottle of Big Rock beer, you too can make a delicious loaf of beer bread.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons baking powder
• 12 ounces of delicious Big Rock beer (perhaps something along the lines of a Big Rock Honey Brown, or Big Rock McNally‘s Extra)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten

Preparation:

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt with the sugar. Add the Big Rock beer and eggs both at the same time and stir. You may have to knead the last of the flour in with your hands.

Place in greased 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan and bake at 375 degrees until done - about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and cool.

Here is our helpful tip of the month ~ you must sift the flour for all bread recipes. If you just scoop the 1 cup measure from the flour bag and level it off, the flour compacts and will turn your bread into a "hard biscuit”. This is one time that you do not want “buns of steel”.

This recipe makes one loaf of mighty delicious Big Rock beer bread. This bread is best eaten right from the oven. Heavenly! If you do have any left ~ which is doubtful ~ you can use the leftovers to make a mighty powerful Big Rock beer toast the morning after. The morning after WHAT is up to you!

Here are the ingredients:
3 eggs, separated
½ cup sugar
2 cups milk
1 bottle of your favourite Big Rock beer
¼ cup brandy or bourbon
1 cup whipping cream ~ whipped
Nutmeg to taste

Beat the egg yolks with ¼ cup sugar until it’s very thick.
Gradually stir in milk, brandy, and a bottle of your favourite big rock beer.
Beat egg whites until foamy.
Gradually beat in remaining ¼ cup of sugar, and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
Fold whites into yolk/beer mixture.
Just before serving, fold in whipped cream.
Serve in small punch cups, sprinkled with nutmeg.

This recipe makes 6 cups of rich yet not heavily alcoholic pure Christmas pleasure. If you have never considered beer in eggnog, you will be quite pleasantly surprised at the delectable flavour. And don’t forget to leave a cup of eggnog and some cookies out for santa. He knows how good Big Rock beer is.

As you may or may not know, deep frying a turkey is based on the weight of the bird and the temperature of the oil. Usually an average bird will take about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Then it must rest for about 15 to 30 minutes. Resting the turkey means wrapping it in tinfoil and leaving it alone to finish cooking itself.

So what are you going to do during that 15 to 30 minutes?

Onion rings made with Big Rock beer and Coyote pancake batter.

Anyone who lives in Alberta should have a good supply of Coyote flapjack mix in the cupboard - after all - it’s been a staple around here since the 1920s.

One cup or two of Coyote mix into a bowl
Slowly add your favourite Big Rock beer 
Stir until you get the consistency, not too thick and not too thin
Slice up some onions to the size of rings that you want. It doesn’t matter what kind of onions that you use - Spanish - yellow - sweet - or even ones that you borrow from your neighbours garden, they all taste about the same after deep frying.

Your oil should still be around 350 degrees from cooking the old tom turkey, so dip 10 or 12 onion rings into the batter and lower them slowly into the oil with tongs. If you have a wire basket of some kind, that will work too.

Here is a helpful tip for you all that we learned first hand. Always put a t-shirt on before deep frying anything. The onion rings cook quite quickly, and you may have to turn them over half way through.

These Big Rock beer - Coyote pancake batter onion rings will knock your socks off. I guarantee you will never taste anything better, except maybe the deep fried turkey. Store bought onion rings do not compare folks. Is it the Big Rock beer, or is it the Coyote flapjack mix? It don’t really  matter.

But… Who has eggs and milk at a time like that? However, everyone always has a healthy supply of Big Rock beer. Here’s what you do.

Mix your dry ingredients:

1 and 3/4 cups of flour,

2 tablespoons of sugar,

1 teaspoon of salt and

3 tablespoons of baking powder.

Take a big old sip of your favourite Big Rock beer and pour the rest in the bowl. Then add 3 tablespoons of oil.

If you are camped out next to a blueberry patch, a Saskatoon bush, or can find some wild strawberries, clean them up and throw them in as well.

Now here’s a little hint for you all - mix the batter, but not too much - leave some lumps - that makes for fluffier pancakes.  Another good hint  -  you’ll know your skillet is hot enough to cook on when a drop of water dances across the surface. Open another can of Big Rock beer and sip it long and slow.  Add oil to your skillet  and “viola,” Big Rock Beer Pancakes.”

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
half-teaspoon baking powder
half-cup butter
three-quarters cup buttermilk

In a mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture looks like large crumbs. Add buttermilk and quickly fold dry ingredients with your hands until you have a sticky dough.

Lay dough onto a counter that is floured. Fold the dough over itself 4 times (creating layers). Flatten to a two-centimetre thickness and cut out circles of desired size (we use a glass with the edge floured). Brush with butter.

Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 400 degree oven until golden brown.