We’ve all probably watched a cooking show at some point in our lives. We’ve seen both amateurs and professionals in the kitchen coming up with either amazing or horrifying dishes. You cannot deny that you, at some point, thought, “Yeah, I can make a banger of a dish if I had the right ingredients.” Well, what if we told you that you should try coffee-based cooking?
Much like playing a concert or creating some kind of performance art, sometimes you need to add a little freestyle into your cooking. By this, we don’t mean that you just use some exotic fish caught only from depths unknown or a cow that was raised listening to Mozart and fed only the finest hay grown in a utopian bio-dome. Sometimes the twist can be as simple as adding some cinnamon powder or a different kind of chili pepper.
While you might think that your roasted coffee beans are only good for making a great cup of coffee in the morning, you’d be surprised at how they can add a new dimension to your cooking when you throw them into the mix. Whether as beans, (unused) ground, or an actual cup of coffee, they’re a good addition to any meal as long as you know what you’re doing. Here are a few dishes that you can try at home.
The Opening Act: Coffee-Based Appetizers
Who doesn’t like an appetizer that helps wake you up AND has BACON? You can try mixing coffee grounds in with some bacon, butter, and onions, topped with a sauce of water, mustard seeds, salt, rice vinegar, and some sugar. Another sweet-savory-coffee recipe you can try is meatballs with coffee grounds, a little brewed coffee, and spices mixed in. Mix the grounds and some brewed coffee into the ground meat along with the other ingredients and make a sauce that you’d like to pair with your new creation.
The Main Act: Coffee-Based Proteins
Coffee crusted meats are common dishes that are served on shows like Hell’s Kitchen or Master Chef. While they may look daunting at first, preparing a main course that involves meats covered in coffee or with sauces that have coffee mixed in shouldn’t be too daunting. You have a wide variety of proteins to choose from.
Nearly any type of meat can be used for your main course. You can have cuts of steak, a rib of lamb, a filet of fish, or even spice up the usually bland chicken breast! There’s a wide range of meat dishes to go with your coffee. These include short ribs, pork chops, and even fish! The possibilities are endless and they are sure to make your meals extra special.
The Accompaniment: Coffee-Based Sauces and Sides
Coffee gravy might sound odd, but we recommend giving it a shot to spice up your sauce game! You can put it on your meats, your mashed potatoes, and maybe dip a biscuit in it. The possibilities are endless! For those who aren’t too keen on their greens, perhaps some vegetables in coffee dry rub would change their minds.
For some extra carbs, sweet potatoes cooked in a reduction of coffee, espresso powder, maple syrup, bourbon, and sugar would make for a special pairing with your meats.
The Closing Act: Coffee-Based Desserts
When it comes to desserts, you can never go wrong with a good Tiramisu. A good cake with sweet and coffee flavors is a surefire way to end your meal on a high note. For those with a craving for ice cream, coffee ice cream is always an option.
People who want something that’s not just sweet for their dessert also have options such as coffee cheesecake (who DOESN’T like cheesecake?!). You can also mix them into your baking endeavors and make coffee cookies, pancakes, brownies, the whole nine yards. If you want to end the meal with a little buzz, you can’t go wrong with an affogato, an Italian dessert that’s just ice cream, an espresso shot, and a little liquor. For those who would rather not have alcohol in their ending drink, the German Eisekafee is a great choice. It’s an ice cream-based dessert that includes whipped cream, sprinkles, and all the toppings that would make your inner child grin from ear to ear.
Cooking with Coffee: Curtain Call
The versatility of coffee and the extra oomph that it brings to your meals is unquestionable. It’s an inexpensive ingredient that when mixed into your cooking, adds a unique twist to the meal. Coffee on its own is still a great drink that offers a lot of flexibility to suit how you want your beverage to turn out. Coffee beans are an inexpensive ingredient that can turn your normal dinner into something that would give Gordon Ramsay a run for his money.
Whether it’s at the start, the end, or everything in between, you can never go wrong with mixing coffee into your food. If you want to bring your cooking to the next level, visit the Equipoise Coffee shop, and get your own top quality beans today!
