Beer Recipes: Spring Menu Items Featuring Favorite Beers

Two things that never go out of season in Minnesota: beer and walleye. And though this pair is tasty year-round, it certainly gets even more appetizing as temperatures start to climb. So, in celebration of the start of spring and summer ahead, we've decided to put together a spring menu filled with beer recipes. Your spring menu — featuring three local beers:

Starter salad

Spring greens with orange-and-ale vinaigrette made with an India Pale Ale  – We recommend Summit IPA.

Side of veggies

Spring vegetables in beer redution – We recommend Leinenkugel's Amber Light

Main Dish

Crispy Beer-Battered Walleye with Mango Sweet-and-Sour Sauce

Gunflint Lodge Bed and Breakfast and Restaurant in Grand Marais, Minnesota, is a gem and their walleye recipe is a standout. We recommend staying with the "up north" theme and using a Minnesota classic lager; Grain Belt Premium.  Does beer in the batter really matter? Well, the folks at Scientific American say so, and well, so do our taste buds.

Ingredients

Flour for dredging walleye before battering

Six 8- to 10-ounce boneless, skinless walleye fillets, whole or cut into finger-sized strips

Oil for deep frying

Sweet and sour sauce:

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1-1/2 cup rice-wine vinegar

2 teaspoons chili paste with garlic

2 Tablespoons Asian fish sauce

2 Tablespoons cornstarch and 4 Tablespoons water mixed together

Garnish:

1/2 red pepper, finely diced (or a combination of colored sweet peppers)

4 green onions, green part only, finely sliced on the diagonal

1/2 mango, cut into 1/4-inch dice (other fruits such as fresh peaches, raspberries, wild blueberries, strawberries, or a combination of fruits may be substituted)

Beer batter:

2-1/2 cups flour

3 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

Two to three 12-ounce cans of beer

Sweet and sour sauce: Combine sugar, garlic, rice-wine vinegar, chili paste, and fish sauce in a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes until reduced and flavor is developed. Add cornstarch mixture and continue to cook until thickened. Put through sieve, prepare garnishes, and refrigerate until needed.

Beer batter: Whisk flour, paprika, salt, and pepper together until well combined. Whisk in beer to make a thin batter, not much thicker than buttermilk or heavy cream. Dredge walleye in flour and shake off excess. Dip into beer batter and deep fry in oil at 360 degrees until golden brown and crisp. Remove and drain. (Note: it is very important to hold the heat level during cooking. Using a heavy-weight frying pan will help keep the oil temperature from dropping after the fish is first put in the oil.)

Cover the bottom of 6 heated plates with 1/8 cup or more of the sauce mixed with 1 to 2 Tablespoons of the chopped mango. Sprinkle the red peppers and green onions over the sauce. Place the walleye on top and serve.