hops, you probably think of the amazing craft breweries and a glass of beer. However, hops aren’t just for beer and it’s actually a wonderful herb. You can bake, cook, marinate and more with hops for a tasty dish. When making beer, you will often use hops high in alpha acids, sometimes called “bitter” hops. For cooking, however, we will want to use hops that are low in alpha acids, called aromatic hops or also called dual-purpose hops. Duluth Pack has put together a variety of dishes to show you the wide range of things you can do with this complex herb.

Hopped-Up Bruschetta (3-4 servings)

Duluth Pack wanted to start with a fan-favorite snack recipe and found this delicious hop bruschetta recipe from Bon Appetit. This dish is ideal for dinner or takeaway as a sharing dish and can be quickly assembled on site if you are traveling.

Pro tip: If you’re having trouble finding fresh hops, basil flowers are a worthy substitute. Once the basil plant has flowered, its spiciness increases and its herbaceous becomes slightly bitter and hop-like.

Chicken skewers marinated with hops (4 servings)

Ingredients

3

• chicken breasts
• 8 oz Mushrooms
• 1-2 zucchini

1/3 cup olive oil 1/2 cup

• cider vinegar

1/4

• cup packaged light brown sugar

2

• tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 4 garlic cloves, pressed or finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered pellet hops
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Trim chicken breasts, cut them into 1″ cubes. Wash the mushrooms and zucchini, and cut the zucchini into 1/2″ thick slices.
2. Place the prepared chicken and vegetables in a non-metallic bowl or plate (with a lid).
3. Beat all remaining ingredients, apart from salt and pepper. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour over chicken and vegetables, and stir well to cover. Cool for 1 hour.
5. Place the chicken on skewers and the vegetables on separate skewers (they will have different cooking schedules).
6. Grill until the chicken is well cooked, and the vegetables are as cooked as you want.
7. Serve hot.

Hops Ginger Beer Recipe

hops aren’t just for alcoholic beverages! This tasty homemade ginger beer recipe from The Mountain Rose Herbs is alcohol-free and very refreshing for those hot summer days! Have a pint glass and some ice to drink this delicious drink all afternoon.

Pro tip: Making fresh ginger juice is easier than you think. Simply take a large piece of ginger (about 4 inches long), cut it, and throw it in a blender. Add about half a cup of water to the blender. Blend until everything breaks. Let stand in the liquid for a few minutes. Get a bowl and some gauze. Strain the ginger liquid through the gauze into the bowl. Be sure to keep all pulp out. Squeeze as much liquid as you can. The extra ginger juice can be stored in the freezer in ice cube trays.

You can easily make Hops Simple Syrup to use in your homemade hops and ginger beer or to add to another drink for extra flavor. With just a few cooking essentials, this is an easy syrup to create and can last up to a month if refrigerated properly.

Soft hop yeast recipe (Yields: 3 1/2 cups soft yeast)

Necessary equipment 3-quart saucepan

1 quart glass jar

• with lid

Small

• sieve

Ingredients

1/3 cup dry

hops (

• I use Yakima Chief hops)

6 cups quality water 1 1/4

• cups
• whole wheat flour

1/

• 2 teaspoons sea salt

1/

• 4 teaspoon dried active yeast or 1/3 cup good soft yeast from a previous batch

Instructions

1. Simmer hops in water for 30 minutes, letting the steam escape, to make a strong tea. The water will be reduced to about 3 1/2 cups.
2. Sterilize the jar and lid in boiling water. I do this by pouring boiling water into the jar and over the lid.
3. Place the flour and salt in the sterile jar. Strain the boiling tea over the flour. Stir well. It is important to blanch the flour to prevent the yeast from souring.
4. Cover loosely and let cool.
5. When it is cold (not cold) add the yeast and stir to incorporate. Cover loosely and keep at room temperature. It will bubble and ferment, producing a quality yeast.
6. When fermented (6 to 12 hours), cover tightly and store in a cool place.

Storage notes: Keeps for two weeks, properly stored. When yeast has a strong sour odor and watery appearance, it is too old for use.

Soft hop yeast bread recipe (2-3 breads)

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine cornmeal, salt and water. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 10 minutes to form a thin porridge. Transfer to a non-metallic mixing bowl.
2. Add the milk. This will cool the mixture.
3. Add the yeast and 4 cups of flour (I use whole wheat) to make a thick dough. Mix well and cover. This is called a sponge.
4. Let the mixture sit in a warm place (room temperature) for 2 to 12 hours. You can rework when the surface seems somewhat watery, although it is best to mix the sponge at night and finish making the bread the next morning.
5. Add 4 cups of all-purpose flour to form a rigid dough.
6. Place on a very floured surface, cover with more flour and knead to incorporate ingredients (10 to 15 minutes).
7. Let the dough rest on the work surface while you clean and grease the mixing bowl.
8. Knead the dough for 20 minutes to develop gluten. Return the dough to the bowl and cover.
9. Let rise in a warm area until doubling in bulk. This increase will take from 45 minutes to 4 hours, depending on how long you were allowed to develop the sponge.
10. Knead again, divide and form breads. This recipe will make three 4″ x 8″ breads, or two 5″ x 9″ breads. It can also be divided and shaped into hamburger rolls or buns.
11. Place the dough in greased pans, cover and let stand until doubling in bulk. This increase should take no more than 1 hour.
12. Mix the optional enamel and brush on breads or rolls.
13. Bake the loaves at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the bread comes off the sides of the pan and rings hollow when hit at the bottom. Rolls and buns are baked at 375°F for about 25 minutes.
14. When the bread has baked, turn it from the pans to a rack to cool. For a softer crust, cover the loaves with a hand towel while cooling.

Note: this dough tends to go up and not out, so make the base of the breads or buns the desired size of the final product.

Recipe for French Macarons Citrus of Lupulo (20 Servings)

We had to finish this list with a sweet recipe from Mary Porter of Celebration Generation to create traditional macarons with a fun twist using hops!

Ingredients

Filled with

orange and lemon butter 1

• /2 cup softened butter

1 tablespoon orange zest About 1 orange is worth 1

• teaspoon lemon zest About 1 lemon is worth 1 tablespoon
• orange
• juice
• 1-2 cups

powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees

.

2. Mix the powdered sugar, ground almond flour and hops powder. Sift through a wire strainer, discarding any large parts. reserve.
3. Mix the egg whites and sugar in a *very clean* metal mixing bowl. It is very important that not only the bowl and whisk attachment is VERY clean, but that egg yolk specks are not included with the egg white. The presence of any egg yolk or fat in your bowl or blender will prevent the egg whites from beating properly. This is the only “rule” you should really worry about!
4. Attach your bowl to the mixer and beat the eggs over high heat until stiff peaks form. The whites will be pillowy, thick and marshmallows. When you remove the whisk from the meringue, you should leave a very definite “peak”: if the tip flips a little, that’s fine. Add a small amount of food coloring, if desired, whisk.
5. Pour a bowl of dry ingredients into the meringue. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to gently stir the mixture until everything is well incorporated and very thick.
6. Once the mixture is fairly even, beat it until it is still thick, but oozes a little. You don’t want to beat it until it’s completely LIQUID, but you’d like it to settle back into place if you remove it a little and put it back in the mix. It is better to overcome it than to overcome it.
7. Pour the macaron dough into a pastry/icing bag with an opening of about 1/4″, either a metal tip or just the cut end of the bag.
8. Pipe ~ 1.25″ – 1.5″ rounds onto a cookie tray lined with parchment paper. If the dough isn’t running everywhere, there’s no real concern about putting them together, I’ll leave an inch or so between rounds.
9. Lift the cookie sheet and bang against the counter a couple of times to dislodge any air bubbles.
10. Bake the cookies for 13-16 minutes, or until easily lifted from the parchment. (Undercooked macarons will stick.) Remove from oven, cool to room temperature and prepare the filling.

These top-notch hop recipes will change your weekly meal plan and add a new flavor profile to all your favorite dishes! You can see more easy and fun recipes to try on Duluth Pack’s Good Eats blog.

Happy cooking, friends!