Beer Glazed Sausage, Apples, Cabbage and Green Beans
With fall in the air and the new October issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine to peruse, inspiration was struck. The Cooking with Beer feature was just the thing to help use up some of the last cold hearty veggies from the garden, and of course enjoy some of my favorite beer. I did of course take some liberties with the recipe, omitting the crushed red pepper (didn’t have any) and adding more veggies (had a ton of those) . I think the results were both pretty on the plate and lovely for the palate as well. The kids thought I was crazy cooking with beer, but they actually enjoyed this dish quite a bit.
Ingredients:
1 12 oz. bottle of Belgian-style wheat beer or a Pale Ale style. (I used Sierra Nevada Pale Ale)
1 14 to 16 oz. smoked kielbasa sausage cut up into 1 inch pieces
1/2 pound fresh green beans (from our garden)
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cabbage (from our garden)
2 medium cooking apples, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 orange peel thinly sliced (I love the taste of cooked orange peel. the BHG recipe called for 1 tsp shredded. I added much more than that. Add to taste of course)
8 small sage leaves (from our garden)
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. cider vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
Step 1. In a large saucepan bring 1/2 the beer to a boil and sausage and green beans. Return to a simmer; cook covered for 5 to 8 minutes or until the beans are tender. Drain and set aside.
Step 2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet melt 1 Tbsp. butter; add apples. Cook turning occasionally till apples are just tender. Transfer to a platter.
Step 3. Add sausage to the skillet, till all sides are browned. Add to the platter and cover.
Step 4. Add the remaining beer to the skillet; stirring to scrape up all the browned bits. Add the remaining butter, brown sugar, cider vinegar, chicken broth and the orange peels. Bring to boiling; reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered for 5-6 minutes or so until it is slightly thickened. Return the sausage and green beans to the skillet to coat in the glaze. Heat through and then add the apples. Return to the serving platter and sprinkle with the sage. Makes about 4 servings.
