Beer Risotto

Most people take beer on the camping trips, right? Or wine?! No??!!! Well, I guess the equivalent amount in stock would suffice…
If you prefer all of the vegetables and seasonings can be cut up and placed in a baggie beforehand so that you can just add them to the skillet on the fire.

Risotto recipes tend to use Arborio rice, which is an Italian short-grained high-starch rice that releases starch as it cooks resulting in a creamy texture. To achieve the best-textured risotto, I highly recommend that you use Arborio in your dish, but if you don’t have any on hand you can substitute it with long-grain rice.

The trick when substituting is to frequently stir it to release the starch in the rice creating the creamy texture that Risotto is famous for!

You’ll Need:
1 cup Arborio rice
1 small onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1/2 tsp thyme
2 cans of beer (or chicken stock)
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
3 tbs olive oil
Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

If you’re brave, grab an old cast Iron skillet and put it right on the fire, otherwise, get out the 2-burner stove for this dish.

On one burner, put the beer (or stock) in a pan and bring to a low simmer. This will be later added to the rice.

It’s best when heated so that it doesn’t shock the rice. On the other burner, bring a large skillet to medium heat.

Add the olive oil and diced vegetables. Cook, stirring occasionally until onions are translucent. Now add the rice and thyme to the skillet and stir frequently for a few minutes.

Now begins the cycle of adding liquid a ladle at a time, stirring until the liquid is mostly absorbed, adding more liquid, stirring again, and repeating this for about 20-30 minutes.

At this point add the mushrooms. Stir, add more liquid, stir some more until ready to serve.

You can tell when it is ready to serve, because the rice will have cooked to a creamy smooth texture. If it gets too dry, add more liquid and stir a bit more. Many risotto recipes add Parmesan to the rice while cooking. Servings: 6-8

This goes excellent with just about any type of grilled meat- steaks, venison, chicken, etc.

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