Fermented Friday: Frosty Beer Kabobs and Watermelon Beer Pops

Fermented Friday: recipes featuring yeast, wine, beer or some form of fermentation

Since 4th of July was in the middle of the week you can spread it out all week and use it as an excuse to make these.  Lately the blogosphere has been loaded with watermelon pops and spiked watermelon.  I decided to put my own spin on it and use beer.

Then some other fruit jumped in with the intention of a fruit salad.   And then I started to cut the watermelon into stars.... because a) I have star cookie cutters that never get used, b) it's 4th of July week and c) what else are you supposed to do when it's soooo hot out and you don't have air conditioning?... But wait, now that I have watermelon stars wouldn't it look cuter to make fruit skewers instead of a fruit salad?  So the fruit jumped onto skewers.  Then it took a bath in blueberry wheat beer.  Oh, and then I changed my mind yet again and decided frozen fruit kabobs would be even better.  So there was a party in my freezer.  You never know what might happen when I'm without an oven.  Watch out.

Soak fruit of your choice in beer for 20-30 minutes.  I skewered it before marinating, but it would be better the other way around.  If you don't feel like cutting up lots of fruit just go for watermelon wedges.

On the other hand, if you run into a super deal where strawberries are $0.99/lb, blueberries are $1.49 a pint and fresh cherries are only $1.49/lb, then you should buy way too many boxes so you can soak them in beer.

I used a blueberry wheat beer.  While I'm not typically a fan of wheat beers I decided the blueberry notes could only make this better.  I was surprised how strong the blueberry aroma was upon opening the bottle.

Drain the beer and insert food-safe wooden sticks.  And by drain, I do not mean pour down the drain. You figure it out.  If we weren't in the middle of a heat wave I would have used the leftovers to experiment with a blueberry beer bread.

At this point you can either serve the pops or kabobs or put them in the freezer, both ways are delicious.

Ummm, just plan to make enough to eat some now and still have some left to freeze.

Freezing 1 to 2 hours is just enough.  Or freeze them longer and let thaw 10 minutes before serving. 

The beer flavor comes through nicely, but not enough to overpower the fruit. 

 The watermelon was my favorite part. I think. I may have to go back and try the last one, just to be sure.

You don't really need to follow a recipe for these, but here's some basics if it makes you feel better.

Frosty Beer Kabobs and Watermelon Beer Pops

Ingredients:

3 cups bite-sized pieces mixed fresh fruit (watermelon, strawberries, blueberries, cherries)

OR

8-12  triangular-shaped seedless watermelon slices

1 (12 oz) bottle blueberry wheat beer (I used KBC Blueberry Wheat Ale)

8 wooden skewers

OR

8-12 food-safe wooden craft sticks

Instructions:

*Place fruit of your choice in 9-by-13-inch baking pan.  Pour beer over top.

* Refrigerate 20-30 minutes; stir or flip once or twice for even marinating. Drain, reserving beer for another use. (the beer is good for a few rounds, so marinate more fruit while you're at it)

* Thread fruit onto skewers or carefully cut a slit in each watermelon rind and insert wooden stick.

* Serve chilled or freeze 1-2 hours.  If frozen longer, let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before serving.  

Food for Thought: "Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained." -C.S. Lewis