Food with booze: cooking with leftover whisky

Whisky might not immediately seem like a student drink, but it’s without a doubt one of the best things you could be drinking.

As well as providing a great way to class up your pre-drinks, it’s also a fantastic ingredient in the kitchen, as an American friend recently demonstrated to me.

In fact, some recipes are so easy, you could follow them after you’ve had half the bottle already…

Instantly makes any meal better

Steak de Jolly (serves two)

Ingredients

Double cream 150 ml

Dijon mustard 1 ½ tsps

Button mushrooms handful (diced)

Whisky – enough to cover the surface of the pan

Steak x 2 (obviously)

Have some wine with the meal to get extra-boozy

Method

Prepare the steak first, you should know how to by now. If not, close this website.

Remove steak from the pan and place in warm oven. Now fry the mushrooms in the same pan from which you just removed the steak.

Pour in the whisky in the pan and allow to cool and then add the double cream and Dijon as well as the juices from the steak in the oven.

Tadaa!

Whisky Shrimp (serves four)

Like shrimp? This is a super duper easy one.

Try not to set your house on fire…

Ingredients

Ca. 600 kg of, you guessed it, shrimp.

Butter

Dill

Quarter of a bottle of Whisky (Don’t make the mistake of buying a really good one…we kinda did and definitely regretted it…you need a lot.)

Garlic

6 spoons of Crème Fraiche

Looking good

Method

Put in a little bit of butter in a pan, than the shrimps. Add garlic if you into it.

Once the shrimps are slightly brown you add the whisky.

Then light the whisky on the flame (if you’re cooking with gas, if not use some matches.)

Make sure the whisky is burned and then put in the crème fraiche and dill. It’s so simple and delicious!

How does it taste?

Serve with some salad and baguette…

The great Bourbon Balls (Credit for these goes to the equally great Toni Panacek)

Toni, we are forever in your debt…

Ingredients

1 (12-oz.) package vanilla wafers, finely crushed

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

2 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 cup Bourbon (or more actually)

Powdered sugar

Method

Combine vanilla wafers, pecans, powdered sugar, and cocoa in a large bowl; stir well.

Combine corn syrup and bourbon, stirring well. Pour bourbon mixture over wafer mixture; stir until blended. Shape into 1-inch balls; roll in additional powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

These could be a life changer. Be prepared.

And now off you go to the kitchen.

Want more boozy student recipes? Keep your eyes on The Tab Aberystwyth…