Pairings | Burgers

What food to pair with coffee

Posted by Fiona Beckett on October 14 2024 at 08:21

For many people coffee is a regular companion to food whether it’s breakfast or that great German institution of kaffee und kuchen (coffee and cake) - only the amount of caffeine they might consume holding them back.

But apart from the time of day there are specific ingredients and dishes that make great coffee pairings

Coffee of course comes in many guises from a flat white to a double espresso to a delicate single origin filter coffee. In general I’d say milky coffees such as cappuccinos and lattes lend themselves better to sweet foods and darker more intense coffees such as espressos and black americanos to savoury ones but it is of course a question of taste and how you like your coffee. (I generally like mine black)

Here’s a general round-up, some of which may be familiar to you, some not.

Sweet coffee pairings

Almost any kind of chocolate bars, cake or cookies, especially brownies and chocolate chip cookies.

Coffee-flavoured cakes and desserts such as this Austrian coffee cake, espresso and hazelnut cake and Turkish coffee cake.

Tiramisu (with black coffee, I’d say)

Nut-flavoured cakes and desserts - especially hazelnut and walnut cakes, biscotti, almost anything with Nutella, walnut or pecan pie.

Ice cream - in fact to pour espresso coffee over vanilla ice cream is a recognised dish called affogato

French-style breakfast pastries such as croissants and pain au chocolat

Cinnamon buns (in fact cinnamon generally as you can see from this post

Doughnuts and beignets (see these doughnuts with hot chocolate sauce)

Waffles

Toast and marmalade

Banana bread

Cheesecake especially ones with caramel or nut toppings

Savoury coffee pairings

Bacon, in practically all its guises - in a fry up, in a sandwich, in a roll

Smoked salmon bagels

Cheese - especially sliceable Swiss, German and Scandinavian-style cheeses or Dutch Leerdammer

Rich fatty triple cream cheeses

Coffee-rubbed cheese such as Barely Buzzed from Utah

Cheese toasties/grilled cheese

Cured meats such as salt beef and frankfurter sausages (so hot dogs)

Coffee-rubbed ribs and steak

Chilli con carne

Burgers

Coffee is also often consumed with spirits such as brandy (especially cognac) and grappa

Wine, beer or cocktails - what’s the best match for a 4th July barbecue?

Posted by Fiona Beckett on July 3 2023 at 07:14

If you’re celebrating July 4th this week and haven’t yet made up your mind what to drink here are some last minute suggestions.

American BBQ has much more complex flavours than the typical British affair with sweet, sticky ribs and wings, smokey slow-cooked brisket and elaborately topped ‘dogs’ (there are some amazing topping ideas on the epicurious site).

Wine

To kick off with I’d offer a zesty sauvignon blanc or a refreshing riesling both of which would work the tangy dips that generally accompany an American barbecue and any seafood that is going on the grill. After than think in terms of a young fruity red with a bit of a kick: my choices would be syrah/shiraz or GSM (grenache/syrah/mourvèdre) blends, petite sirah or an inexpensive zinfandel.

Tip: Keep your reds cool. Even full-bodied reds can do with a short dunk in an ice-bucket.

Beer

Lager may be traditional but there are so many beers with fantastic flavours these days you can do much better than that. There are some great suggestions here and here. Crowd-pleasing options would be pale ales and IPAs but if you’re feeling more adventurous try German-style hefe-weisse, particularly with dogs and wings and porter with smoked brisket.

Cocktails

A mint julep would be the traditional July 4th cocktail though with peaches in season I prefer a softer, sweeter peach julep - a great match for sweet sticky ribs.

Non-alcoholic drinks

More and more people aren't drinking these days. Homemade lemonade and iced tea are popular choices: try this easy version from BBC Good Food. Floats are another great option - this watermelon soda float looks fabulously refreshing.

Six of the best pairings for a burger

Posted by Fiona Beckett on August 25 2022 at 07:42

It might surprise you to hear it - and maybe you’ve never tried it - but a serious red wine is a really good match for a burger. Not a Maccy D, maybe but a big lush gourmet burger. And why not?

Agreed it's not quite as simple as steak. Obviously the more ingredients you add the more a wine can struggle. Burger sauces and ketchup are the main culprits. They both have a sweetness that can strip the fruit out of lighter, drier reds so stick to riper wines. Raw onions and strong pickles like kimchi also present a challenge so steer clear of those if you're drinking something special.

Here are my six favourite wine (and other) pairings

Cabernet sauvignon, merlot and blends of the two

Cabernet is probably my favourite burger wine especially with cheeseburgers (burgers with blue cheese in particular) but merlot runs it a close second. That obviously means that Bordeaux and Bordeaux blends work too though I’d suggest only once they hit a certain level of alcohol. A light 12.5% claret may struggle

Read about Cheeseburgers and Cabernet

Six of the best matches for Cabernet Sauvignon

Modern Tuscan reds

You might not be able to run to a Tignanello or Sassacaia but lesser modern Tuscan reds such as those from Bolgheri and Maremma have the ripeness and lushness to complement a burger. (And see this surprisingly good match for a Shake Shack burger!)

Other full-bodied reds like Grenache, Malbec, Shiraz and Zinfandel

You’ve probably got the drift by now: big reds work with burgers so include grenache, malbec (a burger is after all, only chopped steak), shiraz and cabernet-shiraz blends and zinfandel among your options.

IPAs and double IPAs

If there isn’t a better occasion to crack open a hoppy IPA I don’t know what is. (Well, maybe pulled pork but that’s another story ….) Rich amber ales also work well if you find craft IPAs a bit sweet. (I was drinking one only last night!)

A Manhattan

You should really try this! The sweet/strong combination of whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters is just perfect with a gourmet burger.

Milkshakes

How could I leave out a gorgeous creamy ice-cold milkshake? Not that strawberry or chocolate is really a good match for beef but who cares? Ultimate comfort drinking!

The best food pairings for Zinfandel

Posted by Fiona Beckett on November 16 2021 at 19:17

Like most wines made from red grapes Zinfandel comes in a number of styles from light and juicy to blockbuster ‘killer’ zins but they have a common thread of ripe brambly fruit and in most cases a richness that makes them a good match for red meat and other hearty dishes, especially those with a hit of smoked chilli.

(It’s also used to make an off-dry style of rosé called white zinfandel - check out my post on rosé for that.

Here are my favourite pairings which also apply to Zin’s brother from another mother primitivo which comes from Southern Italy (though I’d probably go more for the Italian dishes with that).

What goes with Zinfandel

Barbecue, especially American barbecue

If it’s charred, sweet or spicy, most zins will work so think back ribs, brisket, spicy sausages - anything smoked or treated to a sweet or spicy marinade or rub. Recipes like this Texas-style BBQ beef brisket.

Turkey, especially Thanksgiving turkey

As you will know Thanksgiving and Christmas is not so much about the bird as the stuffing and the sides and a good zinfandel can take them all in its stride as I discovered a couple of years ago

Braises and stews

If it’s big and beefy and cooked long and slow - it’s one for zin. Think shortribs and ox cheek, even Mexican mole

‘Dirty’ burgers

Y’know, the kind piled up with cheese, bacon, onions, pickles, whatever. Zin can cope

Meaty pasta sauces and pasta bakes

I’m thinking particularly spaghetti (or tagliatelle) and meatballs or a beef shin ragu. Or anything with sausage in the sauce like this recipe for rigatoni with aubergine, sausage and zinfandel sauce (which needs a new picture, yes I know!). And a classic lasagna, obviously. Basically meat sauces with cooked tomato,

Meat-topped pizzas.

Maybe go for a slightly lighter style with these as it’s as much about the crust and the cheese. A bright gluggable zinfandel or primitivo

Baked, roast or stuffed aubergine/eggplant

Loves zin especially with baked dishes like a parmigiana

Portobello mushrooms

A good veggie option for zin (especially baked with garlic butter)

Black beans

Black bean soup, black bean chillis - actually any chilli con - or sin - carne

Cheese, especially blue cheese

Delicate goat cheeses apart zin is a brilliant all-rounder for a cheeseboard, especially with stronger cheeses, smoked cheese and blues. I particularly like it with Gorgonzola

Picture credits: shortribs by Andrei Iakhniuk, tagliatelle and meatballs by Gaus Alex at shutterstock.com

What food to pair with Malbec

Posted by Fiona Beckett on April 16 2021 at 07:49

Malbec has become so popular it may have become one of your favourite red wines but what are the best kind of dishes to pair with it?

Given most of the bottles we see come from Argentina, steak might seem the obvious answer but there are lots of other dishes it would work with too. In the Cahors region of south-west France for example it might well be paired with a cassoulet.

Generally it’s a full-bodied, generous wine which goes well with meat-based dishes but suits grilled and roasted vegetables too. It can also handle a bit of spice - try it with a chilli con carne or a kebab

Food pairings with malbec

Young, fruity malbecs

*Smoky cured beef

*Beef empanadas

*Charcuterie, especially flavourful terrines

*Chilli con carne

*Spaghetti and meatballs

*Spaghetti bolognese (made British/American-style rather than a classic Italian ragu)

*Pasta with blue cheese sauce and broccoli (as you can see from this Match of the Week)

*Fajitas

*Beef burritos

*Burgers (OK, that’s steak, I know!)

*Medium hot lamb curries like rogan josh

*Kebabs

*Roast or grilled aubergine

*Dishes with beetroot such as a salad of smoked eel, beetroot and horseradish.

Heavyweight malbecs (more expensive, full-bodied malbecs of 14%+)

*Steak, obviously and . . .

*Roast beef or venison

*Barbecued lamb, beef or pork - it particularly suits smokey, chilli-based rubs

*Lamb tagines with prunes

*Beef teppanyaki

*Steak and hot game pies

*Aubergine bakes

*Farmhouse cheddar

*Dark chocolate (a controversial one, this but some people argue that a ripe lush Malbec works well with a chocolate dessert. Not totally convinced myself.)

More rustic styles of malbec such as Cahors and Cot

*7 hour braised leg of lamb

*Lamb shanks

*Braised beef stews or shortribs especially with smoked bacon (Malbec’s also a good wine to add to a stew)

*Pot roast pheasant

*Duck confit

*Cassoulet and other pork and bean dishes

*Flavoursome sausages with garlic e.g. Toulouse sausages

*Cheeseboards (barring lighter cheeses like goats cheese and stinkier ones like Epoisses. As Evan Goldstein points out in his excellent book Daring Pairings, Malbec works surprisingly well with more mellow blues like Barkham Blue or Stilton - though not, I think, with Roquefort)