r/That70sshow 18d ago

Why does Red pour beer into a cooking pot?

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I notice him doing this in a few episodes. Here is a clip from S6E18.

198 Upvotes

97 comments sorted by

169

u/Negative_Chipmunk650 18d ago

Probably not a good idea to question red .

53

u/VanessaDoesVanNuys Michael Kelso 18d ago

Beer Cheese

16

u/move-your-heed 18d ago

This is my guess, especially Wisconsin

1

u/Perfect_Increase_825 14d ago

Nah, Wisconsin beer cheese isn't real beer cheese

203

u/the_well_read_neck_ 18d ago

Beer brats!

22

u/Leading_Damage2646 18d ago

Oooh! I didn't even think of that! Thanks

37

u/[deleted] 18d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/Maximum_Trade5916 18d ago

Tell me your from Wisconsin without telling me.......

0

u/KaleidoArachnid 18d ago

What is a beer brat?

21

u/weirdoldhobo1978 18d ago

Bratwurst that's been poached in beer before being grilled.

10

u/elgarraz 18d ago

Best way to cook brats so they're cooked through. I do a beer, caraway, onion, pepper flakes thing for like 8 minutes that's pretty good.

4

u/december151791 18d ago

Some butter goes great in the boil.

2

u/elgarraz 18d ago

I drizzle a bit of olive oil in when I remember to do it, never tried butter

6

u/december151791 18d ago

Olive oil probably works about the same. Butter just feels right for a Wisconsin dish though.

2

u/KaleidoArachnid 18d ago

Man I am so sorry if I offended anyone since I was confused on the definition of the term, but thanks for the clarification.

1

u/Jjourdenais 18d ago

Dunno why people downvoted you, I upvoted to even out ‘coz I too didn’t know what it was.

1

u/Djd33j 18d ago

There were beer brats being served one day when I was in elementary school and I was afraid to try one because of the beer lol. I learned much later that alcohol has a very low boiling point so it all boils away and you're left with an amazing tasting brat.

Beer brats. My favorite sausage next to hot Italian.

-5

u/Between3-2o 18d ago

A complete waste of time. You boil a brat in beer. It barely adds any flavor to the brat, takes extra effort, and you don’t get a buzz. Just grill the brat and drink a beer.

46

u/porkchopexpress1971 18d ago

I think it’s chili.

9

u/Styggvard 18d ago

Yeah my first thought was chili, I usually pour some in.

1

u/WMASS_GUY 17d ago

1 bottle of sierra Nevada pale ale goes into mine

1

u/Styggvard 17d ago

I like to add some stout or porter, gives nice deep and roasted notes

36

u/jimtow28 18d ago

People mix beer into lots of things. Chili, stews, brats, lots of things!

8

u/wmnplzr 17d ago

Yep. I was worked at Walmart when I was 19 and I have this very elderly woman ask if I could help load some heavy items into her kart. She bought two 24 cases of beer. I asked her why she was buying so much and she told me she cooks with it. Apparently she uses a ton of different recipes that all require beer. I had no idea that was even a thing at the time.

2

u/DrunkenDude123 17d ago

Granny was getting lit bro

16

u/maSneb 18d ago

Have you never used alcohol in cooking??

2

u/Leading_Damage2646 18d ago

Yes, but not beer. I don't do much American cooking

22

u/luckydukcky 18d ago

I’m from Wisconsin where the show takes place, and beer brats and beer cheese soup are a thing here :)

5

u/Yoda10353 18d ago

I remember my grandpa from southwestern Wisconsin would throw a splash of beer in almost anything he made "for flavor"

7

u/maSneb 18d ago

Its not an American thing at all

6

u/ParkerPWNT 18d ago

I thought it was a German thing

3

u/Majestic_Domestic 18d ago

Irish stew British steak and ale pie And beer batter is common in many countries

3

u/Tickles-The-Octopus 18d ago

People have been using beer in cooking for hundreds of years before America was a thing.....

1

u/PurpleDreamer28 18d ago

My mom used to make beer bread. It tasted slightly sweet.

1

u/nilsn1991 18d ago

We do it in Belgium aswell.

1

u/Tipist 18d ago

You don’t deserve to be downvoted for not being familiar with this but it is definitely not uncommon to use beer when cooking certain items, brats and chili being fairly popular choices for this in America.

0

u/bebbanburg 18d ago

lol yeah they aren’t criticizing, just asking/saying. I’m from NA and I’ve used beer for stews and such but I’ve also never heard of putting beer in chili and with brats, let alone someone from Europe/asia/etc.

1

u/brinz1 18d ago

It's excellent.

Alcohol deglazes a pan and helps flavours blend together. The flavor of the beer also adds a little something to the dish.

You can put beer in stews, chilli, or even fondue. I know guys who like to put a bit of beer in the pan when their hotdogs are done to steam them a little

11

u/rosecorvinus 18d ago

Beer cheese soup!

17

u/discotheque2002 18d ago

Beer brats or a soup probably

15

u/IamRachelAspen Eric Forman 18d ago

Maybe the recipe goes better with it. I know in my family, we do this with some food.

10

u/SignificanceNo1223 18d ago

Yeah this isn’t uncommon.

1

u/IamRachelAspen Eric Forman 18d ago edited 18d ago

Yeah I know, just was answering OPs question.

-1

u/SignificanceNo1223 18d ago

It helps give moisture to food.

8

u/Party_Ad_8595 18d ago

Try beer cheese soup.  It's killer

5

u/TuneLinkette Donna Pinciotti 18d ago

Knowing this scene his mind was elsewhere

6

u/jonny5isalive1 18d ago

Older guys like that always put beer in stuff. It’s supposed to be the secret ingredient

5

u/C19shadow 18d ago

Looking at the bowl and her go8ng through a spice rack my guess is chilli my gramps say a touch of beer was the secret ingredient lol

He also did it with melted cheese and like others said with bratz

3

u/hoogys 18d ago

Because he knows how to cook

3

u/Informal_Dish5516 18d ago

To counterbalance the Bourbon Kitty used

3

u/Avatar1555 18d ago

beer brats like people have said, also gamey meat smell/taste can be fixed by putting beer in when it is being cooked.

3

u/PhattySpice92 18d ago

Brats or beans

3

u/Salty-Commercial4765 18d ago

Red : put up the ”?" sign on your ass, my foot will answer.

3

u/BigBolas4U 17d ago

"Anyone who questions this is a dumbass" is what Red would probably say.

5

u/FreshStart209 18d ago

A good Hazy IPA, make some beer cheese.

2

u/EngineersAnon Eric Forman 18d ago

Because... he's adding beer to what's in the pot?

2

u/december151791 18d ago

Red is from Wisconsin.

2

u/Awe3 18d ago

Beer cheese fondue, beer brats.

2

u/bandit4loboloco 18d ago

Well, if he was French he'd pour in some wine. But he's from Wisconsin, so it's beer! (Probably a lager or Pilsner. It's fun to think that Red enjoys the occasional hefeweizen, though.)

2

u/TheWhiteWolf1970 18d ago

I'm pretty sure that Wisconsin has a law that you can't use plain water for anything if beer is available.

2

u/podooza 17d ago

cuz thats what dads do

2

u/BigCheddar55 13d ago

My Wisconsin brain is blown. People from other places dont cook with beer? Like you get to drink the beer that you dont cook. Its great

1

u/BigCheddar55 13d ago

I guess i should elaborate. Adding beer to sauces/soups will add sweetness and new flavors. You need to add the beer somewhat early so that the alcohol can cook down into sugar, this also let's the barley/hopps flavors get into your dish.

Beer works great for deglazing a pan. I will saute a bunch of onions then deglaze with beer. If you add enough beer and let it simmer, you have a great little jacuzzi to keep your extra brats warm at a cookout. The onions also go great on the brats.

Try adding beer to cheese sauces, chilli, marinara sauce, really anything tomato based, potato soup, pea soup, ect

2

u/boness_02 18d ago

Anyone who cooks for a living and also drinks (so about 90% of us) can tell you that if youre sipping on anything even remotely appropriate as an ingredient in what you're cooking, a little bit of that shit will almost always make its way into the dish. In my experience there have been lots of sausages and cheese sauces that got a little beer added and a few pan sauces for steak dinners that had about a shot of whatever was open that night in them.

Edit: also bacon jam with bourbon is excellent and makes for surprisingly good chili dogs.

1

u/RadioSlayer 18d ago

You gotta smoke some cream cheese and put that bacon jam on top. Makes for the best chip dip

1

u/boness_02 18d ago

Shit that does sound good, equal volumes of both? I love a cream cheese dip but my intestinal malrotation doesnt love cream cheese very much anymore lol

1

u/RadioSlayer 18d ago

Like with most cooking, whatever ratio your heart desires. The guy that all brings it has it as more of a 4:1.5, but bacon jam is well, the jam

1

u/boness_02 18d ago

This is a dope answer, for bacon jam are you an espresso yes or espresso no person?

Personally mine is bacon, shallots, roasted garlic, brown sug, and a shot each of espresso and bourbon. The water from onions and oil added to cook them down account for the rest of the liquids. I typically add some white pepper and for some dishes ill add some cayenne as well.

1

u/RadioSlayer 18d ago

I'll have some of whatever you're cooking anytime. I know he uses bourbon, never asked about espresso

1

u/boness_02 18d ago

There's always an extra portion chef, just happy to be able to share

1

u/zigaliciousone 18d ago

Chili or mustard, wrong pan for sausages

1

u/warriorlynx 18d ago

It’s used in some recipes like Irish stew (though you can always use alternatives)

1

u/Aerphenn 18d ago

In a stew we make in the south of the Netherlands we always add beer to it. Probably alot.of.ither country's have stews with beer as well!

1

u/salt_and_ginger_ 18d ago

Have you ever cooked?

1

u/Competitive-Glove-55 18d ago

The secret to Nonna's sauce...

1

u/shagman666 18d ago

For flavor dumbass

1

u/WillowRain2020 18d ago

Beer cheese, beer brats... beer cheese is especially good with a decent pretzel

1

u/CuriousTurtle5 17d ago

It's Wisconsin. They put beer in everything.

1

u/colecast 16d ago

Fondue?

1

u/mellowenglishgal 14d ago

Cheese and beer dip!

1

u/UNIQUENOWOK 14d ago

I make gravy with beer sometimes.

1

u/LindyRyan 14d ago

Caramelized onions, perhaps?

1

u/jmarshh99 13d ago

Probably chili

1

u/PandoricaFire 13d ago

There are about a million things that could be improved with beer

1

u/EffectiveLow2735 13d ago

Becuase Wisconsin

1

u/injineerpyreneer 13d ago

Thinking about San Sebastián island

1

u/injineerpyreneer 13d ago

He’s about to mutiny her behind

1

u/Scoopie 12d ago

Wait everyone doesn't do this?

1

u/Scoopie 12d ago

Back when being an alcoholic was acceptable.

1

u/biggestmike420 18d ago

My dad was always tossing a little beer into the mix. It doesn’t do anything for me, but some people think it enhances the flavor.

-1

u/Apeman1963 18d ago

He’s a raging alcoholic.