Best Buttery Ale Asparagus Recipes

PAN-FRIED ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cook garlic in butter for a minute, but do not brown. Add asparagus, and cook for 10 minutes, turning asparagus to ensure even cooking.

BAKED ASPARAGUS WITH BALSAMIC BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Arrange the asparagus on a baking sheet. Coat with cooking spray, and season with salt and pepper.
• Bake asparagus 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat, and stir in soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. Pour over the baked asparagus to serve.

BEER-BATTERED ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• 1 pound slender asparagus, trimmed to 5-inch lengths, or a combination of 8 ounces asparagus and 8 ounces yellow or green zucchini, zucchini trimmed and cut on deep diagonal into 1/3-inch-thick slices, patted dry
• For the sauce: Whisk the mayonnaise, capers, chives, tarragon, lemon juice, mustard, zest and garlic in a small bowl. Add 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, or more, if desired. The sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead, covered and chilled.
• For the asparagus: Whisk the flour, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk the beer into the flour mixture until smooth.
• Pour enough vegetable oil into a heavy large wide saucepan to reach a depth of 3 inches. Attach a deep-fry thermometer to the side of the saucepan. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until the temperature registers between 350 degrees F and 360 degrees F.
• Coat the asparagus, in batches, in beer batter, allowing any excess batter to drip back into the bowl. Drop the asparagus, in batches, into the hot oil and fry until the batter is deep golden brown and asparagus are crisp-tender, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes per batch. Adjust the heat as needed to maintain the oil temperature. Transfer the asparagus using a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.
• Immediately mound the asparagus on a serving platter. Place the bowl of dipping sauce alongside and serve while the asparagus are still hot.

BUTTER-BRAISED ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Snap off and discard the tough bottoms of the asparagus spears. If using large, thick asparagus, peel the lower ends with a vegetable peeler.
• Put butter in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus in one layer and season with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup water, cover, and bring to a simmer. Cook until the asparagus is firm-tender, about 3 minutes. Take care not to overcook them; they should still be bright green. (They will continue to cook a bit once the heat is off.) Remove the asparagus from the pan and place on a serving platter.
• Turn heat to high and simmer briskly until most of the liquid has evaporated, a minute or so. Add lemon juice and zest to the buttery juices. Turn off heat and stir in chives, parsley, tarragon and dill, if using. Check seasoning. Spoon the sauce over the asparagus, garnish with a few herb leaves, and serve.

RAW & COOKED ASPARAGUS WITH LEMON & PARMESAN BUTTER

Steps:

• Trim about two thirds of the asparagus to get rid of any woody ends, then set aside. Peel the remaining into ribbons using a vegetable peeler and tip into a bowl.
• Gently heat the butter, lemon zest and juice and lots of black pepper in a small saucepan. Stir in half the parmesan and keep warm.
• Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the trimmed asparagus for about 2 mins until just cooked. Drain and tip into the bowl with the asparagus ribbons. Toss everything with the buttery sauce and the remaining parmesan. Season to taste, then serve.

BEER-BATTERED ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Make dipping sauce:
• Stir together mayonnaise, lemon juice, zest, and pepper in a small bowl. Chill, covered, until ready to use.
• Make batter and fry asparagus:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 200°F.
• Whisk together flour, salt, zest, and pepper in a bowl until combined, then add beer, whisking until smooth.
• Heat 3 inches oil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat until it registers 375°F on thermometer.
• Submerge asparagus spears in batter to coat. Working in batches of 10, drag 1 at a time gently against rim to remove excess batter, then transfer to oil and fry, stirring gently to keep asparagus from sticking together, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer as fried with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet and keep warm in oven. Return oil to 375°F between batches. Serve with lemon dipping sauce.

PAN-SEARED ASPARAGUS WITH CRISPY GARLIC

Steps:

• Place a paper towel-lined plate next to the stove. In a medium or large skillet, combine the garlic and olive oil over medium-low heat. Cook, shaking the skillet often, until the garlic is very light golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, tilt it, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the garlic to the towel-lined plate, leaving the remaining oil in the skillet. Season the crispy garlic with salt.
• Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Add the asparagus, season with salt and pepper, and cook, shaking often, until bright green, crisp-tender and browned in spots, 4 to 5 minutes. Slide onto a platter, including any oil in the skillet. Top with the garlic chips and season again with salt and pepper.