black pepper crusted bacon in oberon

THE BEER PRAYER

Our lager,
Which art in barrels,
Hallowed be thy drink,
Thy will be drunk,
(I will be drunk),
At home as I am in the tavern.
Give us this day our foamy head,
And forgive us our spillages,
As we forgive those who spill against us,
and lead us not to incarceration,
But deliver us from hangovers,
For thine is the beer,
The bitter and the lager,
Forever and ever,
Barmen.

A lot of people will say a lot of things symbolize the arrival of spring. The sighting of the American red breasted robin, some March jackass with the top down on his convertible and the heat on, an old man in shorts with legs that look like birch tree trucks. For me, the arrival of spring has always been when I start seeing that sun smirking at me down the beer aisle. I am talking about the first Bell’s Oberon, of course.

For those of you not fortunate enough to have sampled this one, I feel for you. I do.

Oberon is a beautiful light copper colored wheat beer. Although it looks slightly unfiltered, there is little to no sediment. It has a fluffy, even white head, much the same as my grandmother had. It smells of sweet oranges with a very light hop presence. This is a very tasty wheat beer!

I was lucky enough to be introduced to this beer long before it became as popular in the Midwest as it is. Actually, before it was even legal for me to enjoy it. My brother went to Kalamazoo College and brought it back as an educational souvenir for us.

It was not till years after he had graduated, and I could legally buy and enjoy this wonderful stuff, that my love affair matured into a life long relationship. It only seemed natural that this drink would make anything it touched better. What started as boys playing around the campfire, dumping beer on food, turned into an art, a science and a tradition.

These days, the true arrival of spring is that first smell of heavily black peppered bacon cooking in Oberon over an open fire. This is best done over a charcoal grill, wood fire or some other type of open flame.

Black Pepper Crusted Bacon in Oberon

1lb thick cut bacon (go for the good stuff. You are worth it!)

1/4 cup whole black peppercorns. Very coarse ground. Really, just rough them up a bit.

12oz bottle Bell’s Oberon – if you do not have or can not find Oberon, go with as strong of a wheat beer as you can find.

Lay out the bacon and rub with about 2/3 of the black pepper. You will want to save some of the pepper to add directly into the Oberon while it is cooking. Vary the amount and grind of the pepper to your own taste. This is good stuff. If you have to make it several times to get it just right, well, so be it! Let the bacon rest in the fridge for 30 minutes to and hour.

Take a large piece of heavy-duty tin foil and fold it in thirds. You want this to be three layers thick. Fold up the corners to make a tray. You will be pouring Oberon into this, so make sure you are giving yourself enough of a lip to hold your liquid goodness. Lay the bacon in your new cooking vessel. It is okay to crowd it in. Bacon shrinks.

You will probably want to move the bacon to your desired flame before adding the Oberon. Again, you probably do not want to do this inside. I strongly recommend a charcoal grill or open fire with a grate on top.

Once it is on the heat, go ahead and fill her up. Some beer is bound to spill out as you adjust the bacon while it cooks. It will be a good thing to keep some in reserve. Depending upon the heat of your fire this will take anywhere from 15 to 45 min to fully boil and cook. Be warned, the smells that will happen as this process takes place are magical! I only wish Yankee Candle would return my calls about making Oberon Bacon scented candles.

Once you are comfortable with the doneness of the bacon, puncture the bottom of the vessel to drain. Grill to desired crispness. Eat it right there on the spot or have some burgers ready and waiting.

There is just something special about the flavors that are unleashed when you cook with Oberon. While many of the weaker wheat beers flavors cook out, Oberon blends with the other flavors and enhances them. There will be more to come.