Belgian White Hard Cider Garlic Shrimp and Bacon Pizza
June 20, 2013
Our friend Elle over at Elle’s New England Kitchen is true Woodchuck® Hard Cider fan. She took our Woodchuck® Private Reserve Belgian White Cider, applied her passion for cooking awesome meals, and boom… this hard cider inspired recipe was born. It is sure to satisfy the hard cider drinker and the craft beer enthusiast in you. Modeled after a Belgian white or Belgian wit bier, Cider Maker John Matson worked hard to create a gluten-free Belgian White Hard Cider. We’re excited to share Elle’s tasty recipe with you all!
This post first appeared on Elle’s New England Kitchen, June 20th, 2013.
I love picnics! We don’t have enough of them, but I’m determined to change that this summer. When I think of picnics, the first thing I think of is, of course, the food. It’s the heart of the picnic. I chose to make pizza because who doesn’t love pizza?! And pizza is perfectly acceptable when it’s eaten cold.
This one has Woodchuck® Cider garlic shrimp, bacon, pesto, and of course, a nice blend of pizza-type cheese. It’s packed with flavor and just as good cold as it is piping hot from the oven.
I usually make my garlic shrimp with white wine but this time I used Woodchuck® Private Reserve Belgian White Cider. I’m in love with this cider! Well, I love all of Woodchuck’s ciders. This one has hints of coriander and orange. It’s just right. Not too sweet, not too sharp. It’s a great all around hard cider that pairs well with seafood, so yeah, shrimp pizza. Look for the Woodchuck Cider blue six pack!
Woodchuck Belgian White Hard Cider
A handcrafted treasure, the ultra-limited edition Private Reserve Belgian White, is crafted with a classic Belgian beer yeast. Cloudy, with a rich, golden hue, it presents a delicate aroma and taste, with coriander and orange notes. It pairs excellently with seafood fare, mixed greens or sharp cheeses.
This is so simple to make, and you can make the bacon and shrimp ahead of time. The only real “recipe” part of this is for the shrimp. The rest is pizza–there is no real recipe, it’s all to taste–a guideline! This one has a thick cut bacon–use your favorite. Pesto, again–use your favorite recipe or jarred pesto. What kind of cheese do you like? We used a pizza blend and added some Parmesan over the top of each pizza. We’d have loved to have grilled the pizzas, but it was raining.
Woodchuck Cider Garlic Shrimp
Makes 1 pound of shrimp
I used the Woodchuck® Private Reserve Belgian White for this, but if you can’t find that, go ahead and use any of their other varieties. Save the sauce to use for the pizza. If you’re not making pizza, pour it over pasta with the shrimp, or just soak it up with crusty bread.
5 or 6 tbsp olive oil
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2/3 cup Woodchuck Private Reserve Belgian White Cider
1 lb. shrimp, shelled and deveined
Coarse salt
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp butter
Chopped parsley to garnish
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, and add the garlic. Cook slowly for a minute or two to flavor the oil with garlic, but be careful not to burn it.
Add the red pepper flakes and increase the heat to medium high.
Add the cider and let this go for about a minute, then add the shrimp.
Season with salt.
Cook until the shrimp is almost done (this will only take a couple of minutes).
Add the lemon juice and butter to finish the sauce.
Garnish with finely chopped parsley.
To make the pizza:
Pizza Dough
Cooked Cider Garlic Shrimp and the sauce
Crumbled, crispy bacon
Pesto
Pizza Cheese (whatever kinds that you like)
Heat your pizza stones in the oven or heat up the grill. Get your crispy, crumbled bacon ready to go. How much bacon you use depends on your tastes. We definitely didn’t use more than one pound.
Make sure your cider garlic shrimp is cooked and ready to go! We had fairly large shrimp so after cooking, I cut them in half or thirds.
Take your pesto and add some of the sauce from the shrimp. You don’t want it too runny, so add a little at a time. When it’s a nice spreading consistency, set it aside as well.
Stretch your pizza dough into the size you want. Spread on some of the pesto and shrimp sauce mixture. Add your cheese. Top with shrimp and bacon, then sprinkle some Parmesan cheese over the top.
Bake in the oven (or grill it) until crispy and done to your liking. We usually heat our pizza stones up for half an hour or so at about 500 degrees. Personal size pizzas take 7-8 minutes.
Serve hot with extra sauce for dipping the crusts in (yeah, good!) or cold, in your picnic basket.
Thanks!
-Elle
Head over to Elle’s New England Kitchen and tell her how much you enjoyed her Woodchuck Belgian White Cider Garlic Shrimp and Bacon Pizza! Cheers!
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