Food pairing
Beer with empanadas
Filled pastry turnovers, savoury and portable.
Filled pastry turnovers, baked or fried, savoury and portable. What is inside varies enormously — beef, chicken, cheese, corn — and the pastry is the only constant, which is why the dish as a whole constrains a beer so little.
Anything with reasonable carbonation to handle the pastry will do, and the filling and any accompanying sauce should decide the rest. If they are spicy, treat it as a spice pairing; if they are rich, treat it as a fat one.
Empanadas does not constrain the beer much: nothing clashes and nothing is clearly best. Drink what you like, or choose for the sauce, the seasoning or the sides, which will decide more than the dish itself.
What to drink
American wild ale — outstanding
Bitterness, carbonation and a dry finish scrub the fat off the palate, so each mouthful of food tastes as good as the first.
Australian sparkling ale — strong
Bitterness, carbonation and a dry finish scrub the fat off the palate, so each mouthful of food tastes as good as the first.
Belgian golden strong ale — strong
Bitterness, carbonation and a dry finish scrub the fat off the palate, so each mouthful of food tastes as good as the first.
Belgian IPA — strong
Bitterness, carbonation and a dry finish scrub the fat off the palate, so each mouthful of food tastes as good as the first.
Tripel — strong
Bitterness, carbonation and a dry finish scrub the fat off the palate, so each mouthful of food tastes as good as the first.
Cold IPA — strong
Bitterness, carbonation and a dry finish scrub the fat off the palate, so each mouthful of food tastes as good as the first.
Saison — strong
Bitterness, carbonation and a dry finish scrub the fat off the palate, so each mouthful of food tastes as good as the first.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Flanders red ale — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
What not to drink
- Doppelbock — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.
- American lager — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
- Baltic porter — Delicate food needs a beer that stays out of its way.