International beer day: Sharp's Brewery beer pairings with recipes from Paul Ainsworth to Nathan Outlaw

Sharp's Brewery, the creators of the infamous Doombar ale, is making their golden nectar more sophisticated. Beer doesn't have to be drunk in pints or by the gallon as fast as possible. Beers are lovingly crafted and should be treated as so, and thought of more like wines that can be paired with different dishes according to their taste and purpose and cooked with to heighten the combination of flavours.

Four of the brewery's beers, which range from a fruity IPA, to a darker tipple which can be likened to a dark spirit, have been matched with some of the county's best chefs, who have shared their recipes below.

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With a background of cooking with some of the most highly revered chefs in Britain, Paul Ainsworth carved out a name for himself in London before establishing two successful restaurants in Cornwall – Michelin starred Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, and Italian influenced Rojano’s in the Square. Paul’s unique cooking was recognised with his first Michelin Star awarded in October 2012 and closely followed by his third AA rosette, making the restaurant only one of five in the county to be awarded this accolade. The secret to both restaurants is the seasonal, local ingredients used to create plates of fun, well thought-out food.

12 slices of white bread
125g butter
30g sultanas
450g Cornish double cream
150ml milk
2 vanilla pods
140g egg yolk
175g sugar
One Pyrex dish, about five litres

Butter the bread and take off the crusts, cut the bread into triangles; brush the Pyrex dish with butter to stop the bread baking to the dish. Build up the bread in the dish like a jigsaw, sprinkling sultanas over every layer apart from the top one. The reason for this is that if you do sprinkle them on the top layer, when it comes out of the oven you will think of rabbits straight away.

Now make your custard: Bring the milk, cream and vanilla to the boil; meanwhile whisk your egg yolks and sugar together until they become very pale, almost beige. Pour the cream mixture over the egg mixture and stir with a wooden spoon, then place the bowl over some boiling water and stir the custard until it coats the back of the spoon. Pass through a sieve – not a fine one, you just want to get rid of the vanilla pod – then pour the custard over the bread leaving a bit behind to top up later. Leave the pudding for about six hours to soak up the custard, then top up with the excess custard and place the dish in a bath of water and into the oven at 130c; cook for about 25 minutes until it has just a slight wobble. Leave to cool slightly. Sprinkle caster sugar on top and glaze using a blowtorch to create a crispy top and dish up.

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After completing stages at Le Manoir Aux Quatre Saison, Tom returned to Cornwall working at the ‘Royal Duchy’ in Falmouth. He was lucky enough to join Paul Ripley at St Kew Inn, where Paul became his mentor, and together they moved to Stein’s Seafood Bar in Falmouth. Tom joined Nathan’s successful team in 2012 at Outlaw’s at St. Enodoc in Rock as Sous Chef and became Head Chef in 2014. In November 2015 Tom took his current position at Outlaw’s at The Capital restaurant in London.

Salmon has the perfect texture and balance of oiliness for curing. I like to experiment with different cures and this combination of beer and seaweed is something I came up with for a charity dinner. It’s always a challenge to cook fish for large numbers, so I decided not to cook it at all, but cure it instead! Fortunately it went down well. The cucumber and seaweed salad is the ideal compliment.

Serves 4

500g very fresh wild or organic farmed salmon, trimmed and skinned

For the cure

100g sea salt
100g soft brown sugar
150ml strong beer (I use Sharp’s Honey Spice IPA)

For the cucumber and seaweed salad

1 large cucumber
100ml olive oil
70ml light rapeseed oil
50ml white wine vinegar
1 large shallot, peeled and finely chopped
2 tsp mixed seaweed flakes
Sea-salt

For the salad cream

2 egg yolks
2 tsp dried seaweed
2 tsp English mustard
2 tsp caster sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
100ml rapeseed oil
150ml double cream

To garnish

1 tbsp dried seaweed flakes

To cure the salmon, lay the fish on a tray and sprinkle evenly with the salt and sugar. Then turn the fish over in the cure a few times to ensure it is coated all over. Drizzle evenly with the beer, and then wrap the whole tray in cling film and place in the fridge to cure for 6 hours. For the cucumber salad, put the oils and wine vinegar into a pan with the shallot, seaweed and a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat and let bubble for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, halve the cucumber lengthways, peel, then scoop out and discard the seeds. Thinly slice the cucumber into half-moon shapes. Lay the cucumber slices in a dish and pour the cooled liquor over them. Cover with cling film, pushing it down onto the surface to keep the cucumber fully submerged. Leave to stand for at least an hour.

To make the salad cream, whisk the egg yolks, seaweed, mustard, sugar and lemon juice together in a bowl for 1 minute, then gradually whisk in the rapeseed oil, a little at a time, until fully incorporated. To finish, slowly whisk in the cream and season with salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate until required.

When the salmon curing time is up, unwrap the fish and wash off the cure under cold running water, then pat dry with kitchen paper. Wrap the fish tightly in fresh cling film and place back in the fridge for an hour to firm up. To serve, slice the cured salmon into 1 cm thick pieces and divide between 4 plates.

For the dressing, drain off some of the liquor from the cucumber salad into a bowl and add some of the shallots too. Arrange some of the cucumber salad over the salmon and spoon on the dressing. Dress the plates with cream and seaweed flakes; bring to room temperature before serving. Serve the rest of the salad in a bowl on the side.

Recipe from: Nathan Outlaw's Everyday Seafood, Quadrille, £20

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Ben Prior, Head Chef at Ben's Cornish Kitchen, has 20 years catering experience, although he has no official training. He was trained in all aspects of the trade from KP to the Bar at the famous Le Talbooth restaurant in Dedham, Essex where he worked for seven years. After a further nine years ‘up the line’ and a year travelling, he followed in his Grandad’s footsteps and moved to Cornwall.

2 pig's trotters
2 ham hocks, on the bone
2 shallots, peeled and chopped
2 baby capers
2 bay leaves
1 tsp black peppercorn
1 tsp coriander seeds
750ml of white wine
4 tbsp of white wine vinegar
2 2/3 handfuls of parsley and tarragon, finely chopped
3 sprigs of thyme
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

For the ham hock terrine, place the ham hocks, together with the trotters, into a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and boil steadily for 10 minutes, skimming off any scum, which floats to the surface. Remove the hocks and trotters and discard the water. Return the hocks and trotters to the cleaned out pan. Make a bouquet garni with the bay leaves, thyme, parsley & tarragon stalks, add this to the saucepan together with the coriander seeds, peppercorns and shallots.

Pour in the bottle of white wine and 4 tbsp of white wine vinegar, add enough cold water to cover and bring to a simmer. Simmer very gently for approximately 2 hours, or until the hocks are tender and the flesh flakes easily. Leave the hocks to cool in the liquid and then remove and cover with cling film (the trotters can be discarded). Strain the liquor through a piece of muslin into a clean pan. Taste the liquor: if the flavour is not as strong as you like, bring to the boil and reduce, this will intensify the flavour but also increase the saltiness of the liquor, so be careful & keep tasting. If you do reduce, pass it once again through a clean piece of muslin and into a jug

Pick and shred the ham into nuggets. Place into a large bowl with the capers, gherkins and parsley. Mix well, taste and season with pepper. Line a 1.5 litre terrine with a double layer of clingfilm, leaving some excess draping over the sides. Pile the mixture into the lined terrine and press down firmly. Slowly pour in the liquor, enough to just cover the meat – tapping down well as you do so to ensure it is spread throughout the terrine. Cover with cling film and leave to chill and press overnight

Salt baked pineapple

1 baby pineapple
About 10 cloves
2kg coarse sea salt
1-2 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder
1-2 egg whites, lightly beaten
10g Xantham gum

Heat the oven to 190C/Gas 5. Stud the “eyes” of the pineapple with cloves. Season the salt with the five-spice powder, then mix with the egg whites. Pack the salt mixture around the pineapple to cover the skin completely. Put the remaining salt into a baking tin and sit the pineapple on top. Bake in the oven for 1 hour. Allow to cool then remove salt crust and peel the pineapple. Place in a blender with a pinch of five spice and sea salt blend till smooth. Pass though a sieve and thicken with the xantham gum. To serve place terrine add shavings of cornish gouda and a dollop of the pineapple.

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Since 2014, Zack Hawke has been Head Chef at The Mariners Public House, Rock, a joint venture with Sharp’s Brewery and Nathan Outlaw. With a collection of cook books almost as large as his quiver of surfboards, Zack takes inspiration from Californian chefs like Thomas Keller and has worked with Tom Adams of the Pitt Cue group to produce a unique customised chargrill and bespoke meat menu. Championing the exceptional quality of Launceston butcher, Philip Warren’s meat, as well as the local seafood, Zack and Nathan have collaborated to create a diverse menu that boasts dishes from a simple mackerel plate to a magnificent côte de boeuf.

Brisket, 1kg beef brisket
1litre stock 200ml
2 large onions sliced
2 sprigs thyme
2 cloves of garlic diced
200g Demerara sugar
200ml red wine vinegar
1 litre Wolf Rock Red IPA or Doom Bar

Season then seal the meat in a hot pan. Place it in a deep casserole or on a baking tray, and cover with stock and beer, then cover with tin foil and braise at 150 for four hours, until the meat is tender.

When it's cooked, remove the meat from the stock and reduce the stock by 2/3. Then pull apart the beef and mix it with the reduced stock. Add 150g of beer onions. Sweat off onions and garlic until translucent add vinegar sugar and thyme, and cook for 30 minutes on low. Then add the beer and cook until it has reduced to a thick chutney texture.