Ginger Ale Is The Unexpected Ingredient For Tender Stewed Beef

Ginger ale is a fizzy, slightly sharp beverage that's perfect for mixing a refreshing drink, soothing a stomach ache, and apparently, concocting some delicious stewed beef. Yes, that's right, ginger ale could be your next favorite beef stew ingredient. You may have heard of Coca-Cola chicken before or perhaps other dishes that feature soda as an ingredient for adding flavor and a hint of fizz. But if you've never used a splash of potent ginger ale to soften your beef up for low-and-slow cooking, you don't know what you're missing.

While using soda in a beef stew dish might sound like a recipe for a sugary disaster, when the beverage is combined with the juices from the beef (along with a few other savory additions, such as cream of mushroom soup or garlic and soy sauce), that bubbly soda transforms into a glaze of subtly sweet, slightly effervescent, deeply delicious stewing liquid. You'll be shocked at how tasty and simple it is to concoct a tender stew using just a cup of ginger ale.

A touch of sweetness and a hint of tangy acid in a recipe goes a long way and ginger ale provides both of these in spades. The sweetness and acidity of soda combine and synergize well in meaty, heavy dishes like a beef stew. Ginger ale is also packed with lots of flavor, which transfers not just to the meat but to the sauce as well — this sauce then cooks down and thickens as it simmers over time.

By this logic, it's not just ginger ale that works well in a beef stew recipe, but many types of soda. Some other variations suggest Coke, 7-Up, or any number of other sweet, fizzy beverages to substitute in a similar capacity. As long as the liquid has a similar level of sweetness and acidity as ginger ale, and its flavor meshes well with the other elements in the dish (fruity sodas may not work as well, for example), any soda can be used for stewing. However, ginger ale also contains that slight bite of ginger, imparting an extra layer of flavor and kick to your finished stew.

Another reason ginger ale works so well in a beef stew recipe is tenderization. A good beef stew is a tender one and the acidic nature of ginger ale has tenderizing effects on the meat as it stews. This is also why soda is sometimes used in marinades — the high levels of acid in the beverage break down proteins in beef fairly quickly, yet stop short of rendering it into complete mush.

The ginger in this bubbly beverage can also work as a meat tenderizer since ginger has an enzyme that breaks down muscles and gelatin in meat, causing it to soften. But then you might be left wondering if ginger ale is actually made of ginger. Many brands use ginger extract or simply "natural flavors" rather than real, fresh ginger, so always check the label if you want to infuse your stew with this root's benefits.