Oh, the many things you can do with this flavorful cheese sauce! The flavor comes from both the cheese and the beer.
We discovered “Old Speckled Hen” Distinctive Pale Ale last summer at The Whip Tavern where we had lunch to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. You feel like you’re in the English countryside when dining there – the best we could do due to pandemic travel restrictions. “Old Speckled Hen” was first brewed in 1979 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the MG car factory in Abington, Oxfordshire, England. I’m not a big beer drinker but I really liked it (as did Ed) and it has become a staple in our house. It’s not easy to find but Ed watches out for local beer distributors who carry it.
Given that we were using an English ale for this sauce, pairing it with an English cheddar certainly made sense. We went with a cheddar that was aged 16 to 18 months (considered a ‘medium’ cheddar by Wegmans). For a more intense flavor, you can use something that was aged longer. Please take the few extra minutes to shred your cheese rather than purchasing pre-shredded cheese as it contains an additive to keep it from caking.
We served this sauce as an accompaniment to Martin’s Special Hard Pretzels from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Ed enjoyed these as they are not gluten-free. It goes equally well with gluten-free pretzels (Snyder’s of Hanover are my favorite). If you are serving it as a dipping sauce, I’d recommend putting it over a flame (candle or Sterno) to keep it warm – like you’d do with fondue.
You can also use this in place of your favorite grated cheese for nachos. Using a cheese sauce ensures more coverage on the chips. We made nachos with leftovers from smoked ribs, pickled jalapeños and pico de gallo. While we were prepareing the sauce we heated up everything else in the oven and then poured the sauce on top before serving. This is a strong cheese sauce and I liked it with the smokiness of the ribs but Ed thought it might pair better with more neutral meat such as shredded chicken.
No matter how you serve it, I hope you enjoy this tasty sauce.
Gluten-Free/Wheat-Free Option: You can use both gluten-free flour and beer in this recipe. There is a gluten-free version of “Old Speckled Hen” on their website but I have not seen it in stores. Given that I am only wheat-free and not gluten-free, I can still enjoy most beers as they are mostly made with barley.
| English Pale Ale Cheese Sauce | Print |
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour (see Notes)
- ½ cup English Pale Ale (see Notes)
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1-1/2 teaspoons Old Style Dijon mustard (wth seeds) or regular Dijon mustard
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups shredded white English medium cheddar cheese (about 12 ounces - aged 16 to 18 months)
- Serve with pretzels (regular or gluten-free)
- In a medium saucepan (3 to 4 quarts), melt butter over medium heat.
- Add flour and whisk until combined. Cook for 30 seconds, while whisking occasionally.
- Add beer, whisking continuously, eliminating any lumps from the flour mixture. Slowly whisk in milk.
- Cook over medium heat, whisking often, 3 to 4 minutes, until mixture has thickened.
- Whisk in mustard, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and cayenne pepper. Season with kosher salt and black pepper to taste.
- Add cheese, a handful at a time, and whisk until completely melted.
- Serve warm.
- Sauce will keep for a week - reheat on medium in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes.
* For gluten-free flour I use Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour.
* If you can't find an English Pale Ale, use any medium bodied ale. You can also use a gluten-free beer in this recipe.
* If after you’ve added the cheese you find the sauce to be too thin, sprinkle a teaspoon of flour over sauce and whisk continuously until incorporated. You may need to add 2 or 3 additional teaspoons.
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