Root Beer Tri Tip (crock pot)
On the list of things that I love – old skool rap and root beer is right on up there. I use Root Beer A LOT (check out all my other root beer recipes) in cooking because I love the flavor that it adds. Sweet with a hint of spice, it’s perfect for cooking meat.
Using a crock pot makes this tri tip fall apart beautifully and it is the perfect mid-week meal. Start it up in the morning and by dinner you’re good to go.
ingredients:
2-1/2 lbs tri tip
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
dash of cayenne
1 can root beer
Mix all the dry ingredients together and rub it on the tri tip. Place in the crock pot.
Pour in the root beer. Set the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.
Slice or pull apart the trip tip and serve!
Shave Ice Root Beer Float
This is one of those ‘why didn’t I think of this before?’ It was a crazy hot summer day when I was visiting a friend and she busted out her shave ice maker for the kids.
I love root beer – as you know. I had already helped myself to her stash and was knee deep into a root beer float. But as I watched the kids pick their syrup flavors and touch the freshly shaved ice, a revelation came to me. I wanted my root beer float COLDER.
ingredients:
vanilla ice cream
root beer
shave ice
The best part of a root beer float to me is the icy, crunchy bits that form when the root beer hits the vanilla ice cream. You have to eat them fast or they’ll disappear. Instead, I wanted that texture ALL THE TIME minus the brain freeze.
So I layered the ice cream, root beer and topped it off with shaved ice. Give it all a quick mix up and you have the coldest, crunchiest, creamiest, flavorful root beer float ever. Ahhhh…summertime.
King’s Hawaiian – Root Beer Pulled Pork Sliders
My proposal was selected as a winner in the King’s Hawaiian Tastemaker Program put on by Foodbuzzz! Incorporating King’s Hawaiian bread into a Spring Brunch would be easy, because as you can tell from so many past recipes, I love cooking with King’s Hawaiian bread. The soft, tasty Portuguese style sweet bread reminds me of visiting family in Hawaii and completes every meal from breakfast to dinner.
As that well known Disney cartoon set in Hawaii
Root beer is the drink of choice in our family, so much so that I often use it in my recipes. The sweetness brings a lot out of savory dishes. I decided to make Root Beer Pulled Pork sliders: warm, succulent pulled pork – flavored with spices and root beer a perfect compliment to King’s Hawaiian sweet bread.
I am lucky that the King’s Hawaiian Bread factory is located right here in Los Angeles, with a bakery and restaurant not far away. This means I get the FRESHEST melt in your mouth sweet bread. Sure the supermarket bread is good too, but nothing beats sweet bread made fresh that day.
A quick run to the bakery and I got my rolls for my meal as well as King’s famous Paradise Cake for dessert!
To me this is the perfect way to welcome spring, good food and family. An Ohana lunch is the best way to celebrate the season!
ingredients:
1 boneless pork shoulder (or pork butt) 4lbs
1 sweet Maui onion
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Hawaiian salt
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
12 oz root beer (I prefer A & W for cooking)
King’s Hawaiian sweet bread dinner rolls
Slice the onion thin and layer it on the bottom of the crock pot. I like Maui onions best because they are nice and sweet and don’t overpower the meat.
Cut the pork shoulder into smaller pieces and arrange it on top of the sliced onion.
In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, Hawaiian salt, cumin, paprika, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano. Mix well and pour and rub into the pork.
Pour the root beer on top of the seasoned meat. Cook on low for 8 hours.
When the 8 hours is up, take two forks and ‘pull’ the pork. It will be nice and tender and should shred easily. Make sure you mix up the onions on the bottom of the pot.
Cut the King’s Hawaiian rolls in half and place a nice helping of pork on top to serve!
I paired it with another family favorite, Potato Salad – the recipe that is in the new O.G. Favorite Recipes cookbook!
The family LOVED the Root Beer pulled pork. They raved about the tasty pork and the soft sweet bread! Both O.G. AND the Baby had several helpings each!
Having a gorgeous slice of King’s Hawaiian paradise cake for dessert was definitely the way to top off the meal!
Root Beer Kalbi
My love of root beer runs deep, so deep put your butt to…nevermind. Quite obviously this is far from the traditional Korean kalbi recipe, but I just can’t live without root beer in EVERYTHING.
Get this – the kids (esp the meat-hating Kid) LOVED THIS. They asked for thirds and even fourth servings – unheard of!
ingredients:
3 lbs short ribs
1/2 C soy sauce
1/2 C sugar
1Tbsp oil
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cloves garlic, minced.
1-1/2 cups Root Beer
Mix together the soy sauce, sugar, oil, pepper and garlic. Stirring slowly, add in the root beer. It will foam up rather quickly so I suggest using a large bowl.
In a ziploc bag or sealable container, place the ribs and pour the marinade on top. Marinate for 4-6 hours.
When you are ready, THROW OUT THE MARINADE and cook the ribs on a hot grill until done. Grilling the ribs really brings out a nice caramelization of the root beer. Just the tastiest ribs ever!
Root Beer Pork Chops
Any search of this site and you will find my undying love for root beer. My Root Beer Pulled Pork is THE most popular recipe on the site!
Since I often have root beer around and like to experiment with it, I used it with pork again, this time as a marinade and grilled. They came out perfect, not an overpowering flavor, with the root beer giving a lovely caramelization to the pork chops.
ingredients:
8-10 thin, boneless pork chops
8 ounces root beer
1/2 teaspoon salt
ground pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
I usually like thicker, bone-in chops, but since these were going to be grilled, thin and boneless were def best because they grill up quick.
In a freezer bag put the chops, the root beer, salt, pepper and garlic. That’s it? Yes. That’s it.
Marinate for 6-8 hours in the fridge. (so put it in when you go to work, it’ll be ready to grill when you get home.) As always, place the bag o’ marination in a pan, just in case of leakage.
Take the chops out of the bag – THROW AWAY the marinade – no one needs to get sick around here. Place the chops on a hot grill to cook.
The kids loved these, not only the taste, but mostly because dinner was ready so quickly. The root beer gives a subtle flavor and makes for a fantastic marinade. With just a few ingredients this is an easy go-to dinner I like to make during the week!
Root Beer Chicken
I think you know I live and die by root beer. I drink it, I cook with it, I bathe in it…no, wait. Even if you don’t love root beer (what’s wrong with you) the root beer just adds to the flavor of the chicken and doesn’t overpower it. Plus it gives a nice caramelization when the chicken is baked.
ingredients:
8-10 chicken thighs
1 cup root beer
1 cup ketchup
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt
pepper
In a bowl combine the root beer, ketchup, lemon juice, orange juice, maple syrup, minced ginger and garlic.
Put the chicken pieces in a large freezer bag and pour in the marinade ingredients. I always put marinating meats in freezer bags in ANOTHER pan, you never know if that thing is going to leak! Let the chicken marinate in the fridge for 4-8 hours, however long you’ve got.
Drain off the marinade and lay the chicken pieces in a baking pan. Don’t reuse tainted marinade people, ew! Salt and pepper the chicken to season and then cook at 375 degrees for 30 minutes covered in foil. Take off the foil and cook for another 25 minutes.
This is a nice sticky chicken with a lot of good flavor. Really easy to make when you’re in a hurry!
Root Beer Float Ice Cream Cupcakes
Our family LOVES root beer, so I thought a perfect combination for dessert would be root beer float cupcakes. Rich root beer cupcakes, topped with a creamy, icy root beer sherbet!
ingredients:
root beer cupcakes (Baked recipe, here)
root beer sherbet (recipe, here)
whipped cream
First, I used Baked’s recipe for Root Beer Bundt Cake, BUT made them into cupcakes. I only made 12 cupcakes (half the recipe) and with the rest of the batter…
I made a just made a small cake for munching. Yum.
After the cupcakes have cooled, scoop out the sherbet onto each cupcake, then top it off with whipped cream.
The Baked recipe was a bit too heavy for my taste, so the root beer sherbet turned out to be the perfect pairing to counter it. This is the perfect ice cream cupcake combo!
root beer tri tip (grilled)
Marinating meat is the best way to get a nice full flavor out of your meal. I’ve mixed up a bunch of different variations of this recipe and I think this one works pretty well. I don’t think you need to use tri tip either, I’m sure it’d work on chicken or other cuts of beef. Note my secret ingredient – as always – root beer. If there ever is an Iron Chef – Root Beer, somebody better call my azz up.
ingredients:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 maple syrup
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 cup root beer
tri tip – or whatever other meat you want to use.
In a bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients – add the root beer slowly, cause it tends to fizz up.
Marinate in a sealed container or a plastic bag. Stick it in the fridge. I like to do this as long as I have time for, I usually prepare it in the morning and then it’s ready by dinner time.
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Put the marinated steaks on a hot grill – depending on the thickness of your meat, tri tip is tricky and will not taste good overcooked. I usually go about 7 minutes on each side. Once the meat is done, put it on a plate, covered in foil, and let it rest for 5-7 minutes. This will keep the tri tip nice and juicy before you serve it.
When I cook tri tip my goal is to get it just about medium. I am actually NOT a fan of seeing the pinkness or rareness of meat, but I have to tell you – cook tri tip any more than that and you will be sorry. To me, this tastes so good, it doesn’t need a sauce, which is always my goal. Less work is best.
Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Secret Ingredient?? ROOT BEER. Most pulled pork recipes tell you to add bbq sauce after it’s made. This doesn’t need it, but it’s up to you. Made in a slow cooker, the root beer gives it a nice moist tenderizing texture.
ingredients:
1 boneless pork shoulder (or pork butt) 3.5-4lbs
12 oz root beer
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 Tablespoon freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Put the pork shoulder in the crock pot. You can cut it in half if you are worried it won’t cook through. Pour the root beer over the meat.
In a small bowl combine all the ingredients. I know it sounds like a lot, but believe me, after 8 hours of cooking it will just seep into the meat, not overpower it, I promise. Now just rub the dry ingredients over the pork. The end. Could life be simpler?
Cook on low for 8 hours.
When you are ready to roll, carefully take the lid off – the steam will burn out your retinas – and using two forks or a pair of tongs, carefully shred the pork, mixing it in with the liquid and juices in the slow cooker. I just keep it in there rather than transferring it to another plate. I like to serve mine on King’s Hawaiian sweet rolls cause they are soft and deliciouuusss. This is a great recipe for a party, or a Sunday night dinner.
Root Beer Cupcakes
I have been toying with this recipe for some time. I wanted to get THE most root beer flavor possible. This is pretty root beer-y, from the cake to the frosting. But nothing beats a good old icy cold root beer. Yum.
ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup finely crushed root beer barrel candies
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup root beer
Frosting:
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
4 Tablespoons root beer
1 teaspoon root beer flavoring
finely crushed root beer candy for the tops
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Line cupcake pan with liners.
In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time until well incorporated. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, and add slowly to the butter mixture. Mix well.
Fill cupcake liners, and bake for 18-22 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
While they are cooling, start the frosting by mixing the butter and the powdered sugar. Add the root beer slowly, it will foam up quickly. Mix in the flavoring, until everything is combined and fluffy.
Frost the cupcakes and top with crushed root beer candies. Don’t do what I did, seeing as how I love those candies I made them TOO big, leaving giant boulder toothbreakers on top of the cakes. No, no, grind them up. Also don’t add them until you’re going to serve them, as they melt into the icing and do not look all that pleasant.
They look even cuter if you ‘dress them up’ with a small straw and spoon. Like little root beer floats. DELICIOUS.
