Is Cooking with Alcohol Halal?

What do beer-battered fish, Bolognese sauce and tiramisu have in common? The answer is their recipes contain alcohol.  Most people know that alcohol is not Halal for Muslims to consume.  But what about cooking with alcohol and ingredients that include alcohol?

Related:  Is Tofu Halal?

Recipes Containing Alcohol

During the pandemic, cookbook sales skyrocketed, and millions of people turned to food networks and online videos to learn how to cook or to expand their cooking abilities.  This resulted in higher sales of cooking supplies, equipment, ingredients, ethnic foods, and even alcohol for cooking.

More and more cooks who followed Halal dietary requirements were asking “What do I do when a recipe calls for alcohol?”

There are many answers to that question. One option would be to avoid the recipe entirely. Another is to simply ignore the alcohol component of the recipe. Thankfully, there are better options out there.  There are very good substitutes for alcohol in cooking. Here are some examples:

• For brandy substitute apple juice
• For beer substitute chicken broth, tomato juice, or apple juice
• For champagne substitute sparkling apple juice
• For Kahlua and coffee, liqueurs substitute strong coffee
  • For red wine substitute chicken broth or beef broth or grape juice or even tomato juice. Cooks can also combine grape juice with chicken or beef broth.
  • For white wine substitute white grape juice mixed with ginger ale or chicken broth.
  • For tequila substitute cactus or aloe juice.
  • For rum substitute molasses with pineapple juice and almond extract.

Related: Is KFC Halal?

• Alcohol Cook-Off – Busting the Myth

  To flambé, a cook douses a dish in alcohol and lights a match, the flames spread and rise quickly and burn the alcohol off the food. It’s often used when cooking fish, lobster, meat, and desserts.

  Unfortunately, the flambé process does not remove all the alcohol and neither does long-time cooking.  According to a 1992 study by the USDA, after flaming, about 75% of the alcohol remains in the pan.  Studies that have been conducted by ISU and other organizations found that alcohol burns off after hours of cooking.  See the chart below:

• ISU and other organizations found that alcohol burns off after hours of cooking.  See the chart below:
  

  Time Cooked at Boiling Point of Alcohol	Approximate Amount of Alcohol Remaining
  15 minutes	40 percent
  30 minutes	35 percent
  One hour	25 percent
  Two hours	10 percent
  Two and one-half hours	5 percent

Halal consumers should simply not cook with alcohol. In addition, for multiple reasons, it’s not advised for Muslims to bring alcohol into their homes for cooking. When eating in restaurants, Halal consumers are advised to ask if the food contains alcohol and to avoid it. The server may say “Yes but it’s burnt off or cooked off” because they are not aware of the above studies.