What is your favorite item to cook with Port in the recipe?
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Re: What is your favorite item to cook with Port in the recipe?
Does anyone have any special Christmas related recipe for incorporating Port into their cooking?
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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Brian C.
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Re: What is your favorite item to cook with Port in the recipe?
My wife once made a chicken dish out of Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill cookbook that had a port reduction. I can't remember the name of the dish off the top of my head, and I'm not finding it on google. It also had blackberries. Anyway, it was a phenomenal dish. (If only we could locate the cascabel powder the dish called for. Does it even exist outside of Kitchen Stadium?)
She used a pretty cheap port for the recipe. Just out of curiosity, how much of a difference does it make when cooking with port? Is it better to use a nicer reserve port, or will any old swill do for cooking?
She used a pretty cheap port for the recipe. Just out of curiosity, how much of a difference does it make when cooking with port? Is it better to use a nicer reserve port, or will any old swill do for cooking?
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Glenn E.
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Re: What is your favorite item to cook with Port in the recipe?
I read an article regarding cooking with wine once, and the conclusion of that article was that you're actually better off cooking with the cheap stuff. So the old adage that you shouldn't cook with wine you wouldn't drink really isn't true.
The reason (at least in this article) was that the cheaper wines, while one dimensional, were also more robust. The flavors in wine that are so cherished while it is still wine are fragile and don't stand up to the heat of cooking. You need bold fruits and strong tannins if you want anything to carry through to the finished product, so in that particular taste test the winning wine was the infamous 2-buck Chuck. Yep, Charles Schwab was better for cooking than $20 and $30 bottles of wine.
Obviously Port is different, but the principles remain the same. The class and elegance that are so desirable in an old, mature VP will die in the frying pan or stock pot. If you want a "wow" experience, use something bolder and brasher. For me the results when using the cheap stuff are no worse (and sometimes possibly better) than using a more expensive bottle.
The reason (at least in this article) was that the cheaper wines, while one dimensional, were also more robust. The flavors in wine that are so cherished while it is still wine are fragile and don't stand up to the heat of cooking. You need bold fruits and strong tannins if you want anything to carry through to the finished product, so in that particular taste test the winning wine was the infamous 2-buck Chuck. Yep, Charles Schwab was better for cooking than $20 and $30 bottles of wine.
Obviously Port is different, but the principles remain the same. The class and elegance that are so desirable in an old, mature VP will die in the frying pan or stock pot. If you want a "wow" experience, use something bolder and brasher. For me the results when using the cheap stuff are no worse (and sometimes possibly better) than using a more expensive bottle.
Glenn Elliott