Pairing Lamb & Port

[Roy Hersh]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/f ... otdog.html

Any similar suggestions?

[Melanie R.]

Port seems a little too sweet for this application, IMO, but I think one could only know for sure by trying it out. Maybe it'd work perfectly.

[Peter W. Meek]

My feelings about pairings is that contrast is good. The wine should not mimic the food, but enhance it by showing how a particular taste or aroma in the food can be sensed from a slightly different angle.

"The wine explains the food; the food explains the wine." This, to me, is the essence of a good food/wine pairing.

[Andy Velebil]

Port and lamb can easily work, but I'd skip a full bodied and tannic young LBV or VP and stick to something more mature. An older fully mature VP or I prefer a mid-aged Colheita (around the 20 year mark)...one that is at that point where there is still a touch of fruit left but also showing some of the nuts and caramel side.

[Frederick Blais]

It always depends on how you prepare your lamb or any piece of meat in my opinion. If you make a blueberry/chocolate sauce with your lamb I'd go with ruby Port, but for mango/apricot stuffing, Tawny would serve better.

I have a simple recipe that I'll try to write for a next guest corner article about Port and Lamb :)

[Melanie R.]

I have trouble with the idea of Port with a meal at all--it just seems so, well, dessert-y to me, a bit like having chocolate as a side dish.

[Peter W. Meek]

I have trouble with the idea of Port with a meal at all--it just seems so, well, dessert-y to me, a bit like having chocolate as a side dish.

Think of Mole Poblano (moe LAY pobLANo), a spicy (hot peppers) chocolate sauce from Mexico, usually served over poultry (turkey or chicken). I confess, I don't "get" that one either, but it is very popular.

[Glenn E.]

I have trouble with the idea of Port with a meal at all--it just seems so, well, dessert-y to me, a bit like having chocolate as a side dish.

Think of Mole Poblano (moe LAY pobLANo), a spicy (hot peppers) chocolate sauce from Mexico, usually served over poultry (turkey or chicken). I confess, I don't "get" that one either, but it is very popular.

Mole is an amazingly complex dish - there are usually 20 or more ingredients in the sauce! The chocolate (which isn't sweet) gives it a dark and robust depth.

I enjoy Port with meals in the same way that others enjoy red wine. I admit to having a bit of a sweet tooth, but to me Port really isn't that sweet. (Try a Sauternes or 5-6 Puttonyos Tokaji to see the difference.) Since most food is savory, I like the contrast that Port provides.

I saw this article when it came out, and to me this particular reduction is... well, a bit strange. Chicken stock for a Port reduction? Personally I would use beef stock (veal would be even better) and I would NOT use a low-sodium variety. I think you need the sodium to help tame the Port a little bit. But that's just me!

[Peter W. Meek]

... I think you need the sodium to help tame the Port a little bit. But that's just me!

Salt usually tames acid. An over-vinegared salad can sometimes be saved with a bit more salt.

[Melanie R.]

I've only experienced a dish with mole once, at a Mexican restaurant that was not necessarily of the highest caliber, and I didn't care for it much. (This was several years ago). So I don't have that much understanding of what mole is like. (But I understand the un-sweet nature of the chocolate in the sauce, and how that could be an asset if the chef handles it well).

I realize that there are other wines that can be sweeter than Port, but drinking Port with a nice meal (ie a lamb roast versus, say, a cheeseburger) seems a bit like having a Coke with the meal. But that's just me. And maybe that's less true of a VP than it is of a tawny or a young Port. This also may change as my greenness wears off and I gain more experience with different Ports.

[Glenn E.]

seems a bit like having a Coke with the meal.

You say that as if it's a bad thing!

[Peter W. Meek]

seems a bit like having a Coke with the meal.

You say that as if it's a bad thing!

+1

[Melanie R.]

Ha ha, well to me it is a bad thing if what you're eating is a lovely lamb roast. Just seems sacrilegious. But if what you're eating is pizza or a burger, then Coke might be the right choice. (Though, oddly, I'd be even less inclined to drink Port with a burger than I would with lamb). Is it just me or do I seem to be going in a not-very-logical circle?

[Peter W. Meek]

Ha ha, well to me it is a bad thing if what you're eating is a lovely lamb roast. Just seems sacrilegious. But if what you're eating is pizza or a burger, then Coke might be the right choice. (Though, oddly, I'd be even less inclined to drink Port with a burger than I would with lamb). Is it just me or do I seem to be going in a not-very-logical circle?

Maybe it's a sign!

Maybe you (we all) should consider tasting a bit of port with as many different foods as you can. You might just discover the next latest, greatest pairing. Let us know when you find it.

(I've already tasted Coke with just about everything. Results? If you really like Coke, it goes with just about everything. )

My credentials:

A picture from about 1945-46 showing me getting an early start on Coca-Cola

[Melanie R.]

Sounds like a good plan, Peter. (And that is a great photo). And I have nothing against Coke, I actually love the stuff, though I'm trying to stay away from it due to the sugar content and its ability to be addicting (the Vanilla Coke is so addicting it should be outlawed, IMO).

I have been wanting to try having tawny Port with homemade shortbread cookies for some time, but I haven't gotten around to it yet (maybe even some flavored shortbread, like coconut or pecan). Anybody already have impressions or experiences with this pairing that they want to share?

[Glenn E.]

I have been wanting to try having tawny Port with homemade shortbread cookies for some time, but I haven't gotten around to it yet (maybe even some flavored shortbread, like coconut or pecan). Anybody already have impressions or experiences with this pairing that they want to share?

If you bring homemade shortbread cookies to the tasting on the 30th, I can guarantee you that there will be a couple of fabulous tawny Ports to try them with!

[Melanie R.]

Oh, okay, if you really want me to.... I will try out some recipes before then to see if I can find one that suits.

[Peter W. Meek]

My Eva makes a VERY good shortbread, which is perfect with Nimrod. It fits my ideal for pairing: different level of sweetness, texture, savoryness.

Recipe is Butter, sugar, flour.

Unfortunately, it can only be tasted here, as substances with that much butter cannot be mailed or shipped.

I will check with Eva; she may be willing to share her recipe.

Walker's makes a very good shortbread, which can be found at most Scottish- or UK-import websites.
I've dealt with this place: http://www.curiosityshoptea.com/store/
There are plenty of others.

If you have no Scottish pride or taste, Nabisco makes a cookie called Lorna Doone which is a sort of over-cooked crunchy low-butter low-sugar shortbread. It has the sole virtue that it can usually be found in supermarkets.

[Melanie R.]

Peter, I would love to try your wife's recipe if she will share. I will pass along my "winning" recipes once I figure out which I like best. I have a little cookbook that has nothing but shortbread recipes, and every recipe I have tried from it has been great. The book is "Shortbread" by Jann Johnson.

[Peter W. Meek]

Feel Blessed

When I asked, she said, "Who for?"

When I said, "FTLOP," she said, "Sure."

Eva's Shortbread

1 lb Butter, unsalted
1 cup sugar
4-5* cups Flour, unbleached

Cream butter and sugar (on medium speed) till light and fluffy.

Add flour one cup at a time. Add last cup slowly. *Eva says it usually works out to between 4 and 4-1/2 cups. There is enough flour when the dough pulls away from the bowl and forms a nice ball.

Divide dough in 4 parts.

Press flat into greased 8" cake pans.

Prick with fork all over. (This your chance to personalize the shortbread.) Herringbone, square, radials w/cross bars or the like. Leave open spaces about 3/4 to 1" across.

Bake at 275 F for 1 hour. Make sure it does NOT brown (should just be light gold).

Cool enough to handle, remove from pans, and finish cooling.

Cut into 8 wedges.

Store in tin. Separate layers with wax-paper circles. Will keep for months in a cool, not refrigerated, place.

(I just had the last two pieces from a batch made at Christmas; still good, but had picked up a bit of ginger flavor from some other cookies in the same tin.)