I Love This Steak Recipe With A Red Wine Reduction Sauce! (2024)

FAQs

What is the best red wine for reduction sauce? ›

If you're making a red wine reduction sauce, some of the best choices are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chianti, or Barbera.

A wine reduction consists of simmered wine that “reduces” (i.e., thickens) by evaporation into a new liquid mixture with a higher concentration of flavor and a more viscous consistency.

Wines with a heavier tannic profile, like Cabernet Sauvignon or Malbec, are better suited to well marbled cuts such as ribeye and strip steak, while lighter tannins, such as those in Pinot Noir or Syrah, are a more desirable choice with leaner cuts like filet mignon or top sirloin.

You, too, can dazzle your family and dinner guests with chi-chi reduction sauces at very little time and cost. A reduction sauce is often a sauce made with the drippings and juices left over after cooking meat. These drippings are dense in flavor and make a sauce that is intense with the cooking flavors from the dish.

At this mixing ratio, the alcohol concentration starts at approx. 2 %, but drops to 0.2% after a half an hour of cooking,” explains Pia Snitkjær, who underlines that this example is based on wine.

Add the red wine and stock and simmer until reduced by half. Add up to 1 tablespoon of flour to thicken the sauce, if desired. Remove from heat and add the butter, garlic and rosemary. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.

It is a rich and very smooth sauce, with the mellowed taste of wine, butter and garlic. The texture is thin and the color is a very dark red. It is great on beef and other meats. There is little to no alcohol in this sauce, as the heat cooks it out.

Pour reduced wine into plastic cube trays; freeze. Transfer frozen cubes into freezer bags. Can be frozen up to 12 months.

The tannins of a red wine cut through the fatty, buttery flavors of savory red meat. At the same time, the rich taste of steak balances the “dry” feeling of a high-tannin wine, giving it a smoother, more silky texture.

Molecules in red wine called tannins soften fats in the meat, helping to release the taste of beefy goodness. The fat in turn softens the astringent qualities of the wine, helping to mellow the beverage and produce a juicier, more fruit forward flavor.

Does wine make steak taste better? ›

Because red wine and red meat have opposite properties--beef being fatty and red wine being astringent-- they work to balance each other out by reducing the opposing sensation and ultimately, create a pleasing effect on one's palette.

When to Keep the Lid Off. Cooking a soup, stew, or sauce uncovered allows water to evaporate, so if your goal is to reduce a sauce or thicken a soup, skip the lid. The longer you cook your dish, the more water that will evaporate and the thicker the liquid becomes—that means the flavors become more concentrated, too.

To thicken a soup, stew, or sauce, leaving the lid uncovered is ideal. "It must be off, or semi-covered, if you are slowing down the reduction process," says Stephen Chavez, chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education.

spicy red sauces such as arrabbiata will go well with medium-bodied reds with decent levels of acidity, e.g., Valpolicella, entry-level Chianti, Merlot. pesto sauces will go well with white wines with herbaceous character, e.g., Verdicchio.

If a recipe calls for “dry red wine,” use a dry red. Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Merlot are good choices that are easy to find. Use Marsala, Madeira, and other fortified wines as instructed in recipes. These wines have distinct flavors and should not be substituted.

Best Red Wine To Cook With

In general, if your recipe calls for dry red wine, you can feel confident adding a Merlot, Pinot Noir, or Cabernet Sauvignon to your dish. A Zinfandel or Shiraz will work nicely for hearty dishes, such as ribs, lamb, or roast beef.

To deglaze a pan, tenderize meat, or build flavor and depth into a dish, any standard red wine can do the trick. So pop open a bottle of your favorite style and get cooking with one (or more) of these delicious recipe ideas.