Wine can bring flavor to a dish like no other ingredient really can. Whether you're using white or red, a little bit of wine can really pack a punch in a dish, bring in more robustness, and take things like sauces and gravies to another level. These are just a few reasons why so many restaurant dishes include wine.
But, cooking wine can be tricky. Not adding the right wine can really ruin a dish, and failing to cook it out properly can also make thing go quickly awry. From what wine to choose to how to properly use it, below are a few things every cook should keep in mind when adding vino to a dish.
1. Choose a wine you would drink
It can be tempting to opt for the cheapest of the cheap wine when you know it's going to be in your dinner rather than on the table in a glass. But adding a wine to a dish that you would never drink on its own is a mistake. As wine cooks it concentrates and reduces, and that makes the flavor of it even more identifiable. In fact cooking with an unpalatable wine can actually enhance its less desirable qualities, which will take that cheap wine from bad to worse and possibly make the entire dish taste a bit off.
This doesn't mean that you should shell out hundreds of dollars just to cook with wine, either; just that if you can't drink it, you can't cook with it. There are plenty of affordable wines that taste great both in the glass and in your favorite recipe.
2. Know which type of wine to useYes, when cooking with wine you want to choose one that you're just as happy to eat as you are to drink. But you also have to know whether your dish will benefit from a red wine, or a white. This is very easy to do; all you have to do is look at your dish and see what color it is. Pouring a splash of wine in your cream sauce? You'll want to use a white wine. Have a pot of tomato sauce simmering on the stove? Red wine will do best in it.
Just like pairing white wine with white fish and red wine with red meat, the same is true when cooking with wine. Not only can using the wrong kind of wine really throw off the presentation of the dish, a red wine used when it should have been white can overpower the other ingredients while using a white wine when red would be better may be indiscernible in a dish.
3. Know how much to useSome cooks use free-pours, and that can be okay. After all, cooking is an art that allows for creativity. But for those who want to be a little more exact about it, there are some guidelines that can be followed when it comes to how much wine should be added to a dish. Soups can typically take up to two tablespoons of wine for every cup of broth while sauce typically only need one tablespoon per cup of sauce. When using wine to cook or marinate meats, a quarter cup per pound of meat can be used for measurement; and if you're making gravy for that meat, two tablespoons of wine for every cup will work well.
4. Know how long to cook itAgain, as wine cooks it reduces and concentrates. And this can result in an unpleasant dish if it's been left to simmer for too long. On the other hand, don't let wine simmer long enough and your meal could make you slightly tipsy because the alcohol hasn't been cooked out for long enough. So how long should you cook a wine?
It really depends on what you're cooking and how long you'll be cooking it. For a tablespoon or two, the wine will likely only need to reach boiling for two minutes before the alcohol is cooked out of it. But if you're using any measurement over half a cup, it likely needs fifteen minutes or so. No matter how much you're using, wine needs to be brought to a boil so the alcohol can be evaporated out of it.
5. Use it generously in marinadesA great wine can boost the flavors and textures of a dish before it's even been cooked when it's used as a marinade for meat. The flavor of the wine will permeate the piece of meat, while the tannins in it (which work similarly to acid) will help break the meat down, making it juicier and less likely to dry out.
