by Author Name Withheld 125

Created on: June 04, 2010

Reducing red wine is a cooking technique that removes the alcohol and intensifies the flavour of red wine.  If reduced far enough, it turns into a syrup consistency with a deep, intense and almost sweet flavour.  To reduce a sauce usually refers to the application of a high heat to a liquid, evaporating the liquid over a period of time and thereby reducing it down.  The more liquid in the pan, the longer it will take to reduce.  The more a sauce is reduced, a more intense flavour is derived from it.

A Simple Red Wine Sauce Recipe

The most common application for a red wine reduction is in a sauce.  It can be cooked on its own or with the juices from roasted meat etc.  This recipe is for a simple red wine sauce made without the pan juices from roast meat.  A red wine sauce works particularly well with red meats such as beef and venison.

Ingredients:
1 bottle of red wine
1 carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 stick of celery, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
Optional: A knob of butter

Method:
1. Over a medium heat, fry the carrot, onion, garlic and celery in a little oil.
2. Once the vegetables have taken on a little colour and have softened, turn up the heat to high and add a small amount of red wine.  It will bubble quite furiously.  Stir then add a splash more.
3. Keep repeating but add a little bit more wine each time.  You will notice the harsh alcohol disappear.
4. Once all the whole bottle has been added, keep the wine on the boil.  Eventually, it will start to reduce and the amount of wine in the pan will become noticeably less.
5. A sauce is said to be ready when it coats the back of spoon without falling away.  Season to taste at this point and add a little butter for extra richness if desired.
6. To serve, pass the sauce through a fine sieve, pressing down with the a spoon to force all the liquid through.

Using Stock

By using the same recipe as above but using half red wine and half a quantity of meat or vegetable stock, a different kind of sauce can be made.  At the end, add a fruit jelly such as redcurrant to add a rich undercurrent of sweetness that works well with game birds.

Cheating

There is a cheating way of thickening a red wine sauce which if attempted in a French kitchen would mean instant dismissal.  Fortunately, in our home kitchens, we don't have to worry about that so in an emergency, add a couple tablespoons of cold water (important) to a tablespoon of corn flour, mix well then add to the sauce.  Stir it in and it should thicken to the required consistency.

A slightly harder way of doing this is to make a roux by adding a tablespoon of plain flour to melted butter, mixing to a smooth consistency then adding to the finished sauce.  With this method, there is the danger of introducing unattractive floury lumps to the sauce.  If this happens, pass through a sieve and your sauce will be lump free.

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