How do you solve a problem like syrah? (-grenache blend)?

November 19, 2009 7:18 AM

What can I cook with a whole bottle of red wine?

My dad bought me a bottle of red wine, that wasn't exactly what I like to drink, (not bad, just not my preference). I've got the whole bottle minus a few sips to cook with today. I'm getting stumped because I don't often cook with expensive ingredients and a recipe that lists "1 bottle of red wine" would normally be quickly passed over. I have braised beef and caramelized onions in red wine before and it was great, but I'd be interested in something different this time.

I'd say I'm fairly experienced in the kitchen. I can run to the store for anything, and have a few hours to cook. I've got just about every kitchen gadget imaginable minus crock-pot and food processor, but I do have a blender. Bonus points if your recipe includes parsnips, fresh basil, turkey drumsticks, or thai-asian condiments, all of which are in my fridge right now. Meat and non-meat recipes are welcome. Also, it does not need to be a main dish, it just needs to use up this wine. (sauces? marinades? dessert?)

Notes about the wine:

It was much lighter and less complex than the wine (malbec, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir), that I usually enjoy drinking. The bottle I've got is a grenache-syrah blend. I'd say it has almost no forward notes, a berry middle, and a light finish, with almost no tannins. If dry was a 0, and sweet was a 10, this would be a 6. It wasn't particularly expensive.

Help me cook hivemind!

posted by fontophilic to Food & Drink (21 answers total)

There are a lot of recipes for beef slow-cooked in red wine. The beef/wine ratio would normally result in a huge recipe if you're trying to use up the whole bottle, but it's a tasty option if you like red meat, and you can use a cheap cut.
posted by adamrice at 7:23 AM on November 19, 2009

This coq au vin recipe actually does call for an entire bottle.
posted by oinopaponton at 7:25 AM on November 19, 2009

Best answer: Braise the turkey drumsticks in it with your choice of alium, herbs, spices, root vegetables. Basically, coq au vin, but with turkey.

Red cabbage braised in red wine is terrific. Melt a knob of butter in skillet, add chopped red cabbage and stir, add a couple of spoonfuls of sugar and some salt with a lot of wine, let it cook down until tender, then add some red wine vinegar at the end. I add allspice or caraway as well as black pepper.

Make pasta in red wine. It turns out purple and fruity and more complex than you would've ever thought.

When I make quick-pickles of sundry vegetables, I add a little red wine to anything I've pickled in red wine vinegar.

Make a big batch of tomato sauce, enough to use all the wine. Freeze the leftovers in convenient-size containers.
posted by desuetude at 7:32 AM on November 19, 2009

This is good. It takes two cups of red wine, but you could double the recipe. You can also freeze red wine in ice cube trays to use in smaller quantities later.

Bistro Crockpot Stew

1/3 cup flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 lbs beef chuck cubes
2-3 tbsps olive oil
2 strips bacon, diced
2 med onions, sliced
1-2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
5 cloves garlic
2 cups red wine
bunch of fresh thyme
1 tbsp orange zest
2 tbsps chopped parsley

1. mix flour, salt, pepper then toss beef cubes in it, reserving extra flour.
2. heat oil in skillet and brown beef on each side for 3 mins. Do in batches if it doesn't fit in one skillet. Transfer beef to crockpot
3. in same skillet over medium heat cook bacon till crisp, add onion, carrot, celery and saute for 5 mins or so
4. add garlic and cook for a minute
5. add reserved flour and stir till browned, about 2 mins
6. Add wine and heat to boiling, then pour over beef in crockpot
7. put thyme in the middle of cooker
8. cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
9. remove thyme. stir in orange zest and parsley and cook for 5 mins on high.
posted by something something at 7:34 AM on November 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

Coq a vin in the way to go. I have a recipe from Cook's Illustrated at home that I'd copy for you, but I'm in another country. Anyhow, it's easy and it's a great way to get through a bottle of wine.
posted by mixer at 7:35 AM on November 19, 2009

Best answer: Just throwing this out there, you can freeze red wine too. Put it in ice cube trays and then in a ziplock bag. Depending on your tray, each cube is 1 to 2 tablespoons. Then you could throw it into stews and sauces as you like.
posted by Kimberly at 7:46 AM on November 19, 2009 [3 favorites]

I'm making this for thanksgiving, calls for half a bottle!. That might get you on your way :)
posted by CharlesV42 at 7:49 AM on November 19, 2009

A simple reduction with seasonal berries would be nice. Served with a nice roast rack of lamb, for instance.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:13 AM on November 19, 2009

Bœuf bourguignon ? Haven't tried this particular recipe but I usually use 1 bottle of wine
posted by motdiem2 at 8:14 AM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

I just made this recently. Beef Stew

The base recipe which isn't that big calls for two cups of red wine (dry). It was really damn good.
posted by WickedPissah at 8:16 AM on November 19, 2009

Best answer: This previous question is for cabernet, not syrah-grenache, but might be useful.
posted by Elsa at 8:17 AM on November 19, 2009

Poached pears in red wine would use it up. Can't vouch for this recipe but it does call for a full bottle. Alternatively, the Two Fat Ladies (if you remember that show) have a recipe for poached salmon with oranges in red wine, which also calls for a full bottle.
posted by crazycanuck at 8:25 AM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

You should make risotto! I love making risotto with red wine instead of white. I also like making it with barley or quinoa instead of rice.

Or, a reduction sauce, as has been mentioned. A good red wine reduction sauce over some flank steak is one of the best things there is.
posted by ORthey at 8:36 AM on November 19, 2009

Bœuf bourguignon or anything similar. You could use venison or oxtail if you fancied a change. You could also try pears in red wine for a very 70s desert.
posted by rhymer at 8:54 AM on November 19, 2009

I'd poach pears then reduce to sauce with raspberries (which you can still get!) and serve both on top of ice cream with something crisped.

A steady use for red wine that you don't really like is to mull / make glogi. It's cold, dark, and rainy out; that would make a good start to any evening.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 8:55 AM on November 19, 2009

Jugged Hare.
posted by plinth at 10:41 AM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The Cook's Illustrated Coq au Vin recipe is awesome. But you need a lmembership to get it. Memail on the way.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 10:48 AM on November 19, 2009 [1 favorite]

If memory serves me correctly, Heat has a recipe buried in it that calls for 1 full leg of lamb, 1 full bottle of wine, an entire head of garlic and 4 tablespoons of pepper. You're to put everything in the pot at once, and bring it to a simmer, then crank it down to the lowest setting your stovetop can handle, and then stir it occasionally for the next 12 hours or something similarly long.

I've always wanted to try that.
posted by furnace.heart at 12:03 PM on November 19, 2009

Drunken Pasta? I haven't tried this specific recipe, but I've had a similar one and..mmm. Now I'm probably going to be eyeing the bottles in our wine rack all night figuring out which one to sacrifice.
posted by ThatSomething at 5:17 PM on November 19, 2009

Response by poster: Thanks all, I've taken lots of notes and will be trying out some of these things in the future.

Last night I fed my current condiment obsession, and made a huge batch of onion-red wine jam, as was suggested in that previous thread. (don't know how I missed that thread!) We seared and roasted off a pork tenderloin, made a pan sauce with the pan fond and another cup of wine, and had it with popovers and green beans. Mmmmm.

The rest of the wine is frozen and will likely go into tomato sauces or homemade ketchup in the future.
posted by fontophilic at 7:28 AM on November 20, 2009

Last night, we had Bistro Crockpot Stew from the recipe posted by something something. It was very good and we'll be making it again.
posted by maurice at 3:22 AM on November 26, 2009