A Step Beyond Reduction

by Jim Bandy

Using wine in your cooking can help tie together the flavors of your food with the bottle you’re serving at dinner. I find this especially true in finishing sauces. There's the classic buerre blanc and buerre rouge sauces, as well as straightforward reductions you could use. In cooler months, I enjoy working with this form of gastrique from Seattle’s Brasa restaurant. The concept uses caramelized sugar (no – it’s not a dessert sauce) to add complex flavors to a wine reduction. It’s simple and delicious. Mark Bittman in The Minimalist Cooks Dinner
shares this basic sauce I use for grilled or broiled salmon, lamb steaks, pork roast, and more.

Ingredients: (makes 4 servings)
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups Pinot Noir *
1 sprig rosemary, about 4"
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar (one of Grapevine's many selections)
1 Tbs. butter

* Sebastiani, Mark West, or other good value Pinot works well.

Preparation:
In a medium, heavy-bottomed sauce pan add sugar and place over medium heat. Cook about 10 minutes until the sugar liquifies and begins to turn brown. Shake occasionally to distribute the sugar, do not stir! Watch this carefully as it caramelizes incredibly fast and will burn even faster.

When a medium caramel color (light brown is fine, too) remove pan from heat. Standing back from the pan, slowly add the wine. There will be a short tantrum, as the wine and sugar act like two spoiled children being forced to share the same sandbox – until they find they like each other and settle down.

Add the rosemary. Place the pan over high heat. Stir to incorporate the caramelized crystals into the wine. Reduce until syrupy, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the balsamic vinegar and butter. Top your salmon.

From this basic preparation you can enjoy extraordinary variation. I’ve also used Las Rocas Garnacha and a Cru Beaujolais with good results. Try your favorite fruit-forward red wine. Adjust the herbs, try a white balsamic, use a some chopped figs or dried cherries. So many options! What’s your signature combination?