The holiday season is a cherished time of year to celebrate with family and friends. With wine and liquor in attendance, the holidays are bound to be a joyous and festive occasion. These beverages are great on their own, but there are many ways to enjoy wine and liquor; when alcohol is utilized in cooking, recipes can be taken to the next level. We’ve uncovered a few easy ways to make your meals look, smell, and taste even better.
Wine: The Perfect Foundation for Sauces and Vegetables
Red and white wines are a staple for formal events or winding down on a late evening. Depending on how you use them, they can improve the success of certain recipes in addition to enhancing the flavor and richness. Red wines are fantastic for reductions in heavier, thicker, or slow-cooked dishes, whereas white wines pair great with lighter sauces, pastas, and leaner meats. If you’re not feeling too eager to use wine in the main dish, luckily they work great for side dishes and sauces.
Homemade gravy is a great opportunity to use red wine to help develop a strong, flavorful base. It also complements other potential ingredients in your gravy such as the juices from the main course, vegetables, cider, and more. Red wine is a very powerful tool to deglaze a pan, as well as to reduce and thicken your sauce. This process holds true for caramelizing vegetables as well!
The best wines to use for cooking are not necessarily those that are branded as “cooking wines,” as they can be higher on salt content and artificial preservatives. A good rule of thumb is to select wine that you enjoy drinking: if you don’t enjoy drinking it on its own, you more than likely won’t enjoy its taste in your food. The bottle does not have to be expensive, either.
Liquor: Your New Secret Ingredient for Desserts
Liquor comes in many different forms, and the flavors vary greatly. These drinks are renowned for their perfect blends of fermented grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, creating the perfect distilled beverages. While the options are endless, some liquors are a perfect choice to enhance the flavor profiles of your desserts.
Various liquors can be added to fillings, batters, or creams to incorporate their savory or sweet tastes. Treat these as if they were an extract, as smaller amounts are sufficient. To better taste the alcohol, consider using liquor in the final topping for maximum flavor.
Bourbon is one of our favorite accompaniments for desserts such as huckleberry pie, either used to make the crust or for the filling itself. Your favorite bourbon can work wonders here–whether it is sweeter or smokier–as a means of balancing the acidity or to simply enrich the texture of the filling or crust. Bourbon unlocks a unique flavor profile not found in traditional ingredients. Be especially considerate of the flavor profile of your drink of choice, as you don’t want bitterness to overpower the other ingredients.
Wines and liquors can be among the new ingredients you use to bring your recipes to the next level this year. Beverages that are already household favorites work great for these cooking techniques. When cooking with alcohol, be conscious of temperatures and the amount of alcohol used, and consult online resources as necessary to ensure safe cooking practices.
While wine and liquor can be excellent additions to your favorite recipe, they’re still ultimately great for drinking. Make Grizzly Liquor your go-to stop for your wine and liquor shopping this holiday season!
