Does anyone cook with red wine?

I love cooking with red wine :lol:

Does anybody else?

And if you do, do you notice any difference when you use cheap wine over something more expensive? :101:

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I often add red wine to dishes such as Bolognese, Chillis, stews etc., and to make jus to go with beef/roast chicken etc., Wouldn’t do it with my best Claret though!!

Tried using cheap wine but it left a sour after taste so now I just keep a couple of bottles of medium priced red in the kitchen for cooking. Do you use white as well? I put it in sauces sometimes.

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No I don’t but I know a famous W C Fields quote.

“I cook with wine sometimes I even add it to the food”

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White wine is also really nice and I do notice a different in the taste between cooking wine and good drinking wine. White is especially good in my chicken cordon bleu

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I don’t cook with red wine as we never have any in the house, but red wine stock pots are now available to buy so I use them instead if the recipe calls for it. :wink:

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I used to do it more often, and more of it.

We don’t have white wine in the house so a splash of red is added to a chicken dish … can be a bit sticky otherwise. And spag bol. Some cooks add wine near the beginning, I add a little 5 or 10 mins before done.

Any wine will do. :102: Cheapish but drinkable is what we buy.

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It funny that on the continent/wine-producing-countries, they’re more likely to use red or white wine vinegar in cooking. OK, the French might cook something like pigs cheeks for four hours and add a whole bottle of wine at the beginning of the cooking process, but … :102:

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My husband doesn’t drink at all so we don’t keep wine in the house and when I do cook with it, I have to make sure the alcohol cooks off first. It’s not something I use often considering the above info but some tasty red wine goes so nicely in a slow cooker beef stew. White wine with chicken or fish dishes is very tasty. Some of my dishes are cooked in the oven with wine for about hour but most are added in sauces. If it wasn’t for my husband I might use it differently but his sobriety is something I honour and respect. Our house came with over 40 bottles of wine and dozens of wine making kits which we gave away.

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I put red wine in my steak pies, gives a much richer flavour, I used it a lot in my cooking at one time…,I don’t like to drink it neat though.:grin:

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It’s mainly used for ‘taste.’ :lol:

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Bolognese just isn’t the same without red wine added during cooking and neither is lasagne, a Hungarian goulash, chicken chasseur and lots of other things so as you can probably tell by now, I cook with red wine quite a bit.
:grin:
Yes you can tell the difference in wines but it depends upon the dish and the wine, because in my experience some are more-suited to cooking than others.
For example, even cheaper Merlots really suit chicken and beef dishes whereas the cheaper Italian & Spanish reds often lead to food which doesn’t have the same depth of flavour.
As a good rule I’ve found it best to only use wine in cooking that I enjoy drinking too.

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Ah - but - It is a well recorded historical fact that the french had no idea how to cook anything until their King Henry II had the good sense to marry Catherine di Medici. She was so appalled by their food that she home for a gang of Italian chefs to teach them!

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Great quote :laughing: love it :smiley:

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Not red wine but when I BBQ a steak I always pour a bit of beer onto it to improve the flavour. It is impossible to BBQ without a beer in one’s hand.

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I often add red wine to my stir-fries etc.

"Red red wine
Stay close to me…" (UB40 song)

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I often put red wine in slow cooked casseroles as it improves the taste, but I wouldn’t put really good wine in as so many other things go in that I am not sure it would enhance it … anyway I save the good stuff for drinking with the meal. :laughing:

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@Zaphod

I agree :icon_cool:. I used to cook with red wine a lot, a family favourite was beef/mushroom/red wine pie .

I never bought ‘cheap wine’ for the purpose of cooking but used some out of bottle opened to drink. The main reason is I try to use the best ingredients I can , I don’t see the point in putting a lot of time and love into cooking something to have it spoilt by inferior ingredients.

I don’t anymore because I no longer drink wine :icon_sad: and wouldn’t dare have it in the house to cook because I would be tempted to drink it .

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Thanks for the replies everyone - in the past I have found the wine actually does make a difference… but I have ordered a cheap bottle which should arrive tomorrow so I shall let you all know :lol:

Aw that’s a shame Meg, I love a bit of red wine :lol:

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Azz you will have to stop drinking red wine for a while, because most of us are still learning on this forum & if we ask a question when you are intoxicated, heaven knows how we will interpret your reply! :rofl:

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We always have a small bottle of balsamic vinegar at home … a few drop gives a nice boost to casseroles, after they are cooked.

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