Nutritionista Flavor Flav: Cooking with Wine and Beer

I’m going to let you in on a little secret (besides the fact that yeah, I watched all three seasons of Flavor of Love, wanna fight about it?): Wine and beer are the “secret” ingredient in many of my recipes.

You can add wine or beer to almost any dish and it will instantly add complexity and depth. Perfect for when you’ve got a splash of wine left in the bottle, or a bottle of beer that’s been neglected in the fridge for months. When cooking with wine and beer, a few golden rules:

• Make sure you allow enough time for the alcohol to evaporate (unless you really want to make “drunken” food!). The longer you cook the dish, the less alcohol remains, but do note that there will still be traces of alcohol even after an hour of cooking (about 25%, though it’s not likely to be perceptible to most people).
• Don’t ever cook with a wine or beer you wouldn’t actually drink! That includes cooking wine. They usually have added salt and food coloring. Gross.
• Don’t forget about Port, Sherry, Madeira, and Marsala. These wines pack intense flavor and can be used in many soup, stews, or sautes.

And here are some of my favorite uses for alcohol in food:

• Add bold red wine to chilis, stews, or pasta sauces. I add a splash to my White Bean Turkey Chili to add depth and balance out some of the spice.
• Use white wine to add flavor to fish or lighter, more brothy soups (like this recipe for White Wine Chicken Soup). Or try Lia’s recipe for White Fish Citrus Salad using white wine.
• Use flavorful beers as boiling liquids for things like clams, mussels, or corn on the cob. It would also be a nice addition to gumbo! This recipe for Cilantro Fish Stew with Clams, Mussels, Corvina, and Large Prawns from Beer for Dinner sounds to-die-for.
• Make friends with your slow cooker and add wine or beer to those recipes. Here’s one for Beer-Braised Pork and Black Bean Soup and another for Red Wine Short Ribs.
• Use wine or beer as a marinade for chicken or beef. When I lived in Buenos Aires (where steak is cheaper than chicken — and grass fed! And delicious!), our no-fail marinade for all that steak was red wine, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic.

I’m sure you get the idea. Any time you’re concocting a sauce, soup, stew, or marinade, you can probably figure out a way to add some tasty wine/beer to make the dish that much more flavorful. It’s a way to add flavor without adding more fat or sugar (but watch the sugary wines! They can make savory dishes overly sweet). If you have a favorite use for wine or beer in your cooking, let me know!