We’re over the moon about cooking with spirits. People should get into the habit of experimenting with different wines and spirits as they impart a whole new world of flavors to dishes.
The classic American lunch/dinner/all-day food and corned beef can get a steep upgrade by cooking it with red wine. Wine connoisseurs who also happened to love to cook will say that the best red wine for cooking beef and the best red wine for the beef stew will always be the same brands you love drinking while eating corned beef/beef in general.
But let’s say you are not very nuanced when selecting the right kind of red wine, and you’d love to cook some great corned beef. What kind of red wine is best?
Experts recommend that you go for light red wine. Avoid the heavier and more acidic variants like Cabernet Sauvignon. Pinot Noir is a good pick, as well as Zinfandel. Merlot is not good with cabbages and beef. Now, if you are interested in balancing the flavors, our top pick would be the Grenache or a newly-opened Beaujolais.
Preparing corned beef for some good old braising isn’t hard, either. You’ll need milk, butter, plain flour, parsnips, carrots, fennel seeds, coriander, white peppercorn, juniper berries, brown sugar, a cup of the right red wine, some red wine vinegar, a large onion, and garlic. Combine these ingredients in the usual amounts, and you’re going to get a massive corned beef boost after.
Should you buy cooking wines? If nothing else is available, sure, you can use cooking wines. However, lay off the salt as cooking wines can be very salty. They add salt to preserve the flavor of the wine. Also, the quality of the actual wine varies.
