Letting wine reduce before braising
I've seen recipes for braising (sorry no sources available) that instruct you to deglaze with wine then let it reduce by about half. After the wine has reduced, the next steps are to add in stock, more wine and aromatics, let it come to a simmer on the stove then pop it in the oven to braise.
I'm curious why let the wine you deglaze with reduce if you are going to be adding more wine in before putting it in the oven? This makes no sense to me.
Best Answer
Just a question of flavor layers.
Reducing the wine after deglazing will create some deeper flavoring.
It will remove some of the wine's acidity and concentrate the flavor that will complement the stock and wine that will be added later on in the recipe.
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Quick Answer about "Letting wine reduce before braising"
To get the best flavor and to make sure the alcohol is cooked off, here's when to add the wine: For stews, braises, or long-simmering tomato sauces, add wine early in the simmering stage, after you've browned the meat and vegetables. Let the wine reduce a bit and then add the other liquids.What happens if you reduce wine?
A reduction is a concentrated sauce obtained by thickening a liquid over heat. As the liquid portion evaporates, the flavors concentrate and the sugars caramelize, resulting in a more intense taste and a thicker consistency.How long does it take for wine to reduce when cooking?
As a reference, here's a helpful rule of thumb: After 30 minutes of cooking, alcohol content decreases by 10 percent with each successive half-hour of cooking, up to 2 hours. That means it takes 30 minutes to boil alcohol down to 35 percent and you can lower that to 25 percent with an hour of cooking.How do you know when wine is reduced?
How Can You Tell When Wine Is Reduced? As the wine is being reduced, dry the pan almost completely, but not so much that it sticks or burns.Letting Wine Breathe: How it Works \u0026 Why it Matters
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Answer 2
When you deglaze with wine three things basically happen. You flash off most of the alcohol, recover the material in the pan, and most importantly concentrate the flavors by reducing the volume in half. If you add the wine and stock, eliminating this step, you can not get the intensity of flavor produced by the deglazing process. Generally, if you have to increase the liquid volume during the brazing process, adding additional stock can be balanced by adding an additional splash of wine to taste.
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