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by liz
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I love Syrah. To me, it outshines California Cabernet Sauvignon in pairing with foods, especially those from the Rhône area of France, or cool-climate Syrahs from California. I thought pairing wine with a dish for this post would be a good idea, but then thought using the wine in the dish was even better. I also wanted a one-pot meal to warm up my house and my belly in this cold weather we’re having.
I love one-pot meals, and decided to create something with wine, also pork, and lots of winter root vegetables. The result is what I call Drunken Pork or Red Wine-Braised Pork: a big pot of hearty, spicy goodness for the winter months (don’t worry, the alcohol cooks off, so the dish is not really drunk). This dish, with red wine on Drink Wine Day will be the best pairing I’ll make all year.
Use any combination of winter root vegetables you like; get the freshest ones at your local farmer’s market.
Pick a red wine that goes well with chocolate, like Syrah or Zinfandel.
You can make your own dry rub using more exotic spices like cumin and smoked paprika.
For a gorgeous twist, use a knife to poke holes in the pork loin, then insert thin slices of garlic and carrot (this will show when slicing the finished pork, see above for a photo).
Red Wine-Braised Pork or Drunken Pork Recipe
This pork recipe is impressive! It's also perfect for cold nights and cool-climate Syrah.
4poundspork loin or pork loin roasttied with cooking string if desired
6carrotspeeled, cut in half and thinly sliced (or 2 cups peeled baby carrots, thinly sliced)
4clovesgarlicthinly sliced
2Tablespoonsolive oil
1large onionfinely chopped
1beetdiced
1turnipdiced
½cupdiced celery
1dried Ancho or New Mexico chile
2bottles red wine
1cup6 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate morsels
1Tablespooneach dried oregano and thyme leavesrubbed between fingers to release flavor
8fresh thyme sprigsfor garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375° F. Combine bouillon, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin and stir.
CUT thin slits all over the pork loin; insert some carrot and garlic slices into the meat slits. You will have carrots and garlic left over.
HEAT Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat. Sprinkle bouillon mixture over pork loin; pat with hands. Turn loin and repeat until all sides are coated.
Add pork to Dutch oven. Cook on each side until browned, searing each side of the loin (shown above). Remove from Dutch oven.
ADD olive oil and onion to Dutch oven; cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes or until softened and translucent. Add beet, turnip, celery and leftover garlic slices. Cook, stirring frequently, until edges are browned. Add leftover carrot slices; cook until slightly softened (photo above). Add dried chile.
REMOVE Dutch oven from heat; add pork loin back on top of vegetables. Pour in wine or wine/juice combination, chocolate morsels, dried oregano and dried thyme (you may have to adjust the amount of liquid depending on the size of your Dutch oven). Stir for about 1 minute or until morsels are melted; cover.
Bake, checking for doneness near end of cook time, for 2 hours or until center of pork is no longer pink.
To serve, slice pork and top with vegetables and sauce (notice carrot slivers in pork in photo above). Garnish with fresh thyme.
Light reds like Beaujolais and Pinot Noirs would be a good match for leaner cuts like chops or tenderloins, maybe even a Chardonnay with a creamy or buttery sauce. Rosés are also extremely versatile with pork, their light body and crispness will pair with many preparations.
The general rule of thumb when choosing wine to pair with pork is to look for a rich, fuller-bodied white wine or a juicy, fruit-forward red wine, which will complement the delicate sweetness that tends to characterize this meat.
The good news is that you have several options here. For example, a roasted pork tenderloin pairs well with a bold red wine, while a grilled pork tenderloin pairs better with a white wine. In general, you should try to match the weight and body of your wine with that of your pork tenderloin dish.
Best wine to serve with pork belly – German riesling (white)
Pork belly is a very fatty dish so you want a wine with lots of acidity to keep your mouth nice a fresh. A dry German riesling has this in spades, with intense peachy fruit that can stand up to the strong flavour of belly pork.
White wine is an excellent add-in for fish, chicken, mushrooms, and pork. Drier, acidic white wines are typically best for cooking. These wines include Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Blanc.
Wine is basically an acid ingredient (which helps tenderize the outside of the meat) and it has a lot of flavor. The wine-based marinade helps keep meat, poultry, or seafood moist while it cooks, too.
Hotter temps will burn off more alcohol, and a bigger pan with more surface area will produce the same result. 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.
Start by adding just a little bit of alcohol to your marinade, as too much can denature the proteins and affect the texture. Darker alcohols like stout or whiskey pair best with dark meats like pork or beef. Similarly, lighter spirits like gin and tequila match with white meats or seafood.
Pork is very forgiving when it comes to wine matching, pork belly requires wines with good acidity to cut through the fat. Dry riesling, be it German, Austrian or from Alsace is particularly good.Fruity young red Burgundy or Loire cabernet franc are also successful matches.
Since pork naturally has some sweetness to it, it can't handle bold, highly tannic reds like Syrah, Nebbiolo, or Cabernet Sauvignon. Warm-climate, tannic reds like Petite Sirah and Shiraz are also too overwhelming for pork roasts.
Pinot Noir is a red wine known for its light to medium-bodied character and distinct fruity and spicy flavors. It is a classic choice for pairing with pork tenderloin. Pinot Noir's light tannins and delicate fruit flavors can complement the pork flavor without overpowering it.
You can never go wrong with Pinot Noir and pork, and it's the perfect choice for pulled pork in particular, especially if you're serving it with a barbecue sauce. Another excellent choice is a young Rioja, with notes of strawberry and vanilla to offset the smokiness of the meat.
Malbec pairs well with a range of meats, strong cheeses, and earthy herbs and spices. Here are some meal ingredients we recommend: Meats: steak, turkey, pork, lamb. Cheeses: blue cheese, cheddar, Manchego, asiago.
For more robust meals like chicken or pork chops, Sauvignon Blanc is an excellent pairing option. The wine's acidity helps cut through heavier proteins while its herbal notes act as an enhancement to any herbs used in seasoning the dish.
White wines are clearly suited to grilled fish and chicken, and some pork recipes, even those that call for blackened preparations or spice rubs. The high acidity in Sauvignon Blanc—or a cool Sancerre (made from the same grape)—pairs perfectly in this role.
WHICH ROSÉ WINE TO ACCOMPANY BARBECUED PORK? Pork, like all white meat in general, is light in taste. It is therefore necessary to find a rosé wine which does not mask its flavours, and does not saturate the taste buds. It is therefore advisable to accompany barbecued pork with a young rosé wineIt is fruity and light.
Introduction: My name is Kareem Mueller DO, I am a vivacious, super, thoughtful, excited, handsome, beautiful, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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Liz
