cooking with alcohol

[at your service]

I have heard that when cooking with alcohol.....if you cook or bake it for at least twenty minutes the actual alcohol content is cooked out leaving behind only the flavor. Is this true?

~~Tamara~~

[Athenaeus]

I am expecting some answers from the Food pros.

From my experience, alcohol "disappears" indeed and it leaves a flavor.

My question is, does the alcohol leaves a flavor or it helps the main ingredient to enrich its original flavour?

Is my question clear or I have had too much wine ?

[kokopuffs]

As an aside, not all alcohol evaporates when added to a liquid such as stock. The mixture is called an azeotrope as described in the current issue of FINE COOKING magazine.

But yes, an alcoholic beverage added to food will, indeed, flavor it. Hence the action of flambe. Try adding 1 - 2 tsps whiskey to 3 qts of chicken stock, you'll taste the difference. Adding more than 2 tsps ruins it.

[Nicko]

Whiskey to chicken stock? I have never heard of that before.

As for cooking with alcohol when you deglaze a saute pan you do burn off the alcohol.

[kokopuffs]

Nicko, that's deglazing vs flavoring a liquid.

[Nicko]

Your right Kokpuffs, I also found this chart on the net:
PREPARATION METHOD---------------------------------------Alcohol Retained

No heat application, immediate consumption -------------100%

No heat application, overnight storage-----------------------70%

Alcohol ingredient added to boiling liquid,------------------85%
and removed from heat

Flamed ---------------------------------------------------------------75%

Baked, approximately 25 minutes, alcohol ingredient--45%
on surface of mixture (not stirred in)

Baked/simmered, alcohol ingredient stirred into mixture
15 minutes-----------------------------------------------------------------40%
30 minutes-----------------------------------------------------------------35%
1 hour------------------------------------------------------------------------25%
1.5 hours--------------------------------------------------------------------20%
2 hours-----------------------------------------------------------------------10%
2.5 hours---------------------------------------------------------------------5%


source: Minnesota Nutrition Council Newsletter

[kokopuffs]

Yes, whiskey added to stock...mind expanding, aren't I!!!!!!!!!

[Nicko]

That is really interesting, did you come up with that yourself Kokopuffs, and if so what prompted you to try adding whiskey?

Can you describe the flavor a bit? It really isn't going to impart any acidity to the stock, is intended more to round out the flavor. For some reason I just can't imagine it rounding out the flavor.

It is interesting, I will give it a try next time. Are you adding it right at the end?

[kokopuffs]

Nicko:

Either the usage of whiskey was pure inspiration or from Raymond Oliver's book entitled LA CUISINE. Whiskey tends to round out the flavor IMHO when used sparingly. Longer simmering mellows any "harshness". As to acidity, dunno'.

[Nicko]

Thanks, I will try it.

[Pete]

Kokopuffs, when you add alcohol (ie. wine, bourbon, etc) and deglaze a pan you still add flavor to the liquid that you then add next. So deglazing is a way of adding flavor to a liquid, it also helps to pull up all those caramelized bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, helping them to also flavor the liquid and to keep them from burning.

As for flambeeing, as Nicko pointed out, only part of the alcohol gets burned off. Liquids will only flambe when their alcohol content reaches a certain point. As the alcohol burns it becomes more diluted until it gets to a point where the alcohol content can't support a flame

As an example, the bourbon sauce that I make: I caramelize veg in a pan. I then deglaze with bourbon and flame it to burn off the alcohol, leaving just the rich caramel and oak tones to the bourbon. I then add my demi and seasonings. Reduce that, add cream, reduce again. Then, just before straining I add a bit of raw bourbon to give the sauce just a hint of that raw alcohol bite.

[kokopuffs]

Thanks for the clarification. Yes, alcohol does flavor in general.

I plan to braise rabbit in Guinness beer. But please don't tell Homer Simpsom about it.

[BillyG60]

Now that sounds good to me. 2 of my favorite things rabbit and Guiness beer.

During the summer I take pork tenderloins and marinate overnight in a Bourbon, honey, Maple syrup marinade and roll them in choped Pecans then roast in the oven. I then deglaze the pan with the marinade and make a sauce out of it and drizzle over the sliced pork loin and Garlic/dill mashed potatoes.


Yummmmmmyyyyyy.

Billy

[kokopuffs]

Hey BillyG:

Reading your recipe told me that you're southerner. I have relatives who own property in Brunswick and St. Simons Island. Good eating down that way!

[Athenaeus]

I have read this thread many times.

I always fail to succed in what you call deglazing
The alcohol evaporates too soon and the sauce gets very dark...
Why? Because I do that in high temperature?
I have tried Pete'sbourbon sauce and it was a catastrophy...

When I make meat in casserole, first I saute it for 5 min and then I add a glass of wine and I reduce the heat and let it boil with it's liquid.