Simple Port Wine Reduction Recipes

PORT WINE SAUCE RECIPE

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a saucepan and sauté the shallots briefly until translucent (approximately 3 minutes).
• Deglaze with the Port and red wines and reduce until most of the wine has cooked off, (approximately 5 - 6 minutes)
• Add the demi glace, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and thyme and simmer for approximately 5-6 minutes (or until the sauce has thickened).
• Strain the sauce, add the heavy cream (if desired), and return to a simmer for a few minutes and serve.
• The optional heavy cream gives the sauce a richer color and additional flavor.

RED WINE REDUCTION SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook shallot in hot oil until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
• Pour wine into saucepan; cook, stirring regularly, until reduced in volume by half, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Stir beef broth with the wine. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook at a simmer until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Stir butter and Italian seasoning into the sauce; cook until butter is completely melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt.

ROAST BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH PORT SAUCE

Steps:

• For beef:
• Sprinkle entire surface of beef tenderloin with coarse kosher salt. Place beef on rack set over large rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate uncovered at least 24 hours and up to 36 hours.
• For sauce:
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add shallots; sauté until soft, 3 minutes. Add Cognac, rosemary, and 1 teaspoon cracked pepper and cook until liquid evaporates, 1 minute. Add Port; bring to simmer. Add all of beef stock. Boil until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 20 minutes. Strain into medium saucepan, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids in strainer. DO AHEAD: Can be made 24 to 36 hours ahead. Cool slightly, then cover and chill.
• For roasting:
• Let beef stand at room temperature 1 hour before roasting. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425°F. Rub beef all over with oil; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cracked peppercorns, pressing to adhere. Return beef to rack on baking sheet and roast until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 125°F for medium-rare (135°F to 140°F in thinnest part), about 30 minutes. Remove roast from oven and let rest 15 minutes.
• Bring sauce to boil; whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
• Cut off string from roast. Cut roast crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices; arrange on platter. Serve with sauce.
• WHAT TO DRINK:
• Chateau Coufran 2003 (France, $23). The leathery, earthy notes and subtle fruit in this medium-bodied Bordeaux are perfect for the tenderloin.

PORT WINE SAUCE (FOR FILET MIGNON OR PRIME RIB)

Steps:

• First, make the reduction. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the diced shallot and cook untile softened, about five minutes. Then, add all of the port (yes, a whole bottle!), and the thyme sprigs, and bring to a boil over high heat. Watch for the boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a brisk simmer. Cook until the port has reduced to the consistency of corn syrup, about 30 minutes. You should have about 1/2 cup or so including the diced shallot. At the same time, bring the chicken broth to a simmer in a small saucepan. Once it's brought a simmer, turn off the heat, and add the package of porcini mushrooms. Here, you're creating a mushroom-enriched stock that will add a nice earthy base to the sauce. Let the mushrooms soak for 15-20 minutes. with a straining or slotted spoon, lift the porcini to a small bowl. Strain the sooaking liquid through a coffee filter, paper towel or cheesecloth to remove any dirt sediment that came from the porcini mushrooms. Save the stock -- that's what you're going to use in the next step. Add the enriched chicken stock and half of the porcini mushrooms (diced) to the port reduction. (You can use the other half of the porcini mushrooms in a beef or mushroom-cap stuffing.) Bring the sauce to a boil over high heat, then reduce to maintain a brisk simmer. Cook until it's reduced to about 1 1/3 cups, which is about 15 minutes. Strain again through a fine strainer, pressing on the solid mushrooms and shallots. Add salt and pepper to taste. You should have a little over 1 cup of the sauce. The sauce can be refrigerated at this point and held for up to 2 days, if you seal it carefully with plastic wrap. Twenty minutes before plating your dinner, bring the sauce back to a low simmer, stir. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and butter into a paste, then WHISK rapidly into the simmering sauce to thicken it. You'll need to whisk for 2 minutes or so to give the sauce a single consistency. Raise the temperature to a simmer, and maintain that while whisking for 2-3 minutes to remove any flour flavor. Add a teaspoon or so of fine balsamic vinegar, and taste a few times. You're done! Serving options: Can be plated first, with filet mignon beef medalions on top, or poured over steak.

BEEF ROAST (ROAST BEEF) WITH PORT-WINE SAUCE

Steps:

• Let the beef stand at room temperature for about 1 hour before roasting. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Dice the shallots and set aside.
• Pat the beef dry with a paper towel, this helps it sear in the pan which creates carmelization (aka Maillard Reaction). Rub the olive oil all over the beef, spinkle with salt and pepper on all sides.
• On medium high heat, heat a large cast iron skillet, sear the beef on each side until golden brown and caramelized, and stir the shallots around in the pan. The shallots will turn dark, and that is ok, but don't let them burn, adjust your heat if necessary.
• Turn off the stove, remove beef from the pan and rest on a large platter.
• In the large skillet pan (don't clean it out!) add 2 cups of red wine (a good port prefered) and 3 tablespoons of butter, use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the bits known as the "fond" on the bottom of the pan. There is a lot of flavor down on the pan and you want that in your sauce! Next, add the beef back in the pan.
• Carefully place the cast iron skillet into the 450 degree oven on the center rack, for 10 minutes, then flip over the beef for another 10 minutes.
• The roast beef is done when internal temperature reaches medium rare 130-135 degrees, use a good accurate thermometer.
• Remove from oven, rest 15 minutes, and slice thick for dinner portions and spoon the sauce over each portion, or slice thinly for roast beef sandwiches.
• Serve with creamy horseradish sauce for dinner or on sandwiches.

RED WINE REDUCTION DESSERT SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine wine, sugar, vanilla extract, and cinnamon together in a saucepan; simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce reduces, about 30 minutes.

PORT WINE REDUCTION

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Continue to boil until thickened and reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 30 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve; let cool to room temperature before serving.

PORT WINE REDUCTION

Steps:

• Add all items except Roux and Butter into a sauce pan, cover and heat over medium heat for approximately 45 minutes.
• Remove vegetables and continue cooking uncovered untill liquid reduces to about a quarter of the volume.
• Mix in a small amount of Roux to slightly thicken sauce, lightly boil for a couple of minutes (should just thinly coat back of spoon).
• Lower heat and add butter to finish sauce (do not let sauce boil after adding the butter).
• Enjoy.

SIMPLE PORT WINE REDUCTION

Steps:

• Combine all of the ingredients in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil.
• Continue to boil the mixture until it thickens and reduces to about ½ cup, about 45 minutes.
• Strain through a fine-mesh strainer and let cool.
• Use at room temperature. Makes ½ cup.

PAN-SEARED WILD DUCK BREAST WITH PORT WINE REDUCTION

Steps:

• Schneider's recipe calls for a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder because she started with whole peppercorns and allspice berries. I simply stir my salt, freshly ground pepper, sugar, zest and thyme in a small bowl. It works just fine. The mixture should look like sand.
• Place the duck breasts on a platter and rub the spice mixture into them. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. About 20 minutes before cooking, remove the duck breasts from the refrigerator and return to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Pat dry with paper towels. With a paring knife, remove the tenderloin, the thin strip of meat that runs lengthwise down the underside of each breast.
• Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. When the pan is hot - it doesn't have to be smoking - put the duck breasts in fat side down. Let the breasts sizzle for about a minute (or longer if your kitchen isn't getting too smoky) or a minute and a half, then place the pan in the oven. After two and half minutes total have passed, open the oven, flip the breasts over, close the oven and cook for another two to two and a half minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, transfer the breasts to a platter, and let rest for five minutes. Turn your oven off.
• While the breasts are resting, finish reducing the sauce. (See my notes below with the sauce recipe - I make the sauce a day in advance, and then heat as much as I think we need for the two of us while the breasts are resting.) Place your sauce in a small sauce pan or frying pan and heat over medium-high heat. In no time, the sauce should start to thicken up, at which point you should remove the pan from the stovetop. Slice the breasts, if desired, and pour your beautiful sauce over top. (Or, don't slice the breasts, just pour the sauce over top.)

MUSHROOM PORT WINE SAUCE

Steps:

• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the shallots, and cook for 2 minutes to soften slightly. Add the mushrooms, and continue cooking until the mushrooms have released their liquid and are tender. Remove the mushrooms from the skillet and set aside.
• Pour the port wine into the skillet and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until the port has reduced and is almost syrupy, 5 to 7 minutes. Whisk in the mustard and beef broth. Dissolve the cornstarch into the water, and whisk into the boiling sauce. Stir until the sauce has thickened, about 30 seconds. Remove the skillet from the heat, and whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter until it has melted into the sauce. Stir the cooked mushrooms back into the sauce and serve.

DUCK BREASTS WITH PORT REDUCTION SAUCE

Steps:

• Using a sharp knife, trim away excess skin from the duck (leaving enough to amply cover the breast). Using a sharp knife, score the skin, first cutting diagonally in one direction, and then the other, in a crosshatch manner. Cut all the way through the skin and most of the fat, but avoid the flesh. Alternatively, you can use a Jaccard tool to pierce the skin. On a small rimmed baking sheet or a plate, place a 1/4 inch layer of salt rough the size of the duck breast. Place duck breast skin-side down on bed of salt. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Remove and brush off salt with a stiff brush. Line a small rimmed baking sheet or shallow dish with ice cubes and cover with plastic wrap. Place duck breast skin-side down on plastic wrap and weight it with a cheesecloth bundle filled with pie weights or dried beans for 25 minutes at room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove cheesecloth bundle and season flesh side with pepper, and place skin side down, in an unheated 10-inch skillet. Top again with cheesecloth bundle and cook over medium-low heat until a small pool of fat forms in the pan. As fat accumulates, spoon off into a heatproof bowl and reserve for another use; allowing it to cool before storing in an airtight container at room temperature. Continue to cook duck until the skin is nicely browned and crisp, about 25 minutes. Use tongs to turn breast over and top with cheesecloth bundle for 1 minute. Remove bundle and transfer skillet to oven and cook until duck is medium rare, 8 to 12 minutes. It should register 125 degrees on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part. Transfer to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet to rest for 5 to 7 minutes. The duck will continue to cook slightly during this time.
• Drain all of fat from the pan and place over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium high and add the port, chicken stock, and thyme, scraping the bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring to a simmer and cook until sauce is syrupy and reduced to 1/3 cup. Remove from heat and whisk in butter until fully incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
• Slice duck crosswise on a slight angle into 1/4-inch-thick slices, fan out on serving plates, and drizzle with sauce before serving.