Meat & Fire: Marinating Makes the Difference
Meat & Fire: The Secret is the Wood
Wine: A Chef's Secrets to Perfect Pairings
The first in a series of wine musings
by Chef Mario Valdovinos
Nothing enhances a great meal more than the perfect bottle of wine. When pairing wine with food, I think a good rule of thumb is: start with what you know and go from there. Trust your palate. Just like in cooking, a great experience is what counts. Have no fear and experiment. When in doubt, pop the cork and try a new wine!
When I read wine magazines, wine blogs and sommelier reviews, I often see dramatically different tasting notes for the same bottle of wine (same vineyard, same vintage) from various critics. Even the experts almost never taste or smell the same stuff! I learned long ago that if I don't pick up those subtle hints of "blood orange," "burnt coffee" or "the musty sweetness of wet gravel" when I stick my nose into a wine glass, it's okay; we all taste and smell things quite differently. With wine, "perfect" comes down to personal preference. So, decide what you like and drink up! When you do find a wine you love, I've got some sure-fire suggestions for what foods match up well with different kinds of wines, to help you create a fabulous synergy of taste that can elevate any meal.
My recommendations below are based on the custom and culture of the wine regions producing each variety, as well as the level of acidity, bitterness, protein, fat, saltiness and sweetness in the food, all of which can either complement or compete with a wine's taste.
Cabernet-based wines and Red Bordeaux: Best for hearty, meaty foods with little or no acid; however, "tannic" herbs like thyme and tarragon are okay. Slow-roasted meats, steaks like aged Porterhouse, well-marbled New York strip, lean beef tenderloin or grilled rib eye, and most lamb cuts are all champions of the Cab.
Malbec: Try steaks, slow-roasted beef, tangy beef stew, Thanksgiving-style roast turkey, grilled or roasted duck, meat dishes with tomato sauce like a Chef-Mario-style Bolognese or a meaty pizza and highly-seasoned Mexican food like street tacos, enchiladas and beefy nachos.
Merlot: With Merlot, I enjoy beef or lamb roast (including cold or rare), peppered venison, grilled top sirloin steak, grilled or roasted chicken, grilled salmon/swordfish/tuna, foods with garden fresh mint or rosemary and dark chocolate. Avoid garlic or heavy cream sauces with Merlot.
Pinot Noir: The queen of red wines. Lightest in tannin and "silky" in texture, this wine loves oven-roasted pork, chicken, rabbit, veal, and duck, especially when paired with a red wine sauce. Also try braised beef, Asian take-out, pasta, risotto or meat with mushrooms.
Sangiovese: I thoroughly enjoy Italian wines with home-cooked foods. On a Sunday when I have time to "foodie out," I prepare a wood-fired pork roast or dark meat chicken, a sweet ham, a meaty T-bone steak, or anything in tomato sauce like pasta, pizza, and lasagna -- all are perfect with Sangiovese. If you're feeling a little adventurous, try grilled vegetables, zesty Italian sausage, grilled lamb chops with garden fresh herbs or foods studded with garlic or Wright® Brand bacon.
Syrah/Shiraz: This very tannic, deep purple, "inky", long-finishing wine needs grilled or roasted beef, peppery pork, venison, turkey, or game meat or birds to be happy on the palate. This wine craves herbs like thyme and sage and generously-peppered steaks or meat cooked in wine, barbecue sauce or teriyaki, as long as they're not too sweet. Syrah and Shiraz are also perfect paired with pizza topped with spicy sausage and peppers.
Tempranillo: Best for rich-flavored grilled or roasted meats such as whole suckling pig, wild boar, hare, mutton or lamb. Also great with air-cured Serrano ham, Spanish chorizo and slow-cooked potato stew, sweet sausage with black lentils, mom's meatloaf, bacon cheeseburgers and dishes with asparagus or bell peppers.
Zinfandel: The quintessential California wine. Gourmet beef burgers, marinated spareribs, pot roast, grilled vegetables, zesty chili beans, dried red chile-sauced enchiladas, spicy Asian meats, Korean BBQ and ginger-spiked teriyaki, if not too sweet, are all meal time heroes with a killer Zin.
Sémillon: Elegantly dry to exquisitely sweet, Sémillon produces high-alcohol wines that tend to be low in acid and aroma. For this reason, it is often blended with more acidic, aromatic white grapes. It marries well with Sauvignon Blanc and the resulting wines can be quite extraordinary. Dry Sémillon are excellent with pork loin and lightly grilled pork, fish and shellfish and poached chicken breast. The sweet ones (e.g. Sauternes) are a classic pair for foie gras and Roquefort and other blue cheeses.
Viognier: Known in the wine world as the exotic white grape, Viognier is gaining popularity, along with increasing acreage, in California, Washington and Australia. Known for its perfume and complex, exotic flavors, it has deep color and sweet aromas but is usually dry. It is rich and supple like Chardonnay, but without all the oak. Viognier is crisp like Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling, but smoother (lower in acid). Unlike Gewurztraminer and Muscat, it is not overly fruity or aromatic. Viognier works well on the palate with roast pork cooked with fruit, grilled chicken with fresh fruit salsa, spicy dishes and most high-flavored Asian stir-fries and curries. Unoaked styles go well with fresh fruit like peaches and apricots paired with Chairman's Reserve Pork, as well as sushi, sashimi and lobster.
Chenin Blanc: Dry or sweet, the grape with "two personalities" is the native white grape of the middle Loire Valley in France. The wines can be dry, sweet or very sweet with high acidity. The late-harvest Chenin Blanc has an intense and fascinating aroma. High acid content enables these wines to balance the sweetness and age for years. California, Chile and South Africa produce fine Chenin Blanc. The dry and lighter wines can be good as aperitifs, with chicken or light white fish like sole or trout. The medium sweet wines go well with pork with cream sauce, roast pork with prunes, dried apricots and goat cheese and pâté. I hope you'll experiment on your own and find wine combinations that bring out the optimum flavor of every meal. Salute!
Meat & Fire: Marinating Makes the Difference
The second in a series of grilling techniques
by Chef Mario Valdovinos
How do you transform an already-great cut of meat into something even more perfect? For me, it's marinating. Marinating is the easy way to elevate the taste of grilled foods with just a few simple ingredients and a little bit of time.
My most basic marinades always combine these home pantry ingredients: oil, an acid, and fresh herbs or dry seasonings. I like to use olive, canola or grape seed oil to help protect the surface of the food while grilling and carry the flavor of robust spices, fresh herbs and other aromatics. My favorite marinade acids include wine, balsamic vinegar, Greek yogurt and citrus fruit. These acids mixed in marinades tenderize meat while adding bright, fresh flavors to beef, pork, chicken and vegetables. I make sure not to use too much acid, because this can produce mushy meat. When I'm in the ethnic food mood, I use seasonings like garlic, onion, ginger, lemongrass, tamarind, kimchee, curry, rosemary and cumin seed to create interesting flavor combinations that stimulate the taste buds. Be creative -- your guests will love trying to guess your secret ingredients!
Always use a nonreactive mixing container, such as a glass or stainless steel bowl, or a sealable plastic bag when mixing a marinade. Plus, a little liquid goes a long way -- I use small amounts of marinade to coat food, so the food's natural taste can still be the hero.
Marinating times vary from 30 minutes for small pieces of beef, pork or chicken to 3 days for larger cuts of meat, like roasts. When marinating for longer than 30 minutes, always cover and refrigerate the food.
The final step I like to take before grilling is to pat the meat dry. Surface moisture prevents searing and even browning.
I hope these tips help you create fantastic marinades at home that take your next grilled feast up a notch or two!
Check out the easy Sesame Soy Marinade here:
http://www.chairmansreservepremiummeats.com/recipes/view/46170/
Meat & Fire: The Secret is the Wood
The first in a series of grilling techniques
by Chef Mario Valdovinos
Few activities let me connect to my inner “grill maestro” more than outdoor grilling. Cooking outdoors allows me to add bold flavor to my favorite “flame-kissed” foods in the form of smoke. My taste buds rely on the smoke that rises from small flare-ups from dripping marinade or melting meat fat. For some foods, charcoal smoke isn’t enough and I use wood chips or chunks, dried herbs, tea, or whole spices to add even more layers of flavor.
Even this California kid knows that he can start a smoke war between grilling die-hards from Texas & North Carolina about which type of wood smoke is best. But one thing we can all agree on is the aroma of wood smoke makes your neighbors want to tear down your fence and get to that stack of grilled meat piled on your outdoor grilling altar.
With that said, hickory, mesquite, oak, and pecan have very pronounced wood flavors and are my grilling staples. Some of my other BBQ Brethren tell me that apple, cherry, and beech produce a milder, fruity smoke, while alder has the least assertive wood flavor. One thing I learned a long time ago is that high-resin soft woods like pine should NEVER be used, because the smokey taste is… I’ll just say NOT so tasty.
I like the classic throwback to the charcoal grill and I soak wood chips, herbs, or whole spices in water for 30 minutes, then drain them before using. I don’t soak wood or aromatics if using my gas grill, as they are difficult to ignite and stay lit for a long period of time.
Use the chart below to create some killer grilled dishes of your own and enjoy the thrill of the grill!
