When one is as creative/resourceful of a chef as I am, I have learned to adapt recipes to the ingredients on hand. I discovered that Beef in Barolo can now be made with 2016 Coppola ‘Black Label Claret’ in a pinch! The SO decried the wine choice, finding it a commercial fruity selection, but it was a gift, and I thought it was quite functional. It’s also why I keep gifts in kitchen racks, to save more favored bottles.
Rather than cooking the meat in one solid piece, I cubed & browned trimmed chunks, to jack up the flavor, at the expense of some more work. Kid #2 who doesn’t like stew actually gobbled it up, and there were no leftovers, unusual in our place. (well, dog got some gravy drizzled over their kibble)
The chef known for his orange crocs (among other transgressions) had a recipe for beef in Barolo and the recipe suggested using California Merlot in place of Barolo. Not sure if Lidia’s recipe is the same.
I think any hearty, rich full bodied wine would work. The elegance and depth of a Barolo would be lost in a stew with beef, tomatoes, onions, etc.
I’ve never understood either Beef in Barolo or Beef Bourgogne, both wines seem wasted on a stew! Perhaps these recipes are holdouts from an era when both wines were far more inexpensive. In any event, you made the right choice. My only requirement for a cooking wine (when used in larger volumes like a stew or braise) is high acid and low to no oak.
I once saw a BiB recipe that recommended using a whole bottle of 1978 Siri Tilden. It seemed so wrong on many levels ( can you even call it Beef in Barolo if it’s actually a Barbaresco), but most of all for wasting a really expensive wine. It definitely violates your low to no oak requirement.
Surely any wine can work in a pinch, but sometimes the wines Do make the dish like a white Burg for coq au vin blanc. I don’t think a flabbier California chardonnay would have done it any favors.
I remember that same story, and I agree 100% with your conclusion. Pouring good Barolo into your stew would be like pouring Krug in your Mimosa, though probably at least in the Mimosa the quality of the wine might make a little bit of noticeable difference.
