ALINE BALY - Sauternes / Barsac reduction sauce -- recipie?

Ms. Baly,

Have you ever made a reduction sauce from your Chateau’s gold wine? If you have, did you merely reduce the wine, or did you also add-in other ingredients? Any interesting ideas on possible applications for such a sauce? (besides pancakes/waffles/crepes)

Hi Brian,

There is are infinite possibilities when it comes to Sauternes-based sauces!

In regards to wine reductions… As you mention, it can be served with sweet foods like pancakes and waffles. In addition you can use it as a syrup that you pour onto a cake right after baking, to make it nice and moist. We also like to pour it on baked apples (core removed, and baked with butter and brown sugar in the oven for about 40 minutes) Add the sauce right after baking, just before serving or provide a sauceboat for people to serve themselves.

It also depends on how long you reduce the wine, and on how syrupy you want the sauce to be.

Beyond sweet-sweet pairings, you can also use Sauternes-based reductions/syrups to pair with savory dishes. One great example would be the following recipe from our online cookbook: a stuffed cheese
(http://www.chateaucoutet.com/index.php/en/cookbook/210-hazelnut-and-raisins-stuffed-brie" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;).
The association of the saltiness of the cheese and the sweetness of the reduction is a nice contrast. You may also serve your reduction with a cheese platter featuring Parmeggiano, Blue cheese (like Roquefort or Silton), and any other very salty or smelly cheese. Beyond cheese, a reduction can also be great with fish or crustaceans. Again, the contrast between the iodine (saltiness) and the sweetness is a hit!
White meat also works well. Try it with roasted chicken for example. Try it with ribs: if you add a bit of spices and mustard to you reduction, you have a nice and original rib sauce!…

Now what we also like to do at Château Coutet, is to use the wine to make an actual sauce for meat and fish. For example, after searing a pork tenderloin, deglaze your pan with Sauternes, add a little meat or vegetable broth, add a bit of corn starch (about 1 tsp) to thicken the sauce and then, after heating the sauce a few minutes, add cream to finish the sauce. (do not let it boil once you added cream)
serve it with melted leek to which you add a little wine, it is delicious!

In our kitchen, we like to cook things in the wine, just like for these recipes:
Salmon steaks poached in Sauternes : http://www.chateaucoutet.com/index.php/en/cookbook/53-salmon-steaks" onclick=“window.open(this.href);return false;
Onion Jam and Fig Chutney to go with cheese, pâtés, foie gras : http://www.chateaucoutet.com/index.php/en/cookbook/155-onion-jam” onclick=“window.open(this.href);return false;, http://www.chateaucoutet.com/index.php/en/cookbook/147-fig-chutney” onclick=“window.open(this.href);return false;
Pumpkin Tart http://www.chateaucoutet.com/index.php/en/cookbook/207-pumpkin-masacrpone-tart-with-candied-kumquats-and-sauternes-cream” onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I hope this is helpful. We’d love to have some feedback on what others have tried!

Cheers,
Aline

Wow! Great ideas … thank you!

I’ll have to take a gander at the Coutet online cookbook — I’m sorry I didn’t look at your website before posing my question - I should have checked there first. blush

Wow gotta try some of those recipes! Thanks!!!

Gotta add there is some grest info for the sauternes enthusiast in the other posts…caught the posts late but sure enjoyed looking them over…well done!