Using corked wine making Coq au vin

A couple of weeks ago, I pulled a red burgundy, and it is corked. It has been sitting in the fridge since. Now I just thought why not make a Coq-au-vin? (The recipe calls for half bottle of red burgundy). But can you really cook with corked wine? What if it ends up being Cork-au-vin instead? Your thought?

I use corked wine to cook with regularly and the corked flavor cooks right out. I don’t know the reason why, but it works perfectly well as long as the wine is thoroughly cooked.

In other discussions people have said that cooking with corked wine is Ok. It I think that’s more in the context of deglazing a pan etc. Personally I would not risk it for a dish like this where the wine is front and centre. The cliche is “two bottles of good burgundy, one on the table and one in the pot”. I do have a ‘solera system’ of left over wines for cooking but I don’t use those for dishes like coq au vin or boeuf Bourgignon. (I don’t use 1er Cru either!)

I’ve cooked beef bourguignon with corked wine and it worked perfectly. It was a barolo by the way. Despite what cook books say, I consider it a waste to use very good wine in cooking since after high heat, they tend to come out the same. Some time ago, the NY times tested recipes with cru wines and $10 specials and they frequently preferred the results with the cheap wine. If you have a nice bottle of corked burgundy on hand, though, it will work perfectly well.

Agree about not using very good (expensive) wine. For these kinds of dishes I do use something that I would be happy to drink, but at a moderate price point ($20 Can which is probably about $10 US retail haha). Oregon Pinot say.

I’ve never made Coq au Vin and recently saw a recipe and instantly knew why I hadn’t made it: you need to use a lot of wine I’d rather drink! But if this works (using something otherwise undrinkable) please update this discussion, because I would REALLY like to know. As for using $10 wines instead of ‘the good stuff’ - I agree, but avoid the $3 Trader Joe stuff.

[rofl.gif]

Just made this yesterday using a half bottle of month old Copain along with some brandy and it tasted great. Will finish it today.

Cheers,
Curt

Wine that has been open and in the refrigerator for a month is totally different from a corked wine. I have not cooked with corked wine, just as a matter of principle. I hate the smell of corked wine and get it out of my kitchen asap. I always have leftover wines hanging around, and as long as you do not pour it all out, it works very well (I find quite a bit of solid matter at the bottom of a bottle that has been refrigerated for some months).

And hi Curt!

I’ve always followed accepted wisdom and not used corked wine for cooking. But since we can smell TCA, it plainly can evaporate from liquid, and cooking would accelerate that.

Whether it’s a problem or not may depend on how long the dish is cooked. Even alcohol is slow to cook off. It takes several hours to reduce alcohol to a negligible level, according to this article. So it might be that corked wine would work for a slow-cooked dish like coq au vin, but would be riskier if you are simply deglazing a pan. I have no idea whether TCA evaporates at a similar pace.

One other concern would be TCA’s interference with the perception of other flavors and aromas. If any is left in the cooking liquid, I wonder if it would be capable of reducing the flavor even if it we can no longer smell the TCA itself, just as TCA can neutralize other flavors in wine even when it’s below the threshold where we can smell it.

I believe it was the Cajun Cook Justin Wilson that used to say “never cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink.”

That’s the common wisdom, alluded to by others here. The question is whether there’s any basis for it.

It was also traditionally said, “cook with the same kind of wine you’ll be drinking.” But that turned out to be silly, because most of the subtle flavors of wine are burned off in cooking. There’s not point in making your coq au vin with premier cru Vosne Romanee or your risotto di Barolo with Bartolo Mascarello.

For stews, I’ve used wines that have been open too long to drink, and with others that were unpleasantly tannic, and things have turned out fine.

So i don’t put much stock in accepted wisdom in this context.

We don’t buy cooking wine or wine that we wouldn’t drink. We do, however, use the occasional flawed bottle to cook with and have never had a problem. I think I would rather cook with a fine wine that is oxidized/corked than poorly made swill.

I use bottles of so-so wine brought by guests to parties for cooking, but I realize that’s not OP’s question.

I’ve never made coq au vin. Anyone have a good recipe they want to share?

Start with a decent, but not great, corked wine.

I had good results with the Alton Brown version. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/coq-au-vin-recipe-1952021

You can’t go wrong with Julia Child’s for coq au vin or beef bourguignon recipes. Both of these take a considerable amount of effort and I wouldn’t take the chance of using a flawed wine when putting in that kind of work. I also wouldn’t use DRC or Bartolo Mascarello level wine as John pointed out.

Chris, I think Viet has a good one.

Sounds like a recipe for a total coq-up.

My usual cooking wine is some budget wine that I would drink if put in front of me, such as La Vielle Ferme. I have never seen the point of cooking with ritzy wine, and I have tried it more than once. With regard to using corked wine, use it with whatever recipe you are using. Really, for whatever reason, the TCA cooks out. Julia Child’s is my regular Coq au Vin recipe as her Beef Bourguignon is my regular for that recipe.