A few years ago I had the opportunity to visit Vinho Verde – but the day I landed in Porto I had an afternoon in the beautiful city. I had two options – take a nap to get over some jet lag, or head to the port houses on the shore of the Douro.
I’m glad I did the latter – I visited Ramos Pinto and Kopke. I vaguely remember drinking Port earlier in my wine journey and dismissing the sweet wine. I think many of us when we begin to get serious about wine move away from anything with any sort of sweetness and search for big, bold, dry wines. My visit to both of these Port houses had a profound impact on me. I snagged a bottle of Ramos Tawny, and Kopke 10 Year old port to enjoy between sips of Alvarinho and Loureira in Vinho Verde.
I do spend a lot of time thinking about what wines I enjoy cooking with. It drives me nuts when I hear someone talk about a wine they don’t enjoy or buying something unbelievably cheap to cook with. When you’re dumping a bottle of wine into a coq au vin, or into a pasta sauce those flavours are going to end up in your food. If you wouldn’t drink it – why would you want your food to taste like that?
Ok, What does that have to do with Port? Let’s fast forward to last winter. I wanted to braise some lamb shanks. (Yes I realize this is an oddly specific craving … but I assure you it’s true). The recipes I found involved braising them in beef stock, red wine, garlic, onion, and rosemary, But I was thinking that getting a bit of sweetness in the pot would help make the signature lamb flavour pop.
It turns out I was right. I used a bottle of Taylor Late Bottle Vintage Port – nearly a whole bottle. (recipe posted below)
Now, while I wouldn’t cook with anything I wouldn’t drink that doesn’t mean you need to dump the good stuff into the pot. What I would do is buy a nice bottle of Tawny or aged port to sip along side your braised lamb shanks.
Kopke 10 Year Old Tawny – LCBO 14049 – $17.95 (375ml bottle) – Ten year tawny ports are my favourite because they have had some time to develop some complexity with some slight nutty notes. In terms of value this is almost always a sure bet.
Taylor Fladgate 20 Year Old Tawny Port – Vintages 149047 – $69.95 – When you’re talking about twenty year old port you’re getting into the ultra premium category. The sweet notes start to fall off and smoke and nuttiness start to make their pressence known.
Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 2014 – LCBO 191239 – $18.55 – Late Bottled Vintage Port is what I love to cook with – but also have save a bit for a sip or two while the meat is braising. These have notes of confected cherry, blueberry, plum, prune. Nice spice notes caress the fruit – but I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that the sweetness can be a little overbearing if you were to dive deep into a bottle here.
2017 Croft Vintage Porto – Vintages 12083 – $66.00 (375ml bottle) – Vintage Port is only made in the best years. These are bottles that can be stored in your cellar for 20-30 years before ready to consume.
Rosemary Port Braised Lamb Shanks
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
4 lamb shanks trimmed of excess fat|
1 large white onion diced
6 cloves garlic minced
2 large carrots sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 pinch coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup flour
2 cups no sodium Beef Stock
2 cups of Port Wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary finely chopped
1 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to season
INSTRUCTIONS
– Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy based pot.
– Sear shanks in the hot oil until browned on all sides.
– Set aside and cover shanks with foil
– To the pan juices, sauté the carrots and diced onions until softened, then add garlic and cook until fragrant.
– Return the shanks back into the pot; season with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper.
– Sprinkle with flour, toss well and cook for 4-5 minutes to brown.
– Add stock, wine, tomato paste, and rosemary.
– Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is falling apart.
– Serve with mashed potatoes
