Red Wine Reduction Sauce for Grilled Stuff

One of my favorite dishes growing up was steak with a red wine reduction sauce that my dad used to make. I always thought it was divine, until I tried to make it myself. Then I realized that it's not only divine, but exacting. You have to use the right kind of wine, and watch it carefully, so as not to scorch the sauce, rendering it smoky and bitter.

This is fantastic with beef, pork, or grilled portabella mushrooms (which is what I'm having tonight).

You're gonna need:

1/2 a bottle of cheap california cabernet, the fruitier the better, watch out for oaky or smoky cabs, these can ruin the sauce.

1 cup of port wine, the cheaper the better, Aussie ports are pretty good and cheap

3 large sprigs of rosemary

1 large shallot, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a pan, and toss in the shallots, frying them until brown and aromatic, about 4-5 minutes.

Pour in all the wine, and heat until simmering

toss in the rosemary

Reduce over low heat for about 1 hour, or until all of the alcohol and most of the water has been boiled away.

Taste your sauce. If it's too bitter, add more port. Be generous. Reduce further. Eventually, your nearly 1 bottle of wine will result in about 2-3 ounces of sauce. That's why you get the cheap stuff.

Towards the end, make sure to stir continuously and lower the heat to just barely bubbling, as the thick sauce will stick to the pan and scorch.

You can strain out the rosemary and shallot if you like, but it's easier to accomplish before the sauce is thick. The flavors and essences will remain, though.

If, in the end, the sauce still has an excessively bitter taste (the result of oaky or tannic cabernet), a little sugar and salt will help. Don't over sweeten, though. This is supposed to fairly savory.

Spoon a small amount of sauce onto the dish of your choice (a little goes a long way), and revel in your french-chef-awesomeness.

Bon Appetit!