We’ve all had a bottle of wine that we’ve opened and only had a couple of glasses before putting it in the fridge and forgetting about it. Before long, the bottle has lost its freshness. Instead of throwing the bottle away, cook with the leftover wine. Here are four dishes to make with wine.
Make or Enhance BBQ Sauce
Bold, flavorful wine perfectly compliments sweet and sticky barbecue sauce. When making homemade barbecue sauce, pour a bit of red wine for some extra tang. For premade barbecue sauce, bring a cup of wine to a simmer in a pan over medium to high heat and once the wine has reduced by about half and the alcohol has cooked out, stir in about two cups of your favorite barbecue sauce.
Rehydrate Dried Fruits
Elevate your summer salads by adding dried fruits. Before throwing in the raisins, dried cherries, or dried figs, rehydrate them with some dry white wine for an hour or overnight. You’ll end up with plump, juicy fruit that works great topped on salads or with cheese plates.
Make Boozy Jam
Making boozy jam is a great way to use leftover wine and excess fruits. Just combine equal parts sugar and wine in a pan over medium heat and cook the mixture until the sugar is dissolved, the wine reduces, and the sauce begins to thicken. Then add two parts fresh berries and cook the mixture over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes.
Braise Meats
Braising meats cooks them in a flavorful liquid over low, slow heat. Try braising pork with wine and herbs for tacos or braise beef with red wine and tomato sauce for a delicious pasta sauce.
