12 reduction cooking Recipes

any liquid can be reduced just by heating it - but why would you want to do that, answer comes back to two of our old friends, flavor and consistency (texture)., by reducing any flavored liquid you intensify its flavor and at the same time thicken it. you can continue this process until what you have left is a syrup if it contains sugar, or a sauce if it does not., this is 1 of the most important tools in the kitchen , believe it or not, because a great sauce can rescue an indifferent meal., literally any liquid can be reduced ., a few uses, wine is frequently used in cooking , both as a marinade and as an addition to sauces for meat., there are some problems with it though, 1 of which is that you need a really good wine and quite a lot of it to produce a reasonable sauce for, say, six people., on the other hand , if you use pure grape juice and reduce it to a syrup, that syrup, added to any sauce (or gravy if you prefer) will lift it into the realms of gourmet ., more , you don tsp have to make your reduction on the night you prepare your meal. you can reduce a liter of grape juice at any time to the consistency and flavor you want; then just store it in the fridge., you can do the same thing with any fruit juice - prune is sensational - and store it until needed. just about all of them will do things for ice cream, pies or tarts that will have your guests demanding the recipe, pork with apple sauce use a carton of fresh apple juice from the supermarket and reduce it. and if you want a real sensation add in a glass of apple brandy during the reduction process., are you getting an idea of how simple this is, take any carton of fresh stock straight of the shelf and reduce it. you will transform it into something even the manufacturer won tsp recognize. but beware, you need to start out with good quality in the first place, because when you reduce a liquid you intensify all the flavors, and not just the good ones., if it s salty to start with, for example, it will be salty beyond belief by the time you ve reduced it even by half. so if you are going to use a supermarket stock, make sure it s an extremely good 1., believe me when i tell you that stock cubes should not be used for reduction sauces., thickeners, because you will be tasting as you go (won tsp you ), you may find that you get the flavor you want before the desired consistency is reached., a couple of hints right now for your sauces., sweet ones can be thickened successfully without loss of color by adding in liquid glucose early on in the reduction process. surprisingly, this will add little in the way of sweetness and produces a beautiful velvety sauce when whisked., if you get it wrong and add too much, no problem. stir in a little extra water to thin it., reduction pans, reductions need to happen rapidly in serving to preserve flavors. and the greater the surface area of the liquid the faster the water will evaporate., however you may want to whisk something into the sauce while its cooking - such as butter or olive oil for example - and for that i find a small wok is best; 1 with a handle., a wok is less likely to reduce so fast that the sauce is burnt while your back is turned. but try both methods and see which you prefer. you may even end up using something totally different., no magic to this. whatever works for you, that s what you should use, in this and everything else to do with cooking., just bear in mind that what you re after is speed and ease of use. as well as a great tasting result, of course. :>), keeping, if they should dry out , simply add a little water and heat through., sauces containing meat juices of any kind must be frozen if you re going to keep them, and should be brought to boiling point before being used again. there is no need to thaw them out to do this, in fact it s better not to. simply drop the frozen cubes into a saucepan, melt them over a gentle heat, and then bring swiftly to the boil., why do you do this to avoid food poisoning, that s why. you are making sure that any bugs introduced into the sauce during the preparation process are killed off., worry , this will not be because of anything you have done wrong (i hope!), but because bacteria are part of our everyday lives and they exist in every kitchen, however clean., in fact your food , and especially your meat, is crawling with wildlife that you will never see. don tsp worry about them. careful handling and simple precautions will ensure that these miniature monsters can never multiply enough to harm either you or your guests.

boneless beef top sirloin steaks, italian dressing, chopped fresh rosemary, uncooked pasta , cooked according to package directions, chopped spinach, alfredo sauce (buy your own or prepare using ingredients below), chopped green onion, gorgonzola, crumbled, gorgonzola (for sprinkling on top of finished dish), chopped sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic glaze (buy your own or prepare using ingredients below), white milk, heavy cream, imported parmesan cheese, grated, imported romano cheese, grated, jumbo egg yolks, salt and black pepper, balsamic vinegar, sugar

chicken breasts, i prefer skinless boneless for the reduction in fat, canola oil (if you can get it in your area, canola balance is the best. it is actually good for you.), garlic, minced, chicken tonight cooking sauce for chicken sweet and sour sauce, apricot preserves , the all fruit type is best,less sugar, dijon mustard, dried apricot, chopped, dried red pepper , less if you are wimpy about chili, hot cooked brown rice

chilean sea bass, skin off, baby or 4 small artichokes, canola oil to cook, minced garlic, ginger , julienned, leeks , white part julienned, washed well, salt and black pepper to taste, tomatoes, cut in half, balsamic vinegar, chinese black vinegar, butter, salt and black pepper to taste, chive batons , 1/2-inch, yukon gold potatoes, washed , un-peeled, quartered, canola oil to cook, minced garlic, minced thyme, heavy cream, butter, salt and pepper to taste

grapeseed oil, divided, red onion, diced, chopped garlic, fresh corn kernels , about 2 ears** see cook s note, diced potatoes - about 4 medium potatoes (place diced potatoes on paper toweling to absorb moisture), salt, pepper, tomato, diced , centers removed, chopped fresh chives, goat cheese or herb cheese (recommended: boursin), grapeseed oil, chopped garlic, diced shallots , or 1 white onion, finely diced, any meat trimmings you may have from the beef (see beef ingredient below), port wine, strong beef stock or demi-glace, freshly chopped thyme leaves, freshly chopped rosemary leaves, unsalted butter, beef tenderloins, trimmed , trimmings reserved, salt, pepper, blue cheese, bread crumbs, grapeseed oil

lobster, filet mignons (6 to 7-oz each), trimmed, essence , recipe follows, salt, fresh ground black pepper, olive oil, cold unsalted butter, freshly chopped tarragon leaves, white pepper, mashed or pan-fried potatoes, tarragon veal reduction sauce , recipe follows, paprika, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, dried thyme, unsalted butter, divided, minced shallots, brandy, lobster, cooked and meat chopped, optional, reduced veal stock, heavy cream, chopped fresh tarragon leaves, salt, ground black pepper

farm-raised goose, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, chopped onions, coarsely chopped carrots, coarsely chopped celery, bay leaves, thyme , plus 2 tsp chopped leaves, garlic cloves, smashed, dark chicken stock , chicken stock, or water, sliced shallots, plus 2 tbsp minced, brandy, sweetened dried cranberries, apple cider glazed pearl onions , recipe follows, goose fat , reserved from cooking the goose, pearl onions, peeled, apple cider vinegar, apple cider, fresh finely chopped thyme leaves, salt, fresh ground black pepper

merlot red wine, onion, quartered, celery stalks, chopped, carrots, peeled and chopped, bay leaf, olive oil, chopped shallots, shiitake mushrooms, cleaned, steamed and thinly sliced, salt, freshly ground black pepper, chopped garlic, cooked navy white beans, veal reduction, chopped fresh parsley leaves, butter, salmon fillets, skin off

balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, honey, challah bread, about 1/2-inch thick, toasted, or grilled, brie cheese, sliced, cooked chicken breast halves, sliced into thin strips, granny smith apple

chicken, unsalted butter, shallot, minced, dry white wine, heavy cream, sea salt (fleur de sel), freshly ground black pepper, fresh thyme, lemon verbena, cardamom pods, chicken legs (reserved from chicken above), foie gras, caul fat, baby leeks, trimmed, asparagus spears, trimmed, butter, minced thyme leaves, minced shallots, summer truffle, fine herbs pluches ( chervil, parsley, thyme, tarragon, and chives), fleur de sel, for garnish, chicken jus (reserved from cooking), red wine reduction, port wine reduction, foie gras fat (from rendering)