Your Guide to Cooking With Spirits
If we’re being honest, alcohol always has a seat at the table, whether you’re drinking it to celebrate a special occasion or simply to complement your meal. However, there is another way you can incorporate alcohol into your meal that could really help you step up your culinary skills.
It’s not uncommon for chefs and amateur cooks to add a little booze to their dishes, especially when cooking certain meats or whipping up a delicious sauce. That being said, if you’ve never cooked with alcohol before, you may be a little hesitant to give it a try, which is why we’ve created this unique guide to give you an idea of how you can start cooking with spirits.
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Why Cook With Alcohol?
Those who have never cooked with alcohol may be wondering why they would even start in the first place, and the answer is simple: alcohol makes the food taste better. We’re not suggesting that the alcohol numbs the senses enough for the food to taste good. Instead, we’re stating that the taste of certain liquors can help enhance the natural flavors of whatever you’re preparing. Alcohol is able to bond with both water and fat molecules, allowing it to help carry the aroma and flavor of your meal, and it’s no secret that smell can have a large impact on the overall flavor of your food, making it a win-win situation!
Flavor Meat
One of the most common ways that alcohol is used in cooking is to flavor meat. The best way to enhance the flavor of the meat with alcohol is to add it to the marinade. Marinating your meat in alcohol will help it soak into the meat and flavor every bite. Another option is to add a little alcohol to the pan when you cook your meat, especially if you’re planning to give it a nice sear.
With that in mind, you can’t simply choose whatever alcohol you want. It’s important to pick your liquor wisely, as there are some types that work better than others. For example, instead of choosing cooking wine, go to the liquor store and pick out a nice bottle of red or white wine, depending on the type of meat you wish to cook. If you’re stuck on what to choose, remember that darker liquors tend to go better with darker meats, and vice versa, and if you can’t drink the liquor on its own, it shouldn’t be going on your food.
Make a Sauce
Even the most amateur cook will know that food is better when there is a complementing sauce to complete the dish. A sauce can help elevate a bland chicken breast or take your plain steak to the next level, and using liquor in your sauce can make it even better. While you may be able to find or come up with recipes that call for alcohol of your choosing, one of the easiest sauces you can make simply involves adding liquor to the pan after you’ve removed the meat. Simply add your alcohol to the pan and start scraping at the bottom to dislodge any bits that may be stuck or caramelized at the bottom. Before you know it, you will have created a sauce that everyone can enjoy.
Enhance Sweets
In most cases, alcohol is added to savory dishes to help enhance the flavor, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t add it to sweet dishes as well. When adding alcohol to sweets, the important thing to remember is to not overdo it. You want you and your guests to be able to enjoy the food and not wonder if they will be able to drive home after the meal. Consider creating a rum caramel sauce that you can drizzle on top of fruit or ice cream, or add a few splashes of bourbon to a banana bread recipe to give it a boost of flavor!
Let’s Get Cooking!
Now that you know a little more about cooking with alcohol, it’s time to give it a try for yourself, and at Greek Lightning™, we have the perfect liqueur for you to try! Our cinnamon honey liqueur is the perfect blend of sweetness, making it a wonderful addition to poultry dishes or your favorite desserts. Don’t want to use all your liqueur in your meals? No problem! The taste of Greek Lightning™ is so smooth you’ll be able to drink it straight from the bottle. Explore our website to learn more and place an order today!