August 21, 2005
wine that is "off" and a decent steak marinade
I experienced an interesting juxtaposition of flavors just now. They were a bottle of wine that could only be described as "off," and a chuck steak that was surprisingly tender and well-flavored.
I have always wondered just what a bottle of wine ought not to taste like. On countless occasions, I have been the one to sip the sample at dinner before pronouncing it acceptable, and thus allowing the pouring to begin. But there have been times when I hestitated. Maybe a wine was a bit tannic, a bit sharp at the start, and I was caught unprepared by it. "Is this bottle off?" I would ask myself. But, without being certain, I would nod my head and say that it was fine.
I now know that I was perfectly within reason in declaring those wines to be just fine. I had a glass of some South African vintage, a pinotage, which I had purchased on a whim, based on not having had a pinotage before. I had a sip, and promptly spat it out. "This is odd," I thought. "This wine doesn't seem right. Maybe the flavor is just very different from what I am used to...I should try again." And again, the taste was unmistakably wrong. Think dishwater, think rancidity, think undrinkable. Maybe I've had wines before that weren't at their best, but this stuff made me phyiscally gag. So that, friends, defines a wine that is off: if you cannot physically manage to swallow it without feeling ill, the wine is off, and you should send it back.
The steak, on the other hand, was not bad. I had one more chuck steak in the freezer which I decided to cook up. I now also know that chuck isn't much of a steak for grilling, having more in common with shoe leather than filet mignon, but I already had bought it, and I don't like to waste food, particularly meat. I figure, if an animal died for my dinner, I'm going to savor every bite. Which is why I will always finish my cheeseburger before the fries: potatoes feel no pain.
At any rate, the marinade was as follows:
Mix in bag, stick in fridge overnight, turn once in awhile, etc.
I grilled it on the george for just long enough (maybe a minute too long, as the inside could probably have been pinker), and dug in. It wasn't bad. Decent flavor, with a little kick, a little spice to it. I might have omitted the onion powder, as I don't think it really added anything much to it. But it was fairly tender, and a few bites were worth writing home about. I think it mainly tasted like your standard steak sauce, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
After the steak, I gave the wine one last shot. After gagging in the sink, the rest of the wine joined the marinade residue in the garbage disposal.
So, a black-pepper, olive oil and Worchestershire sauce marinade is pretty good, even on chuck steak, and probably doesn't need onion powder. A bottle of wine that is off will leave you no doubt that it is undrinkable. Food for thought!
Posted by Mark at 05:20 PM | Comments (0)