Enjoy & Pair Shiraz And Save Your Money

  Finally, I provide practical suggestions you can implement if you wish to keep your wine prices down while increasing your enjoyment of wine.

  Finally, I provide practical suggestions you can implement if you wish to keep your wine prices down while increasing your enjoyment of wine.

First let’s look at our featured wine and some pairing matches: Syrah / Shiraz

Syrah Wine is made from the Syrah grape. This wine is full-bodied, high in tannin and aromas/flavours that can even suggest smoked meat, tar or burnt rubber.  Syrah is thought to be native grape to the Rhone region of France since Roman times.  This wine has great aging potential.  The grape is referred to as Shiraz in Australia.  This wine pairs really well with beef dishes.  Some specific examples of great pairings are: roast beef, Beef Daube, Beef Wellington, Pot Roast, hamburgers, steak, etc.

Let’s look at a recipe for Beef Wellington, which, as mentioned, a great match to Syrah/Shiraz.

You’ll need the following ingredients:

1.5 lb beef tenderloin

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

1 sheet puff pastry

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 egg

1 Tbsp water

Duxelle (refers to finely chopped mushrooms with a little onion or shallot (wine too if desired) sautéed in butter until soft and dry.   This is generally used for flavourings, stuffing, and sauces.

1 Tbsp butter

1 tsp canola (rapeseed) or olive oil

8 oz button mushrooms

1 shallot

6 cloves garlic

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black or white pepper

2.5 Tbsp white wine

Here are the steps:

Take the tenderloin out of the fridge a little ahead of time it can warm a little. 

Now in order to prepare the duxelle, finely dice the shallot, garlic, and mushrooms.

In a frying pan, Sauté the shallot in a teaspoon of canola or olive oil (you can also use butter) for 2 minutes and then add the garlic for another minute.  Add the mushroom with the salt and pepper and sauté for about another 10 minutes (just when the mushrooms begin to caramelize), after which, you should deglaze with the wine and briefly cook further until the wine fully absorbs.

Set aside.

Now, while preheating the oven to 425°F, salt and pepper the tenderloin in a pan with a bit of olive oil, sear it for about one minute on all sides.  (Sear another minute longer if you prefer your tenderloin medium well as opposed to rare/medium rare.)

Roll out a sheet of puff pastry quite thin - about 14 inches square (adjust accordingly to the size of tenderloin).

Lightly coat the tenderloin with Dijon mustard.

Now, coat the tenderloin with the duxelle, pressing on all sides. Lay the tenderloin on the rolled-out puff pastry. Cut off any excess pastry.

In a bowl, beat an egg with water until well mixed. Brush the edge of the inside of the puff pastry with the egg wash (to ensure it sticks and seals shut later) and roll it tightly around the tenderloin, sealing shut as neatly as possible.

(Do this on the bottom of the wellington to ensure the seams are not seen.)

Brush the entire visible surface of the pastry with your egg wash and set this on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and transfer this to the oven.

Once 20 minutes have passed, the wellington should be around rare/medium-rare, and, if that’s your preference, it can be taken out.  If you prefer your meat a little more cooked, give it another 5-10 minutes.

Take it out of the oven and then let the wellington rest for about 5-10 minutes before to ensure the juices are absorbed by the meat.

Slice the tenderloin into serving sized slices.  You can go ahead and enjoy your wellington with a side of mashed potatoes and a nice Shiraz.

Ways to make your wine affordable.

I’ve mentioned two products before: Fool Proof Wine Values and Delicious Wine Making Made Easy, but I really wanted to provide a reminder.  If you haven’t gone ahead and acquired them, then I must say, I think you are missing out. The small investments in these great assets will more than pay off in the long run.  You will save your money while having a great wine experience.