Food and Port

g-man · Post by **g-man** » 02:24 Wed 10 Sep 2008

I know some of you drink port with everything, but I wonder what are your favorite pairings?

Stilton and blues only go so far in a meal.

Post by **jdaw1** » 02:35 Wed 10 Sep 2008

Steak. Extremely rare. With an unbuttered or not-heavily-buttered potato-based something. But not steak tartare, which is laden with onions, capers, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce.

Post by **DRT** » 03:03 Wed 10 Sep 2008

jdaw1 wrote:Steak. Extremely rare. With an unbuttered or not-heavily-buttered potato-based something. But not steak tartare, which is laden with onions, capers, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce.

How's about Cosco fillet, barely singed on a barbecue?

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 16:33 Wed 10 Sep 2008

Fillet steak indeed...

I don't actually think Stilton should go anywhere near a good port, but it may have some uses taking the rough edges off a cheap ruby.

A more suitable cheese might be a good Red Leicester - an open textured hard cheese that is not too strongly flavoured.

Chocolate (preferably dark) has some sympathy with ports at the younger end of the spectrum, but I'm not sure it pairs well with fully mature VP's.

Tom

morteno · Post by **morteno** » 17:43 Wed 10 Sep 2008

uncle tom wrote:Chocolate (preferably dark) has some sympathy with ports at the younger end of the spectrum

I second that.

JacobH · Post by **JacobH** » 20:04 Wed 10 Sep 2008

morteno wrote:
uncle tom wrote:Chocolate (preferably dark) has some sympathy with ports at the younger end of the spectrum
I second that.

Absolutely agree, though I think I would extend that to chocolate-flavoured puddings too...

I’m also quite partial to a bit of crÃƒÂ¨me brÃƒÂ»lé with Port. Thinking about it now, there’s perhaps a similarity to the traditional Stilton in its creaminess, though, of course, the flavours are quite different!

morteno · Post by **morteno** » 20:17 Wed 10 Sep 2008

I've only had creme brulee with Port once, and the combo wasn't that good, although it wasn't bad either. I think it was caused by the choice of Port - a Portal 20 year old tawny. But I'm willing to try other combinations to see if this combo is indeed as good as it sound to me on paper

SushiNorth · Post by **SushiNorth** » 22:13 Wed 10 Sep 2008

I held a little port-in-a-storm party this past week and made an unusual discovery:

1) The food prepared was pasta, with lots of olive oil, fruit chunks, and some cheese. It made a lovely Warre's 85 taste pretty bad.

2) We rinsed with LBV and tried again, this helped.

3) Then (the secret) we ate some greek olives prepared in a syrupy sweet sauce (honeyish, even). The sweetness of the olives subdued the sweetness of the port, and the saltiness brought out the complex flavors even more.

I am not sure if I can get more of those things, as the importer didn't do too well, but I'll try

Glenn E. · Post by **Glenn E.** » 04:43 Thu 11 Sep 2008

I find that chocolate goes much better with Tawny Ports than it does with VP. It does go quite well with some VPs, no doubt about it, but to me it goes well with just about any Tawny.

Pecans also go very well with Port, whether Tawny or Ruby.

SushiNorth · Post by **SushiNorth** » 13:28 Thu 11 Sep 2008

SushiNorth wrote:3) Then (the secret) we ate some greek olives prepared in a syrupy sweet sauce (honeyish, even). The sweetness of the olives subdued the sweetness of the port, and the saltiness brought out the complex flavors even more.

For those of you in the UK: Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Giant Kalamata Olives in Honey (240g)

Post by **DRT** » 21:34 Thu 11 Sep 2008

SushiNorth wrote:The food prepared was pasta, with lots of olive oil, fruit chunks, and some cheese. It made a lovely Warre's 85 taste pretty bad.

IMO, fatty and oily stuff isn't good for port. I agree with Tom on the strong cheese and cheap port thing.

Good port doesn't need cheese any more than it needs anything else, other than another glass of port.

If you must eat fatty oily stuff at a tasting please taste the port first

Post by **Alex Bridgeman** » 12:52 Sun 14 Sep 2008

I'm one of those people who will happily pair port with anything, but then I'm not proud.

Particularly successful for me is the classic singed and rare steak washed down with a moderately aged port (say 1970-1991). I also find a good spaghetti bolognaise goes very well with a young port.

Sausage, beans and chips and an LBV or really young port is an interesting combination that works well. The fruitiness of the port seems to counterpoint the fruitiness of the baked beans. Don't have an egg, though, as the egg seems to kill the port.

If looking for food to accompany a mature or elderly vintage port, I have found that for my taste, the best accompaniment is a traditional English Roast Sunday joint, but don't have mustard or horseradish as these upset the palate, but roast potatoes and steamed vegetables don't detract from the port. Some types of vegetables seem to make the mouth more sensitive to the alcohol in port, but I haven't yet figured out which they are.

Alex

mosesbotbol · Post by **mosesbotbol** » 18:57 Tue 16 Sep 2008

I go for cured meats, nuts, most cheeses, & dried fruits... go with most sweeter ports

Game birds, horse, & venison go with LBV's or less sweet port (also work with the above list of food)

mosesbotbol · Post by **mosesbotbol** » 18:58 Tue 16 Sep 2008

morteno wrote:I've only had creme brulee with Port once, and the combo wasn't that good, although it wasn't bad either. I think it was caused by the choice of Port - a Portal 20 year old tawny. But I'm willing to try other combinations to see if this combo is indeed as good as it sound to me on paper

Try creme brulee with Broadbent 10 year madeira!

Andy Velebil · Post by **Andy Velebil** » 21:34 Tue 16 Sep 2008

When it comes to Port, I'll eat anything with it

Overtired and emotional · 22:31 Tue 16 Sep 2008

Always a problem to wrestle with. Hugh Johnson, rightly, in my view, suggests pecan or walnuts or a digestive biscuit (not shop bought). Anything more substantial, and I think that includes cheese, just seems to compete inelegantly with the depth and power of a vintage port.

There are brutish wines, becoming more brutish as alcohol levels rise, which, we are told, compliment jugged hare, a daube, or similar big dishes. Fine if you like that sort of thing, but in any battle with my dinner, I want to be the winner. You cannot win against a dish and wine which compete to knock holes in your skull. A vintage port worth drinking has all the power it needs, but it does not need to show off. It needs to be appreciated alone or with the simplest background, such as Johnson's suggestions.

I used to think, wrongly, that it was the mark of a better wine not to need food. It is not a matter of better or worse; some wines enjoy the match, others, including port, do not. I do not know how it works with tawnies.

Finally, is there really a TPF member who eats horses? Bambi and Thumper are fair game, but I draw the line at Dobbin.

g-man · Post by **g-man** » 01:31 Wed 17 Sep 2008

Overtired and emotional wrote:
Finally, is there really a TPF member who eats horses? Bambi and Thumper are fair game, but I draw the line at Dobbin.

Any of you guys in NY up for this?

http://www.henrysend.com/samplegamemenu.htm

They have a very decent but small wine list suggestion... We can call about corkage too.

Post by **jdaw1** » 02:00 Wed 17 Sep 2008

Can we do a tasting there?

g-man · Post by **g-man** » 02:20 Wed 17 Sep 2008

shall we try for the old and odd tasting there?

I'll give the restaurant a ring as we approach?

Post by **jdaw1** » 03:02 Wed 17 Sep 2008

Does “as we approach† mean a few weeks ahead (or, better still, Wednesday 17th September 2008), or does it mean a few seconds before we arrive. The former is OK with me.

mosesbotbol · Post by **mosesbotbol** » 11:01 Wed 17 Sep 2008

Horse is one of the best meats out there. Fillet de Cheval, could eat almost every night....

SushiNorth · Post by **SushiNorth** » 13:32 Wed 17 Sep 2008

Overtired and emotional wrote:Finally, is there really a TPF member who eats horses? Bambi and Thumper are fair game, but I draw the line at Dobbin.

Montreal makes an interesting dish called Poutine: Gravy and Cheese Curds over French Fries. The place I stopped for it offered horse in that mix, and as I'd never tried horse before...
Oh it doesn't stop there, I've also eaten seal (Newfoundland), which will not go well with port. Blame Canada!

mosesbotbol · Post by **mosesbotbol** » 18:52 Wed 17 Sep 2008

SushiNorth wrote:Montreal makes an interesting dish called Poutine: Gravy and Cheese Curds over French Fries. The place I stopped for it offered horse in that mix, and as I'd never tried horse before...
Oh it doesn't stop there, I've also eaten seal (Newfoundland), which will not go well with port. Blame Canada!

All of the horse that comes to market for meat (that I have seen) is from Canada. I think horse is illegal to sell as meat in USA. This is a crime, horse has little fat, grass and hay fed...

Wash the horse steak down with a glass of donkey milk you now you're talking...

Post by **DRT** » 22:46 Wed 17 Sep 2008

I've eaten horse in France, many moons ago. Presumably that is where Canada inherited this trait from?

I like to be very fair and sensitive when it comes to deciding whether or not a particular species should be eaten. I never eat anything that is still alive (apart from flies when I had a motorbike) and have never eaten a human. Apart from that, every living beast is potentialy lunch.

Post by **jdaw1** » 23:03 Wed 17 Sep 2008

I don’t eat endangered things, nor those that are near that status. And I don’t eat primates.

Post by **DRT** » 23:10 Wed 17 Sep 2008

jdaw1 wrote:I don’t eat endangered things, nor those that are near that status. And I don’t eat primates.

Scenario 1: JDAW is stranded on a desert island with a gun, a chimp and a white rhino. Two years later a boat turns up: which of the three are still alive?

Post by **jdaw1** » 23:22 Wed 17 Sep 2008

DRT wrote:Scenario 1: JDAW is stranded on a desert island with a gun, a chimp and a white rhino. Two years later a boat turns up: which of the three are still alive?

It would help the two animals’ life expectancy for there to be a decent port cellar, with cunningly designed paw-print or foot-print one-bottle-at-a-time access.

Glenn E. · Post by **Glenn E.** » 23:30 Wed 17 Sep 2008

DRT wrote:Scenario 1: JDAW is stranded on a desert island with a gun, a chimp and a white rhino. Two years later a boat turns up: which of the three are still alive?

Easy! The chimp.

There's no Port, so scratch off JDAW. The shakes will set in after no more than 3 days, and he'll be gone inside a week.

And since it is a desert island, there's not enough grass/leaves/etc to feed the white rhino for long so it will slowly die of starvation.

Chimps being chimps, the monkey will survive off of the dead bodies of JDAW and the white rhino. And will then fling poo at the rescuers on the boat.

Post by **DRT** » 23:35 Wed 17 Sep 2008

jdaw1 wrote:
DRT wrote:Scenario 1: JDAW is stranded on a desert island with a gun, a chimp and a white rhino. Two years later a boat turns up: which of the three are still alive?
It would help the two animals’ life expectancy for there to be a decent port cellar, with cunningly designed paw-print or foot-print one-bottle-at-a-time access.

Strictly speaking there are three animals on the island, not two. Are you suggesting that life would be sustainable if one had access to port but not meat? Surely not. What would you eat? Green things? Leaves? This is getting ridiculous and should probably be split and moved to MD.

Derek

PS: Eat the Chimp first. It is highly unlikely that you would try to strike up a relationship with the Rhino no matter how long you were on the island together.

g-man · Post by **g-man** » 02:39 Thu 18 Sep 2008

i'd kill the rhino first.... and since i'm on a desert island, I'd brine the meat and sun dry it.

have the chimp as a companion .. until we run out of meat, in which i'd eat him too.

Overtired and emotional · 22:53 Fri 19 Sep 2008

It is probably a question of how hungry you are.

A French menu which contains an English translation tends to omit horse in English, even when it is on offer in French.

I am incapable of touching a slug but will happily eat snails. I have eaten sheep's brains, but will under no circumstances eat frog's legs. One can probably deduce a lot about someone from their tastes in food and drink, but the completely closed mystery to me is the man who likes Australian Shiraz

Post by **jdaw1** » 01:55 Sat 20 Sep 2008

Once I ate Hákarl. That was the only time a waitress has replied to my order with ‟don’t have that it’s horrible”. She wasn’t wrong. Of the small bowl containing about thirty three-quarter-inch cubes, I managed only five before my dining companion said that I was going green. A short stroll in the Reykjavik air, whilst the vindicated waitress removed the evidence, cleared my head and allowed me to tackle a steak. Which was jolly good.

Jo's Icelandic Recipes wrote: Traditional method: Take one large shark, gut and discard the innards, the cartilage and the head. Cut flesh into large pieces.Wash in running water to get all slime and blood off. Dig a large hole in coarse gravel, preferably down by the sea and far from the nearest inhabited house - this is to make sure the smell doesn't bother anybody. Put in the shark pieces, and press them well together. It's best to do this when the weather is fairly warm (but not hot), as it hastens the curing process. Cover with more gravel and put heavy rocks on top to press down. Leave for 6-7 weeks (in summer) to 2-3 months (in winter). During this time, fluid will drain from the shark flesh, and putrefication will set in.

When the shark is soft and smells like ammonia, remove from the gravel, wash, and hang in a drying shack. This is a shack or shed with plenty of holes to let the wind in, but enough shade to prevent the sun from shining directly on the shark. Let it hang until it is firm and fairly dry: 2-4 months. Warm, windy and dry weather will hasten the process, while cold, damp and still weather will delay it.

Slice off the brown crust, cut the whitish flesh into small pieces and serve, preferably with a shot of ice-cold brennivÃƒÂn.

The modern method for curing shark relies on putting it into a large container with a drainage hole, and letting it cure as it does when buried in gravel.

Words that shouldn’t spring to mind include ‟yummy!”.

Recommended port: aguardente.

SushiNorth · Post by **SushiNorth** » 13:09 Sat 20 Sep 2008

jdaw1 wrote:Once I ate HÃƒÂ¡karl.

I'm adding that to my list of "vile things not worth trying."

The seal, btw, wasn't endangered. Not even close. But that's a whole other political mire relating to populations, seal diet, and a poorly managed fishery. Put enough port in me and say Seal and I'll talk for 30 minutes. Like a windup toy

Post by **DRT** » 11:25 Sun 03 May 2009

In 1926, William J. Todd wrote:With regard to what is best to eat with Port one does not care to be dogmatic. Perhaps new walnuts (with a self-sacrificing daughter or niece at hand to remove the skins) are the very best accompaniment.

Post by **Alex Bridgeman** » 16:15 Mon 04 May 2009

Where could I hire a niece?

Portman · Post by **Portman** » 20:46 Wed 06 May 2009

Um, sorry to get off the horse/putrid shark vibe.

I like Stilton and Anjou Pears with my port. Who was the madman who said Stilton doesnt go with port? When I die I want a bottle of vintage port in my arms and a big wedge of Stilton wedged into my rigor mortis clenched jaw.

g-man · Post by **g-man** » 21:40 Wed 06 May 2009

Being the bday boy.. it's goign to be steak and port tongiht

Post by **DRT** » 21:46 Wed 06 May 2009

g-man wrote:Being the bday boy.. it's goign to be steak and port tongiht

Happy Birthday g-man

Judging by your spelling the party has already started

g-man · Post by **g-man** » 21:49 Wed 06 May 2009

DRT wrote:
g-man wrote:Being the bday boy.. it's goign to be steak and port tongiht
Happy Birthday g-man

Judging by your spelling the party has already started

Thank you! and yes in between the studying of organic chemistry =)

Post by **DRT** » 21:51 Wed 06 May 2009

g-man wrote:
DRT wrote:
g-man wrote:Being the bday boy.. it's goign to be steak and port tongiht
Happy Birthday g-man

Judging by your spelling the party has already started
Thank you! and yes in between the studying of organic chemistry =)

Does "studying of organic chemistry" include "trying to detect natural tannins in Fonseca 1985"?

g-man · Post by **g-man** » 21:57 Wed 06 May 2009

DRT wrote:
g-man wrote:
DRT wrote:
g-man wrote:Being the bday boy.. it's goign to be steak and port tongiht
Happy Birthday g-man

Judging by your spelling the party has already started
Thank you! and yes in between the studying of organic chemistry =)
Does "studying of organic chemistry" include "trying to detect natural tannins in Fonseca 1985"?

At a ripe age of 30, I might look to a bottle older than me this time around =)

SushiNorth · Post by **SushiNorth** » 22:04 Wed 06 May 2009

Happy birthday!

Glenn E. · Post by **Glenn E.** » 00:15 Thu 07 May 2009

g-man wrote:
DRT wrote:
g-man wrote:
DRT wrote:
g-man wrote:Being the bday boy.. it's goign to be steak and port tongiht
Happy Birthday g-man

Judging by your spelling the party has already started
Thank you! and yes in between the studying of organic chemistry =)
Does "studying of organic chemistry" include "trying to detect natural tannins in Fonseca 1985"?
At a ripe age of 30, I might look to a bottle older than me this time around =)

Ah, so you must be drinking F77 then, right?

Happy birthday!

angeleyes · Post by **angeleyes** » 13:02 Thu 29 Oct 2009

jdaw1 wrote:Steak. Extremely rare. With an unbuttered or not-heavily-buttered potato-based something.

Tried last nite, with rare rump and steamed new spuds. Most excellent

Post by **jdaw1** » 23:36 Sun 22 Nov 2009

From the Wine Society catalogue of January 1970:

Not overtly connected with port, but I thought they’d go well with something like a good LBV. (But don’t believe the ‟Serves 4” rubbish: three dieters or two real people.)

g-man · Post by **g-man** » 02:02 Mon 23 Nov 2009

yea 2 pounds of lamb would barely serve 2 hungry grown men.

Post by **DRT** » 09:14 Mon 23 Nov 2009

g-man wrote:yea 2 pounds of lamb would barely serve 2 hungry grown men.

I'm sure it would make a nice appetiser ahead of a kilo of cow

Post by **jdaw1** » 10:01 Mon 23 Nov 2009

From the Wine Society catalogue of Summer 1970:

Post by **DRT** » 00:42 Tue 24 Nov 2009

A stunning recipe for the Port-loving man at home alone, as DRT is this evening...

1. Go out and buy 1kg of top quality Ribeye steak.
2. Decant a bottle of Quinta da Eira Velha 2000.
3. Wait 3 hours.
4. Flash-fry 0.5kg of steak, applying liberal quantities of ground balck pepper as it cooks.
5. Pour a glass of QdEV00 to drink whilst eating steak.
6. Repeat steps 4 & 5.
7. Smugness.

Not a vegetable in sight. Excellent, not overly complicated to follow, and highly recommended.

JDAW: Please feel free to draw SCP-DFF's attention to this recipe as she may find it educational.

Note 1: Other Ports can be substituted at step 2.
Note 2: If quantity of steak is unlimited, repeat steps 4 and 5 until sated.

g-man · Post by **g-man** » 01:49 Tue 24 Nov 2009

DRT wrote:A stunning recipe for the Port-loving man at home alone, as DRT is this evening...

1. Go out and buy 1kg of top quality Ribeye steak.
2. Decant a bottle of Quinta da Eira Velha 2000.
3. Wait 3 hours.
4. Flash-fry 0.5kg of steak, applying liberal quantities of ground balck pepper as it cooks.
5. Pour a glass of QdEV00 to drink whilst eating steak.
6. Repeat steps 4 & 5.
7. Smugness.

Not a vegetable in sight. Excellent, not overly complicated to follow, and highly recommended.

JDAW: Please feel free to draw SCP-DFF's attention to this recipe as she may find it educational.

Note 1: Other Ports can be substituted at step 2.
Note 2: If quantity of steak is unlimited, repeat steps 4 and 5 until sated.

i like putting a little bit of butter down to oil the pan.