Make The Absolute Best Glaze For Your Meat With Bourbon And Cola

Although you may prefer to sip your bourbon and coke, the two are still pretty good together when it comes to cooking. They add depth to desserts like ice cream and cake, but most importantly, the duo enhances meat like no other. For the absolute best glaze to elevate any type of meat, make it with bourbon and cola.

If you stick strictly to herbs and spices when flavoring meat, you're missing out on the immensely delicious taste that drinks like bourbon and cola can bring to protein. Both ingredients have a wealth of tasting notes that make drinking them, and cooking with them, a special experience. Bourbon leans woodsy, sweetened with flavors like honey, toffee, vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, and warming spices. Cola also shares similar notes like vanilla and cinnamon, although it's brightened with lime, lemon, and oranges. Together, they bring a rich, sweet flavor to meat that makes its savory taste more impactful.

To make the glaze, take a note from this maple bourbon steak tips recipe and mix the liquids with a sticky ingredient to make it easier to brush onto the meat. Maple syrup has a similar rich flavor, as does molasses, but you can opt for honey, too. Mix the sweetener with both the bourbon and cola, and sprinkle in some salt and pepper. Set it aside while you cook the meat. In the last 20 minutes of cooking, brush the glaze over the meat and baste it every few minutes.

The great thing about the glaze is that it works for practically any kind of meat you can think of. It works especially well with pork since it has its own natural sweetness that complements the glaze. Some people like to reserve it for ham, but it makes for a great addition to pork chops, as well. Switch things up and use cherry cola rather than the regular version to give the chops a fruity boost.

Aside from the sweet flavor, the duo's richness is what makes it perfect for meat, particularly beef. Using heady, velvety ingredients to make glazes for beef matches the intensity of the flavor while balancing out its savory taste. Brush the glaze on to steak after cooking or add it to slices of roast beef or beef ribs before popping them back in the oven.

To really balance out the flavor and prevent the sweetness from becoming overwhelming, you'll need to add other ingredients besides just bourbon and coke. This ham glaze with apple cider and mustard recipe is the perfect example of how the tangy ingredient balances out the sweetness while still maintaining depth. It calls for whole grain mustard, which is peppery and earthy. You can also toss in some rosemary and thyme, a dash of balsamic vinegar, and garlic powder.