How To Use Cheap Wine To Cook Meat, Pasta And More

'Tis the season for entertaining, which means you're going to get many bottles of wine from guests. But not everyone is a master sommelier, and it's likely that you'll end up with more than a few cheap varietals you'd rather not drink. So be it. Don't be bummed: Grab life by the bottle with these five alternative uses for subpar wine.

① Cook Pasta
Who says you have to stop at water for boiling a bowl of pasta? Use a robust wine like Zinfandel to finish parboiled noodles and fall drunk in love with burgundy strands of spaghetti.

② Make Sangria
Even if you don't want to drink the wine straight, there's nothing a bit of sugar and fresh fruit can't fix. Try Jim Meehan's red sangria, which has a perfect balance of bittersweet Cynar and juicy berries.

③ Braise Meat
Wine has long been used in cooking, and it's a great place to use bad bottles, since a lot of the taste cooks out. Use a bottle of unwanted dry white for Jacques Pépin's chicken jardiniere. Or, if you have one too many bottles of leftover Manischewitz, use it to braise lamb shanks.

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④ Reduce for Sauce
It's not called "red wine reduction" for nothing. Make a sauce by boiling the wine with a sprig of thyme and a bay leaf or two until it's thick and syrupy. Finish it off with a pat of butter for the ultimate bone-in rib eye go-with.

⑤ Poach Eggs
Just like with pasta, you can use something other than water to poach an egg. Pour a two-to-one ratio of red wine and water into a pot and proceed as normal for a plate of purple poached eggs. You can even use the whole bottle to poach eggs for a crowd ahead of time.