Use Up That Leftover Wine And Cook Your Eggs Right In Some Booze

If you have leftover wine from your latest dinner party and can't bear to waste it, consider using it for something else, such as a post-night-out breakfast featuring poached eggs. Yes, you read that right — you should be poaching your eggs in wine. The eggs will take on subtle wine flavors and a purplish hue, and the leftover wine can still be used for other culinary purposes. It's a deceptively simple technique that's sure to wow your brunch guests.

Any dry, red wine will suffice, so don't fret about the quality or the notion of boiling a $40 bottle of your favorite red — just avoid using preservative- and sweetener-loaded cooking wine products. You can simply boil your chosen wine and poach your eggs as you normally would, or enhance the dish by adding a few of your favorite aromatics. Serve the poached eggs over buttered toast or an English muffin to complete the dish.

Want to take it a step further? Try creating a sauce from the poaching wine by adding some aromatics and a bit of stock — any kind will do — for an eggy take on boeuf bourguignon. This addition will not only enrich the dish but also make it a showstopper for either brunch or dinner.

While poaching eggs in leftover wine might seem like the new, bougie culinary experiment to try, the French have been doing it for quite some time. The dish known as oeufs en meurette originates from Burgundy, France — the same region famed for Pinot Noir. Meurette refers to the red wine sauce that often accompanies fish and occasionally other meats, but it is most commonly used for poaching eggs.

Oeufs en meurette is essentially a French version of eggs Benedict, featuring croutons or garlic toast instead of a toasted English muffin. Alternatively, you could think of it as a variation of shakshuka, where red wine replaces tomato sauce. To make oeufs en meurette, eggs are poached in red wine, and a mixture of onions, bacon, and shallots is sauteed in butter. Chopped mushrooms are sometimes added for extra flavor. Given the similarities between meurette sauce and boeuf bourguignon, any leftover sauce can easily be repurposed for the latter dish.

Cooking with wine involves more than just pouring half a bottle into a pot for coq au vin or deglazing a pan after searing steaks. When cooked, wine offers subtle flavors that complement a wide range of dishes, from chocolate to pasta. However, it's easy to be put off by the bitterness and acidity that can intensify when wine is cooked. The key lies in how you balance and pair the wine.

When you reduce red wine in the same pot as beef stock or chicken legs, for example, the meat's richness balances the wine's bitterness. This leads to tender meat, thanks to the wine's acidity, and a rich, flavorful sauce perfect for spooning over mashed potatoes or polenta. For a luxurious dish, try braising venison or short ribs in a full-bodied wine like cabernet sauvignon, enhanced with aromatics such as thyme and carrots.

If you're more inclined toward baking, wine can also be your secret ingredient for creating fluffy cakes with fruity undertones. Dark chocolate and red wine pair well; when baked into a cake, the wine amplifies the chocolate's fruity flavors. For a boozy twist to your next brunch dessert — because what brunch is complete without dessert? — consider using Prosecco.