Cooking with Alcohol
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Midwest
Posts: 247
Cooking with Alcohol
RAH made dinner tonite, and used vodka as a steak marinade.
Not sure what to think, but thinking that something just isn't right about this. Kinda reminds me of drinking NA Beer.
Looking for your thoughts.
Not sure what to think, but thinking that something just isn't right about this. Kinda reminds me of drinking NA Beer.
Looking for your thoughts.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: In the barn
Posts: 324
Technically, the alcohol will evaporate in the cooking process, leaving only a flavor of the vodka. I imagine it would be a concern for a recovering A, but its really HIS concern. You, on the other hand, get to have steak for dinner...YUM!
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: Northen Europe and France
Posts: 1,657
Well, I wouldnīt like it, but I donīt know this kind of steak recipee.
I grew up with redwine and whitewine cooking and I donīt feel itīs right for me, so I usually donīt have it. The alchohol is supposed to evaporate, just like Intheknow says, but I wouldnīt like it.
I dislike most alchohol flavors, because it can be a trigger for me, but I have no problem serving wine at dinners for the guests who drink wine in moderation. I will not have it in the house though, so I give it away or throw it in the trash once the dinner is over.
Just my thoughts. Hope it helped.
I grew up with redwine and whitewine cooking and I donīt feel itīs right for me, so I usually donīt have it. The alchohol is supposed to evaporate, just like Intheknow says, but I wouldnīt like it.
I dislike most alchohol flavors, because it can be a trigger for me, but I have no problem serving wine at dinners for the guests who drink wine in moderation. I will not have it in the house though, so I give it away or throw it in the trash once the dinner is over.
Just my thoughts. Hope it helped.
Being Silent so I can Hear
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: USA
Posts: 2,521
Alcohol does not cook away when you cook with it.
Link
The conventional wisdom accepted by just about everyone in the food world is that all the alcohol you add to a dish evaporates or dissipates during cooking. Its wrong. In fact, you have to cook something for a good three hours to eradicate virtually all traces of alcohol. And some cooking methods are less effective at removing alcohol than just letting it stand out uncovered overnight.
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: Northen Europe and France
Posts: 1,657
Interesting point, Still Water.
I think itīs controversial... I looked it up on several science websites. Some say it does, other say it doesnīt but most say it depends on the type of alcohol or wine and how long it boils, plus the temperature.
I donīt like it so I stay away from it. I know that desserts with burning alcohol does not evaportate, it stays.
I think itīs controversial... I looked it up on several science websites. Some say it does, other say it doesnīt but most say it depends on the type of alcohol or wine and how long it boils, plus the temperature.
I donīt like it so I stay away from it. I know that desserts with burning alcohol does not evaportate, it stays.
Heathen
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: La La Land, USA
Posts: 2,567
As a former drunk, I will tell you this... an open bottle of VODKA (of all things) became unwelcome in my house when I was done drinking it. As did all other alcohol. You'll find a lot of opinions about this, but .. a lot of us who used to drink, that don't now.. have no reason to continue consuming alcohol. Call me old fashioned but when I went alcohol free, I stopped consuming alcohol. It doesn't cook off, this is a myth.
If he wants some tastier marinade recipes that wont threaten his sobriety in any way, let me know! Who the heck wants a vodka flavored steak anyways? ick! Lol
If he wants some tastier marinade recipes that wont threaten his sobriety in any way, let me know! Who the heck wants a vodka flavored steak anyways? ick! Lol
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,385
I'm not hardline on this...when I'm out or with friends, I've had food prepared with alcohol and it's never gotten me drunk or triggered me...
I'll still go another option if I have a choice tho...
and definitely at home ?
Preparing food myself I don't use alcohol - I'm in recovery - I don't need it...and I don't think the food does either...
Any vodka left over would worry me...and I never even drank vodka.
Most long termers I know avoid it - I think that means something
D
I'll still go another option if I have a choice tho...
and definitely at home ?
Preparing food myself I don't use alcohol - I'm in recovery - I don't need it...and I don't think the food does either...
Any vodka left over would worry me...and I never even drank vodka.
Most long termers I know avoid it - I think that means something
D
peaceful seabird
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: floating
Posts: 4,822
If the steak needs to be marinated prior to cooking, buy a better cut of steak!
I'm a recovering alcoholic, and a pretty good cook. I liked to cook with wine in the past and some liqours, but not vodka. I have been able to enjoy all of my favorite recipes without alcohol now. I don't want to get in the habit of buying it or having it in my home again.
I'm a recovering alcoholic, and a pretty good cook. I liked to cook with wine in the past and some liqours, but not vodka. I have been able to enjoy all of my favorite recipes without alcohol now. I don't want to get in the habit of buying it or having it in my home again.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: The Swish Alps, SF CA
Posts: 2,144
CarolD down in the alcoholism forum has a pretty good chart, ask her she'll trot it out
I'm with Dee and Smacked, I have done it but it's not something I "do", and I certainly don't do vodka marinades tyvm
Alcohol doesn't entirely get cooked off, the three hour rule is correct, some alcoholics are more strict about it then others, even as far as not drinking regular orange juice for the alcohol content.
I've eaten sauces with wine, no biggy, but if a substance is so high alcohol content it's flammable it's probably not the brightest idea to drink it/cook with it for a "sober" alcoholic
Recovered alcoholics aren't "afraid" of alcohol, if they are afraid, they aren't recovered
However there is common sense, and there is an appalling lack of perspective, and I'm willing to bet we see eye to eye on which one this one is SWaters
I'm with Dee and Smacked, I have done it but it's not something I "do", and I certainly don't do vodka marinades tyvm
Alcohol doesn't entirely get cooked off, the three hour rule is correct, some alcoholics are more strict about it then others, even as far as not drinking regular orange juice for the alcohol content.
I've eaten sauces with wine, no biggy, but if a substance is so high alcohol content it's flammable it's probably not the brightest idea to drink it/cook with it for a "sober" alcoholic
Yes, I think it means something - he doesn't have the fear of that vodka he should have.
However there is common sense, and there is an appalling lack of perspective, and I'm willing to bet we see eye to eye on which one this one is SWaters
Being Silent so I can Hear
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: USA
Posts: 2,521
Orange juice has alcohol in it???
ETA: My experience with this - a newly recovering alcoholic doesn't have vodka around to marinade the steaks with. That may be a secondary cover up use, but it's not the main one.
ETA x 2: He's newly recovering Ago, not recovered in that sense (I think)...so yeah, I think we see eye to eye on this one.
ETA: My experience with this - a newly recovering alcoholic doesn't have vodka around to marinade the steaks with. That may be a secondary cover up use, but it's not the main one.
ETA x 2: He's newly recovering Ago, not recovered in that sense (I think)...so yeah, I think we see eye to eye on this one.
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
Well...
Cooking and Alcohol
The conventional wisdom accepted by just about everyone in the food world is that all the alcohol you add to a dish evaporates or dissipates during cooking. Its wrong. In fact, you have to cook something for a good three hours to eradicate virtually all traces of alcohol. And some cooking methods are less effective at removing alcohol than just letting it stand out uncovered overnight.
A study conducted by the US Department of Agricultures Nutrient Data Laboratory calculated the percentage of alcohol remaining in a dish based on various cooking methods. The results are as follows:
Preparation Method Percent of Alcohol Retained
alcohol added to boiling liquid & removed from heat 85%
alcohol flamed 75%
no heat, stored overnight 70%
baked, 25 minutes, alcohol not stirred into mixture 45%
baked/simmered, alcohol stirred into mixture:
15 minutes 40%
30 minutes 35%
1 hour 25%
1.5 hours 20%
2 hours 10%
2.5 hours 5%
And you can try these..
Booze Flavoring In Cooking
This was the September 2003 issue of theAA Grapevine.
Sweet or semisweet red wine - Carbonated cranberry drink.
Dry red wine - ― cup carbonated cranberry drink, plus 1 Tbsp. lemon juice.
Sweet white wine - White grape juice plus 1 Tbsp. corn syrup.
Brandy - 1/4 cup apple juice plus 1 tsp brandy flavoring, or 1/4 cup apple cider with 1 tbsp peach or apricot syrup.
Rum - 1/4 cup apple juice plus 1 tbsp rum extract, or 1/4 cup pineapple juice or syrup flavored with 1 tbsp almond extract.
Sherry - Orange or pineapple juices with peach sirup.
Amaretto - 1 tbsp light corn syrup plus 1 tbsp almond extract and 1/4 cup clear apple juice.
Kirsch - Syrup or juices from cherries, raspberries, boysenberries, currnats or cider.
The conventional wisdom accepted by just about everyone in the food world is that all the alcohol you add to a dish evaporates or dissipates during cooking. Its wrong. In fact, you have to cook something for a good three hours to eradicate virtually all traces of alcohol. And some cooking methods are less effective at removing alcohol than just letting it stand out uncovered overnight.
A study conducted by the US Department of Agricultures Nutrient Data Laboratory calculated the percentage of alcohol remaining in a dish based on various cooking methods. The results are as follows:
Preparation Method Percent of Alcohol Retained
alcohol added to boiling liquid & removed from heat 85%
alcohol flamed 75%
no heat, stored overnight 70%
baked, 25 minutes, alcohol not stirred into mixture 45%
baked/simmered, alcohol stirred into mixture:
15 minutes 40%
30 minutes 35%
1 hour 25%
1.5 hours 20%
2 hours 10%
2.5 hours 5%
And you can try these..
Booze Flavoring In Cooking
This was the September 2003 issue of theAA Grapevine.
Sweet or semisweet red wine - Carbonated cranberry drink.
Dry red wine - ― cup carbonated cranberry drink, plus 1 Tbsp. lemon juice.
Sweet white wine - White grape juice plus 1 Tbsp. corn syrup.
Brandy - 1/4 cup apple juice plus 1 tsp brandy flavoring, or 1/4 cup apple cider with 1 tbsp peach or apricot syrup.
Rum - 1/4 cup apple juice plus 1 tbsp rum extract, or 1/4 cup pineapple juice or syrup flavored with 1 tbsp almond extract.
Sherry - Orange or pineapple juices with peach sirup.
Amaretto - 1 tbsp light corn syrup plus 1 tbsp almond extract and 1/4 cup clear apple juice.
Kirsch - Syrup or juices from cherries, raspberries, boysenberries, currnats or cider.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Midwest
Posts: 247
Thanks all. Couple of things about it that bother me - he made dinner at my house, and pulled a bottle out of the back of the cupboard that I didn't even know was there. Yes, there is still alcohol at my house. He does not live here, and I wasn't going to throw it all out. I am now.
The sauce or marinade or whatever he made was used to stir fry vegetables to go with the steak, and as a sauce over noodles. And a marinade for the steak. So we had a lot going on here. Since it was all done when I got home, I had no idea what was up. And this is not something he has made before.
Why the hell would you try a new recipe that contains alcohol fresh out of treatment? And its a recipe that you made up?
He acted odd all night, didn't really talk to me at all. That is an old behavior from his drinking days, and I would like to think I am imagining things, but...
The sauce or marinade or whatever he made was used to stir fry vegetables to go with the steak, and as a sauce over noodles. And a marinade for the steak. So we had a lot going on here. Since it was all done when I got home, I had no idea what was up. And this is not something he has made before.
Why the hell would you try a new recipe that contains alcohol fresh out of treatment? And its a recipe that you made up?
He acted odd all night, didn't really talk to me at all. That is an old behavior from his drinking days, and I would like to think I am imagining things, but...
Heathen
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: La La Land, USA
Posts: 2,567
Originally Posted by intheknow 
Thanks all. Couple of things about it that bother me - he made dinner at my house, and pulled a bottle out of the back of the cupboard that I didn't even know was there. Yes, there is still alcohol at my house. He does not live here, and I wasn't going to throw it all out. I am now.
The sauce or marinade or whatever he made was used to stir fry vegetables to go with the steak, and as a sauce over noodles. And a marinade for the steak. So we had a lot going on here. Since it was all done when I got home, I had no idea what was up. And this is not something he has made before.
Why the hell would you try a new recipe that contains alcohol fresh out of treatment? And its a recipe that you made up?
He acted odd all night, didn't really talk to me at all. That is an old behavior from his drinking days, and I would like to think I am imagining things, but...
The sauce or marinade or whatever he made was used to stir fry vegetables to go with the steak, and as a sauce over noodles. And a marinade for the steak. So we had a lot going on here. Since it was all done when I got home, I had no idea what was up. And this is not something he has made before.
Why the hell would you try a new recipe that contains alcohol fresh out of treatment? And its a recipe that you made up?
He acted odd all night, didn't really talk to me at all. That is an old behavior from his drinking days, and I would like to think I am imagining things, but...
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Midwest
Posts: 247
In the un-funny department, it is 3am where I live. He just miss called for work, so they called my phone. I left to go to his place, heart in my throat, not knowing what kind of mess I would find.
Remember me saying he was acting funny last nite? We had taken the kids to a movie after he made dinner, he avoided me all night. Then left very abruptly when we got back to my house. Didn't put my son to bed, didn't tell our daughter goodbye. I think the bottle was waiting for him.
He was supposedly sleeping, and didn't hear his phone when work called. If they hadn't reached me, he would have miscalled and faced disciplinary action. So I asked him if he had been drinking. Denial. I asked him WTF possessed him to make the sauce with vodka, and he says..."It was whiskey, and I don't even like whiskey." So you want to make your entire dinner with whiskey sauce?! Quack, quack, quack.
I did not engage, and turned and walked out the door. Buckle your seatbelts kids, I have been down this road before!
Remember me saying he was acting funny last nite? We had taken the kids to a movie after he made dinner, he avoided me all night. Then left very abruptly when we got back to my house. Didn't put my son to bed, didn't tell our daughter goodbye. I think the bottle was waiting for him.
He was supposedly sleeping, and didn't hear his phone when work called. If they hadn't reached me, he would have miscalled and faced disciplinary action. So I asked him if he had been drinking. Denial. I asked him WTF possessed him to make the sauce with vodka, and he says..."It was whiskey, and I don't even like whiskey." So you want to make your entire dinner with whiskey sauce?! Quack, quack, quack.
I did not engage, and turned and walked out the door. Buckle your seatbelts kids, I have been down this road before!
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Midwest
Posts: 247
Precisely my argument to him, my dear! It is flirting with a horrible problem. And it is a way to keep alcohol in your life for a long time.
I didn't talk to him all day - wouldn't. Told him I didn't want to talk. He texted me 27 times, and called twice. I finally texted him back and said -
"You always tried to pick up girls, and had no intention of doing anything. And now you are trying to pick up alcohol again, with no intention of doing anything. Seems like a lot of trouble, if you don't intend on doing anything."
I didn't talk to him all day - wouldn't. Told him I didn't want to talk. He texted me 27 times, and called twice. I finally texted him back and said -
"You always tried to pick up girls, and had no intention of doing anything. And now you are trying to pick up alcohol again, with no intention of doing anything. Seems like a lot of trouble, if you don't intend on doing anything."
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 2,059
intheknow-
trust your intuition. alcohol is sometimes the invisible enemy. are they drinking? are they not? go with your gut.
i've been to lots of AA meetings (no alanon here) and in my group, there is no way they would encourage a recovering alcoholic to cook with whiskey. in the beginning, my group encourages to stay away from it 100%...why make things harder for yourself?
all sounds very questionable to me...
trust your intuition. alcohol is sometimes the invisible enemy. are they drinking? are they not? go with your gut.
i've been to lots of AA meetings (no alanon here) and in my group, there is no way they would encourage a recovering alcoholic to cook with whiskey. in the beginning, my group encourages to stay away from it 100%...why make things harder for yourself?
all sounds very questionable to me...
The New Me starting 1/11/09
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: California
Posts: 678
There is no good reason for an alcoholic to cook with any alcohol. It just makes no sense - unless you consider the alcoholic brain. There are plenty of other ways to cook food and make it flavorful.
This is not a good sign. Sorry.
This is not a good sign. Sorry.
Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Sweden
Posts: 1,649
The sauce or marinade or whatever he made was used to stir fry vegetables to go with the steak, and as a sauce over noodles. And a marinade for the steak. So we had a lot going on here. Since it was all done when I got home, I had no idea what was up. And this is not something he has made before.
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