Hey guys so I am curious about cooking with red wine. If I wanted to cook some beef with mushrooms and use some wine as a flavor and cook it down is this allowed on keto?
If this is a dumb question I apologize. I am really loving keto and doing well. Down 25lbs and I don’t want to slow my progress.
Thanks for all your thoughts suggestions and help. This group had made a big difference for me.
So thanks again!
I do that all the time. In fact, we keep frozen cubes of red wine for that purpose (and the wife and I only drink a half a bottle at a time, so we usually freeze the other half). It helps to use “drier” red wines, as those are typically lower in carb values.
As to whether it will slow your progress…I doubt it, but only you can decide that.
Depends. How much residual sugar is in the wine, how much you use, how much you cook it down. The alcohol cooks off, more as you reduce. The residual sugar does not, so it’s better to cook with low sugar wines to start with. Dryness is a start, but even dry wines can has residual sugar that can be condensed through reduction. Condensing isn’t bad, as you cannot increase the carbs in a wine by cooking it. Just in the volume as you cook it down.
A splash or an ounce or two for flavoring shouldn’t be a problem. Cooking in a large amount of wine could be.
I believe wine can have a place in a keto lifestyle. Red has an anti-oxidant benefit as well. I don’t see a problem with a glass of red or white wine at dinner, or in your cooking, as long as the carbs are accounted for in your daily tally. Beer on the other hand, is sadly grain-based and should be avoided. I really miss beer. 
I like beer.
But I stick with dry reds (cab sav, Shiraz…) Or the occasional low-carb beer which isn’t that good.
It’s like when I started keto. I went right off coffee because I found I was actually drinking it for the sugar.
When I cook with wine, it’s either part of a marinade for the meat (which is discarded) or such a small amount (couple of tablespoons) in a saute pan where the alcohol cooks off, that I generally don’t worry about it.
I guess it would all depend on your recipes and how much wine you are using.
I’ll use a whole bottle if it’s a special occasion. Testing a new recipe to use at Christmas, it uses a whole bottle of wine. The nice thing about the recipe is you cook the meat 1-2 days in advance, refrigerate it, and then heat it up on Christmas.
I usually use only a few ice cube’s worth at a time during normal cooking, though.
Dry wine is okay in moderation for cooking/drinking. I avoid beer.
I make a red wine sauce for poached eggs on Christmas and Cacciatore which both use a good amount of wine. They both call for french bread though which are definitely a no-no.
If you make the famous sous vide chuck steak recipe from the 2 Keto Dudes, if you drain the steak, add some red wine, add some umami (we use umami blocks from Nom Nom Paleo, which are frozen as is the wine), cook down, strain, add butter and maybe some thickener. (We usually use arrowroot powder, which we also keep frozen, as we rarely use it.) Salt and pepper to taste. Fantastic.
I guess I should say that you’re “draining the steak” by pouring the liquid from the sous vide bag into a pan, and that becomes the base of the sauce that I then go on to describe how to make.
I think I’m going to reduce it again to weekends only. I think it’s jacking my lipids around, and I’m probably there for the fake sweet and the caffeine, neither of which I actually need.
Will take a long time to cook off all the alcohol. Like until it’s reduced to nearly nothing. By then, even with a dry wine, you’re pushing a good amount of residual sugar.
Have you tried drinking it black? I’m originally from NYC where we all drink our coffee “regular” which in NYC means with cream, and we all add sugar to that. When I got to CA, I of course asked for my coffee “Regular” and they gave it too me black. To my surprise, I liked it, and have been drinking it that way ever since.
Thanks. Here we have an espresso culture and black often means the straight shot like they do in Italy rather than the ‘long black’ which is the espresso topped with hot water.
But thanks - I think that will be an option as things move along. This week, because I see the cardiologist Friday I’ll be staying off it. I gave been having a daily homemade cappuccino which might have to be re-evaluated when I eventually get into tracking.
( I never thought I would be fasting and now I’ve done 4 5-day ones which was really helpful.)