442089 Mon Sep 17 11:26:09 -0700 2007 12 34 Wine 0 2948995 Hello, Does anyone know what are the traditional wine pairings with horse/cheval meat? I suppose I could treat it like as I would beef, but what is the fun in that? I have heard that in Italy sweeter wines are often paired with horse. Note, typically I cook it simply with a red wine reduction. If I am slightly less lazy I make a caramelized Pineau des Charentes,with crème fraîche sauce. Sort of like a pauper's magret de canard. Thanks. Mon Sep 17 11:26:09 -0700 2007 21401 thomasein 1 2949023 No idea, but where in the hell are you buying horse meat from in the city? Let us know if that's good or not. My understanding of horse meat is that they are rounding up old horses or wild horses which I would think wouldn't be the most tender thing. Are there horse meat farms? Mon Sep 17 11:31:29 -0700 2007 2948995 74842 jgradieoakes 2 2949084 In Montreal horse meat is readily available at the local supermarket or butcher. In Quebec there are a few horse meat farms. As for the taste, it is leaner, slightly sweeter and has a finer texture than beef. Mon Sep 17 11:49:23 -0700 2007 2949023 21401 thomasein 1 2949057 I think pastissada de caval is usually paired with Valpollicella. We had a dried horsemeat salad in Padova, I think we drank simple red from a carafe, maybe cab franc. Mon Sep 17 11:41:31 -0700 2007 2948995 11369 Robert Lauriston 2 2949890 Cab Franc . . . so I suppose Cheval Blanc would do? ;^) Mon Sep 17 15:01:50 -0700 2007 2949057 28122 zin1953 3 2950099 Don't laugh. It was actually the only wine served at the infamous horse butchers' banquet held in 1856 at the Grand Hôtel in Paris "to prove that horse flesh was perfectly healthy and, furthermore, good to eat" (Larousse Gastro). Attending were Flaubert and Dumas, among others, while the chef was named Balzac (not *the* Balzac, one assumes). The menu: horse-broth vermicelli; horse sausage; horse charcuterie; boiled horse; horse à la mode; horse stew; horse fillet with mushrooms; potatoes sautéed in horse fat; salad dressed with horse oil; and, for dessert, rum cake with horse bone marrow. This points to one problem with traditional wine pairings: there aren't many, in France at least, because horse generally wasn't eaten until the mid to late 19th century and, in fact, consumption of horse meat was outlawed until 1811. My preference is for a supple red whose backbone is as much acidic as tannic: northern Italian Merlot or Cabernet Franc, Dolcetto, Loire Cabernet Franc and Gamay blend, one of the fruitier Beaujolais, etc. And, thomasein, while I haven't paired it with a horse steak, I'm sure Heinrich's newly arrived 2004 Blaufränkisch would fill the bill. Mon Sep 17 16:09:49 -0700 2007 2949890 10520 carswell 1 2952066 It depends on the sauce, but I like a Cahors or a Rhone with a bit of age. I don't know what would be traditional, though. Tue Sep 18 09:15:31 -0700 2007 2948995 91415 hungry_pangolin 1 2952106 Last night I had an Australian Pinot Noir from the Geelong region - it had a touch of beet notes and this slight sweeetness went well. But, must admit I would probably have chosen a shiraz if this had been the only dish to match! Tue Sep 18 09:25:05 -0700 2007 2948995 11134 estufarian 1 2953018 The traditional paring would depend on regional taste and preparation. Horse is eaten all over Europe and Asia so there multiple "traditional" beverage pairings. The preparation you propose may also pair well with a strong, Belgian beer. Tue Sep 18 13:04:30 -0700 2007 2948995 97345 Vinny Barbaresco 2 2953834 Vinny.... you just made me think... Horse tartar with a bowl of kumiss! (A recent vintage, of course.) Tue Sep 18 16:38:45 -0700 2007 2953018 91415 hungry_pangolin 3 2954167 Now that would be a classic pairing indeed! Have you tried Kumiss? I wonder if it tastes more like yogurt than booze.... Tue Sep 18 18:39:32 -0700 2007 2953834 97345 Vinny Barbaresco 4 2954362 To be honest, I've never had kumiss. I suspect that it might be a more bitter, and boozier version of kefir (unflavoured). Just guessing. Though, I'm feeling a welling of residual race memory just now... (all that central Asian lineage, for a Finn). Tue Sep 18 20:04:53 -0700 2007 2954167 91415 hungry_pangolin 5 2954374 Kumiss is fermented mare's milk, and you haven't missed anything, in my opinion. Horsemeat is common in France, and, as far as I could see, about the same dry reds are drunk with it as with beef. Kippis!! Tue Sep 18 20:10:11 -0700 2007 2954362 54222 ekammin