Dry White Wine Substitute?

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Verjus (pronounced vair-ZHOO), sometimes spelled verjuice, is a French term that when translated into English mean “green juice.” It is a medieval condiment that was once a staple of French provincial cooking and is now enjoying a worldwide revival.

Verjus is made from semi-ripe and unfermented wine grapes.


Used wherever vinegar and white wine are used in cooking, Verjuice is versatile, delicious and refreshing. It is a natural flavor enhancer and therefore adds dimension and richness to your cooking, and can be used in larger quantities than either lemon or vinegar.


Verjus heightens the flavor of any fish, chicken, game, red meat, and vegetable dish. It adds a wonderful and flavorful complexity to your dressings, syrups, sauces, marinades, and gravies. It's soft and flavorful enough to use all by itself as a salad dressing. In summer, mixed with water or straight, it makes a refreshing and unusual beverage with much less sugar than other fruit juices.


http://whatscookingamerica.net/Verjus.htm


 
I have been doing research :wacko: to find out what will be the best substitute for dry white wine in this amazing Dutch oven recipe. I am a Boy Scout leader and don't want to be bringing wine on scout outings (plus I don't drink). I want to try to replicate the wine as close as possible without throwing off the taste of the dish as I realize it is a key ingredient.

I know that substitutions depend on the recipe so here are the ingredients. :chef:

Salmon River Chicken Cordon Bleu In Wine Sauce
4 Chicken breasts
Ham
Swiss Cheese
Flour
Sour Cream
cheese/galic dry salad dressing
parmesan cheese
1/2 c. dry white wine (what can I substitute???)
eggs
butter
bread crumbs
cream of chicken soup

Hi Fulljeff,

Right, I`ve read all the posts - yes, all the alcohol will not be removed on cooking but what are your trying to cook? You have given a ist of ingredients, but not a recipe for the dish you are trying to or hoping to cook!

If you gave the recipe telling us where the ingredients like breadcrumbs and chicken soup (ugh!) might be used or where the sour cream, ham and cheese are incorporated we might be able to help you! We need to know the method to give cogent advice.

Also, IIRC, chicken cordon bleu is a sophisticated dish cooked in a sauté pan, not in a dutch oven/slow cooker and served with beurre noisette so no cans of chicken soup required, much less sour cream!

All the best,
Archiduc
 
Hi Fulljeff,

Right, I`ve read all the posts - yes, all the alcohol will not be removed on cooking but what are your trying to cook? You have given a ist of ingredients, but not a recipe for the dish you are trying to or hoping to cook!

If you gave the recipe telling us where the ingredients like breadcrumbs and chicken soup (ugh!) might be used or where the sour cream, ham and cheese are incorporated we might be able to help you! We need to know the method to give cogent advice.

Also, IIRC, chicken cordon bleu is a sophisticated dish cooked in a sauté pan, not in a dutch oven/slow cooker and served with beurre noisette so no cans of chicken soup required, much less sour cream!

All the best,
Archiduc
I think he has actually given all the info we would need. He is camping and cooking in a DO so this will all be combined together in one pot.

Yes the original Chucken Cordon Bleu is different than this dish, but again this is a dish made camping. It is a camping DO take on the original. Nothing wrong with that.

There is nothing wrong with using cans of chicken soup. While it might not be something that you enjoy that does not mean others can not enjoy it.
 
I think he has actually given all the info we would need. He is camping and cooking in a DO so this will all be combined together in one pot.

Yes the original Chucken Cordon Bleu is different than this dish, but again this is a dish made camping. It is a camping DO take on the original. Nothing wrong with that.

There is nothing wrong with using cans of chicken soup. While it might not be something that you enjoy that does not mean others can not enjoy it.

Thanks GB.
 
Verjus heightens the flavor of any fish, chicken, game, red meat, and vegetable dish. It adds a wonderful and flavorful complexity to your dressings, syrups, sauces, marinades, and gravies. It's soft and flavorful enough to use all by itself as a salad dressing. In summer, mixed with water or straight, it makes a refreshing and unusual beverage with much less sugar than other fruit juices.

Thanks for the info. I wonder if they have any here in idaho?
 
Hi Fulljeff,

Right, I`ve read all the posts - yes, all the alcohol will not be removed on cooking but what are your trying to cook? You have given a ist of ingredients, but not a recipe for the dish you are trying to or hoping to cook!

If you gave the recipe telling us where the ingredients like breadcrumbs and chicken soup (ugh!) might be used or where the sour cream, ham and cheese are incorporated we might be able to help you! We need to know the method to give cogent advice.

Also, IIRC, chicken cordon bleu is a sophisticated dish cooked in a sauté pan, not in a dutch oven/slow cooker and served with beurre noisette so no cans of chicken soup required, much less sour cream!

All the best,
Archiduc

GB pretty much summarized my response. I would add that I would pit this dish against almost any other cordon bleu dish. I bet 9 out of 10 would pick this one. A DO is not a crock pot type "slow cooker". Would you call cooking in a conventional oven slow cooking because those are the temperatures you cook at with a DO (300 - 475, depending on the dish).

Interesting how of all the dishes that get raved over at cooking contests I enter, those doing DO usually win. You cannot replicate the unique and added flavor of a well seasoned DO. Camping or not, DO done right is a crowd pleaser. But what do I know... I use "cans of chicken soup".
:rolleyes:
 
Verjus (pronounced vair-ZHOO), sometimes spelled verjuice, is a French term that when translated into English mean “green juice.” It is a medieval condiment that was once a staple of French provincial cooking and is now enjoying a worldwide revival.

Verjus is made from semi-ripe and unfermented wine grapes.


Used wherever vinegar and white wine are used in cooking, Verjuice is versatile, delicious and refreshing. It is a natural flavor enhancer and therefore adds dimension and richness to your cooking, and can be used in larger quantities than either lemon or vinegar.


Verjus heightens the flavor of any fish, chicken, game, red meat, and vegetable dish. It adds a wonderful and flavorful complexity to your dressings, syrups, sauces, marinades, and gravies. It's soft and flavorful enough to use all by itself as a salad dressing. In summer, mixed with water or straight, it makes a refreshing and unusual beverage with much less sugar than other fruit juices.


http://whatscookingamerica.net/Verjus.htm


A good source for verjus and other non-fermented, non-alcoholic juices made from real wine grapes is Navarro Vineyards in Mendocino County: CLICKY
 
Hi Fulljeff and GB,

Now, I think I`m right in saying that Chicken Cordon Bleu, in its classic mode would be stuffed chicken (ham and cheese), dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and fried in shallow fat in a frying pan or a sauté pan which could be difficult in a Scout camping experience.

For me, living in the UK a DO = a dutch oven = a slow cooker.

I apologise if I have been too pedantic or purist in respect of the recipe. I happen to think that certain classic dishes are worthy of their name and should be protected.

Chicken fillets stuffed with ham and cheese and baked in (opened!) cans of mushroom soup, chicken soup, tomato soup etc., will work in a Scouting environment but, they will not be Chicken Cordon Bleu, they will be stuffed fillets of chicken in a sauce. AND, I don`t think there is anything wrong in using cans of soup in a camping environment - I would use them too.

I`m not trying to pick an argument here. Stuffed chicken fillets in a sauce are and always will be simply that - stuffed chicken fillets in a sauce and they will not be Chicken Cordon Bleu which would be served with a sauce on the side.

Again, I make the point - Fulljeff has given us the ingredients of the desired dish s/he wishes to make, but not the recipe - and how one incorportes the ingredients is critical in terms of classic terminology, although perhaps not so critical in this instance. As I said, I`m not trying to be provocative here!

Personally, I suspect we are all right!


Archiduc
 
archiduc,

Yes, you must disregard the classical dish. This is a recipe based on Dutch Oven cooking over an open campfire. Yes, the chicken is stuffed just like the classic recipe. Then that's where liberties are taken, as happens with cooking and adjusting them to your needs. This one suits a Boy Scout (sure wish I was a Boy Scout when they serve this!) outing and no doubt will be on their minds for weeks after that!

fulljeff said:
But what do I know... I use "cans of chicken soup"
.

I'll tell you what you know...you know how to get the attention of some hungry boys and create a meal they soon won't forget. I wish I could see their faces when they finally get to all that goodness stuffed inside the chicken!!!
 
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