Finding a Wine to Drink With Offal

Offal demands this appreciation of the work and an intimate understanding of the ingredient based on experience. Because of this the chef, in this case more than ever, has to be a true craftsman, handling the product in a methodical and precise way in order to produce excellent results. The payoff, when done well, is exciting. The guest experiences offal's richness, which is surpassed by nothing. And the idea of eating things we can associate with our own bodies adds an element of exoticism.

During the fall menu development phase last year I was naturally drawn to the idea of adding a course featuring offal, based on my meaningful experiences cooking them at the French Laundry. Our wine director and general manager Joe Catterson hinted that people would likely enjoy drinking more glasses of red wine during the 27-course meal, which was currently dominated by whites. Due to the tour menu's length and commitment, it tends to self-select the more gastronomic adventurous; therefore we are able to add courses that feature more obscure and not unanimously liked ingredients. We settled on a beef heart course.

The framework of the dish began with the heart itself, and the typical, assertive, mineral-like flavors that accompany organ meats. We decided to match the flavor strength of the heart by adding several equally powerful components to the dish. The heart was cured in a mixture of sugar and salt heavily scented with Thai long peppercorns. The pepper is obviously spicy, as you would expect from a dried peppercorn, but they also have a profound floral nose that tricks the mind into thinking sweet.

Illustration by Grant Achatz

Being that it was fall, we honed in on season fruits and vegetables that would further compliment the dish and drive it into the red wine-friendly category that we were aiming for. Dark flavors were needed, and we found those in black mission figs and Blis elixir sherry vinegar. The figs offered the jammy dark fruit while the aged balsamic-like vinegar balanced the sweetness in the figs while adding elements of licorice and caramel.

The flavors now aligning it started to make sense; the aggressive nature of the heart being tempered by other strong flavors like the peppercorns and vinegar, the anise qualities of the Blis elixir pairing nicely with the figs and the peppercorns which bounced off both the darkness of the figs and vinegar. We needed a clean component to adjust the weight of the otherwise heavy and palate-coating dish. Raw celery branch, leaf, and root were used to help add herbaceous elements while giving the dish a much-needed textural crunch.

As I snacked on the warm, thinly sliced confit beef heart I could not help to be drawn to fresh horseradish. The heart was basically like the best, most exotic roast beef you could ever have, and the association of horseradish cream as a condiment wouldn't leave my mind. Fresh horseradish was incorporated into a celery root cream to form the final component.

When Joe tasted the dish there were three strong elements that helped him choose the pairing of the Biale Zinfandel "Black Chicken". Zinfandel is known for its forward dark fruit and licorice, sometimes-brown spice nuances, so this was an obvious starting point. But after tasting the dish Joe mentioned several times the importance of the mineral, and hot spice elements coming from the beef, horseradish and peppercorns. In fact, once he was confident that the Biale was the pairing that would create the best food and wine synergy, he suggested that we add more horseradish to the dish, increasing the nasal burn and therefore finding harmony with the wine.

Because the dish started with the idea of pitting strong against strong in an effort to find balance instead of bowing down to the focus ingredient, the layers of bold flavors continued to build into a dish that could easily dominate a food and wine marriage. Joe took the same approach to the wine pairing. Trying to out fruit the fruity sweetness of the figs, and overcome the olfactory potency the horseradish and peppercorns with the powerful fruit-spice identity of a well-made ripe Zinfandel grape.

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Grant Achatz's eight-part series on wine pairings will run on Mondays and Wednesdays for the next three weeks. Check back for his recommendations for what to serve with caviar, chocolate, and more.