Name: Port Wine-Cherry Sauce
Total time: 50 min
Yield: Serves 6 to 8 (Makes about 1 3/4 cups)
Ingredients: 2 cups tawny port; 1 cup dried cherries; 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar; 4 sprigs fresh thyme, plus 2 teaspoons minced; 2 shallots, minced; 1/4 cup heavy cream; 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Why This Recipe Works

We cure our pork rib roast overnight with a salt and sugar rub, which seasons it well and gives it a mahogany appearance. We then cook it slowly, to help keep it as moist and juicy as possible. To dress it up for a holiday feast, we pair it with an elegant and concentrated port wine and dried cherry beurre rouge sauce.

Instructions

Combine port and cherries in bowl and microwave until steaming, 1 to 2 minutes. Cover and let stand until plump, about 10 minutes. Strain port through fine-mesh strainer into medium saucepan, reserving cherries.

Add vinegar, thyme sprigs, and shallots to port and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high and reduce mixture until it measures 3/4 cup, 14 to 16 minutes. Add cream and reduce again to 3/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Discard thyme sprigs. Off heat, whisk in butter, few pieces at a time, until fully incorporated. Stir in cherries, minced thyme, salt, and pepper. Cover pan and hold, off heat, until serving. Alternatively, let sauce cool completely and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Reheat in small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until warm.