# What's a good sauce for a wine-flavored sausage?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-sauce-for-a-wine-flavored-sausage/518056
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** wine
**Created:** [November 18, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-sauce-for-a-wine-flavored-sausage/518056 "2009-11-18T19:17:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-sauce-for-a-wine-flavored-sausage/518056/1 "2009-11-18T19:17:05Z")
Yesterday I tried my hand at sausage-making, using the basic garlic sausage recipe from _Charcuterie_ which uses wine as the liquid. Turned out delicious, but the wine flavor is really much stronger than I anticipated (maybe Cabernet Sauvignon was a bad choice?), so they’ve got a sour/salty taste. Now, normally, I eat sausage with a nice hot mustard, but I’m concerned that that won’t mix well with the wine flavor of the sausage. Usually, if I have wine-flavored meat, the wine _is_ the sauce, so I’ve never thought about it before.
Side dish recommendations also welcome.
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### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-sauce-for-a-wine-flavored-sausage/518056/2 "2009-11-18T19:26:31Z")
I would mix it into a marinara sauce and serve it over pasta. I know that’s not terribly creative, though. Maybe give it a try in beans and rice?
If you want to do sausage alone, I think you need something fairly sweet. A BBQ sauce would probably work to cut the sourness.
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### Author:  [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-sauce-for-a-wine-flavored-sausage/518056/3 "2009-11-18T19:41:49Z")
Well, I don’t really want to cut the sour - it’s actually quite good. They’re a nice mix of salty and sour, and I don’t want to throw in another too-strong flavor, like my usual mustard. Maybe a lightly horseradished cream sauce? I think regular gravy might be a bit salty on sausage.
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### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-sauce-for-a-wine-flavored-sausage/518056/4 "2009-11-18T19:57:32Z")
You might be better off not using a sauce at all. It’s hard to give an informed answer without being able to taste it.
What are you looking for the sauce to do? Generally, I think if you like it the way it is, less is more, but it sounded like you thought the wine taste was too strong, so sweetness is a good way to cut that. Savory or salty probably wouldn’t work too well and could tase weird with the wine flavor.
Glazing them in brown sugar or maple syrup would add some sweetness without overpowering the other flavors too much.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-sauce-for-a-wine-flavored-sausage/518056/5 "2009-11-18T22:09:49Z")
I don’t know the details of your sausage, but olive oil can complement wine flavors pretty well. Maybe some sort of olive oil pesto sort of thing?
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### Author:  [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-sauce-for-a-wine-flavored-sausage/518056/6 "2009-11-19T19:34:01Z")
I gotta agree with **DtC** , I’d forgo sauce. Just brown them in a pan until you get a nice fond and then throw in some veggies to sauté real quick. Onion pepper mushroom, maybe even diced eggplant and I think you’d be good to go.
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### Author:  [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-sauce-for-a-wine-flavored-sausage/518056/7 "2009-11-19T20:54:59Z")
Me, I’d probably sautee some wild mushrooms and minced shallots in the pan after the sausage is done, and possibly deglaze with a splash of wine if you’ve still got a bit kicking around from the sausage making. Can’t go wrong with mushrooms when you’ve got red wine and sausage already in the mix. 🙂
Add a side of roasted garlic mashed potatoes and it sounds like a meal fit for a king (or queen, as the case may be).