Muscat Sauce - New Yorkers?

[Calw]

I had the Game Hen at Po in Manhattan a while back - and really loved every bite. They finish the birds with a drizzle of a sweet grape sauce that I think is a Muscat sauce. While I'd love to deconstruct the whole recipe, I'm curious if anyone has a recipe or source for a Muscat sauce that would be similarly used?

[paul o' vendange]

Sounds like a variation on Sauce Veronique, to me, which traditionally used muscat grapes, though usually peeled and left whole.

[Luke]

Are you sure it wasn't made using the fortified wine "Muscat" ??

I often use Port or Muscat to provide the foundation to a game/red meat sauce. Muscat is more on the sweet side.

Muscat grapes could also make an interesting sauce. I have three "Black Hamburg" muscat vines about 5 years old now - and apart from being the most delicious table grapes, they make excellent raisins. While I don't have any grapes from this years season (just about to start for us southern hemispherians) I do have plenty of raisins left.

Good luck in recreating your sauce...

Luke

[Kerry Beal]

Looks from their menu that it's Saba they finish it with - which is a fabulous grape must. I know there's a thread around here somewhere about it. Here you go.

[Calw]

Thanks all, Yes the Saba perfectly describes it. And thanks Kerry for the thread. Po was a Batali restaurant I believe at one time, and it looks like there were some other references to how to use it. Since there also seems to be a history of similar concentrations across Greece, Turkey and all the way to Iran there must be some spice combinations that work well with it....

[paul o' vendange]

Thanks all, Yes the Saba perfectly describes it.

LOL - "Sauce Veronique derivative" he muses....

Not that I have a French bias or anything...

[davidkeay]

I've been looking for saba for a while, and ended up finding it in three stores today! It's funny to find this topic active at the same time. Here in NYC, kalustyans had a 750 ml bottle for $55, and then I saw it again later at eataly (smaller 200 and 250 ml bottles for around $18)... I picked up one of those. It's interesting to taste it on it's own- it starts out very sweet, but the grape flavor takes over until you're left with a rich caramel flavor that is skirting the edges of burnt.

I've seen a Batali recipe for sausage cooked with grapes that has Saba drizzled on at the end. I've made something like it to pretty great effect even before I was able to find this, so I'm looking forward to making it again now that I have a bottle!