Bacon-fat-fried anything is an excellent dinner; in the recipe below, plump shrimp do the job especially well. But finding a wine that can stand up to the strong flavors of bacon and fennel without overpowering the seafood is a challenge. The key is in the texture — you need a white with some weight. Try any of the three bottles below, recommended by the sommelier at Chicago’s Oyster Bah.
Bacon-Fat-Fried Shrimp
Cook 3 strips bacon in a skillet until crisp, 8 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel, leaving the fat in the skillet. Add 2 fennel bulbs, chopped; cook until starting to soften; 3 minutes. Stir in half a red bell pepper, chopped; cook until tender-crisp, 3 minutes. Add 1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined; season with salt. Cook, turning once, until just cooked through, 5 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup dry white wine into skillet; lower heat to a simmer. Crumble the bacon; stir into the skillet. Cook just to heat through. Serve the shrimp and vegetables over steamed brown rice. Makes: 4 servings
Recipe by Joe Gray
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Pairings by sommelier Nate Redner of Oyster Bah, as told to Michael Austin:
2015 Left Field Pinot Gris, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand: Aromatic, ripe and rich, this wine shows notes of sweet tangerine, kumquat, cantaloupe and warm spices. Its salmon hue comes from a small amount of skin contact during the winemaking process, resulting in a more weighty texture and ever-so-slight tannins. The wine’s citrus notes will complement both the fennel and the smokiness of the bacon.
2015 Division Villages L’Isle Verte Chenin Blanc, Columbia Valley, Washington: The region’s warm climate produces full, expressive, unctuous wines like this one. The winery picks grapes multiple times, first for acidity, and then for developed fruit character. The result is that L’Isle Verte is packed with notes of ripe peaches, honeycomb and marzipan. Although it shows richness, the wine is completely dry, making it a nice match for this dish — fruity but also freshly acidic.
2002 Alfred Merkelbach Erdener Treppchen Spatlese Riesling, Mosel, Germany: Sticking with the theme of weighty but still fresh, this riesling shows ripe notes of lime zest, orange flower water, honey and apple sauce. On the palate, though viscous, it drinks surprisingly lean and fresh. The wine’s precision and balance of residual sugar and acidity will help bring out some anise flavors from the fennel without covering up the delicate flavors of the shrimp.
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