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Why It Works
- Cooking the pears in red wine with cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorns, and star anise infuses the fruit and poaching liquid with a warm spiced flavor.
- Simmering the poaching liquid until it’s thick enough to coat a spoon creates a sweet, flavorful glaze to serve the pears with.
Step into my apartment, and you’ll find many, many bottles of wine on my dining table. My husband imports Portuguese wine, and his job involves opening and tasting a lot of fermented grape juice at restaurants, bars, and wine stores. Usually the leftover wine goes to our neighbors, but if I’m feeling resourceful, I’ll incorporate it into dishes like braised short ribs and risotto, or turn it into poaching liquid for winter fruit such as quince or pears.
Red wine poached pears—poire à la Beaujolaise—are a classic French dessert you might find on the menus of bistros and brasseries: Pears are simmered with red wine, sugar, and sometimes an assortment of warm spices until tender, then served with their poaching liquid. It’s a minimal-effort dessert that’s elegant enough for a dinner party, but also simple enough to prepare on a weeknight. Plus, you can make the dessert up to three days ahead of when you plan to serve it, and as the pears sit in their poaching liquid, they take on a beautiful burgundy hue.
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
Though the dish is traditionally prepared with Beaujolais, a fruity red wine made from Gamay grapes, just about any red wine will work just fine here. (Unless you have an extremely refined palate or nose, the difference is barely discernible.) The variety of pears you use matters less than the ripeness of the pears: You want them to be just ripe and beginning to soften, but not so tender that they will fall apart during poaching. I have a soft spot for Bartlett and Starkrimson pears—they are both juicy and, when ripe, soften but still retain some firmness, making them ideal for cooking with. Their skins also change color as they ripen, giving you a good idea of when they’re ready to use: Bartlett pears turn yellow, while Starkrimsons become a brighter red. When in doubt, feel your pears and inhale deeply—the fruit should yield slightly when gently pressed and smell sweet.
To give my poached pears a flavor profile similar to that of wintry mulled wine, I incorporate a mixture of fresh orange peel, a cinnamon stick, cloves, black peppercorns, and star anise, adding just enough to the wine to give the liquid a warm spiced note, but not so much that it overwhelms the pears. While the pears are delicious when served with their poaching liquid, I like to take it a step further and reduce the wine for a more concentrated sauce. After I remove the spices, I simmer the poaching liquid until it thickens to a glaze, then spoon it over the pears. Enjoyed on their own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or drizzle of vanilla sauce, it’s a dessert that makes me feel like I’m sitting in the warm glow of a French bistro—even if I’m just sitting on my couch at home.
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
This Weeknight-Friendly French Dessert Requires Just a Bottle of Wine and a Few Pears
Cook Mode
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One 750ml bottle of red wine
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1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces; 200g)
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One 2-inch piece orange peel from 1 medium orange
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One 2-inch cinnamon stick
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3 cloves
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5 black peppercorns
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3 star anise
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6 firm but ripe medium pears (about 2 1/4 pounds; 1kg), peeled
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Ice cream or vanilla sauce for serving (optional)
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In a 5-quart non-reactive pot or Dutch oven, combine red wine and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar, about 6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add orange peel, cinnamon stick, cloves, black peppercorns, and star anise.
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
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Using your hands, carefully hold pears by the stem and lower them into the wine mixture one at a time. Gently simmer pears, uncovered, until tender and a knife pierces the flesh easily, 25 to 30 minutes.
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
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Using a slotted spoon, remove poached pears and carefully arrange into a single layer in a wide, shallow bowl; set aside. (This prevents the pears from weighing down and squishing one another.)
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
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Increase heat to medium-high. Bring poaching liquid to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until it has reduced to a glaze and is thick enough to coat a spoon, 20 to 30 minutes; you should have about 3/4 cup glaze. Serve pears with warm glaze spooned over and ice cream or vanilla sauce, if desired.
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
Special Equipment
5-quart non-reactive pot or Dutch oven, slotted spoon
Make-Ahead and Storage
Pears can be prepared through step 3 and refrigerated in their poaching liquid up to 3 days in advance. Once pears are tender, use a slotted spoon to remove fruit and carefully arrange them into a single layer in an airtight container. Allow poaching liquid to cool completely, then pour over pears before refrigerating.
When ready to serve, bring poaching liquid to a simmer over medium heat. Gently lower pears and simmer until just warmed through, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted slotted spoon, remove poached pears and carefully arrange into a single layer in a wide, shallow bowl; set aside. Proceed with step 4 of recipe.
