Thanks healthierkitchen! Both products are pomegranate juice that's been reduced but my pom molasses is much thicker, so much more concentrated. My pomegranate concentrate is the same consistency of fruit syrups I buy. So if you use the molasses, I would use less. Have fun with it - it's really versatile I have found!

chezsuzanne, what a great idea with these flavors!! Is pomegranate concentrate the same as pomegranate molasses? I just bought some this morning.

@Bob the sea cook Actually there is always some alcohol left in the finished dish. The popular idea that alcohol can be burned off through cooking is completely false. Sure you can loose some of the alcohol's flavor, but there will always be ethanol atoms present in the food prepared with alcohol.

I don't disagree at all with the ideas already posted here, but wanted to add another one. You could add a couple tablespoons of pomegranate concentrate. It's already been boiled down to a somewhat syrupy consistency and would add a little hit of flavor I think could go well with your other flavors. It won't tasted like reduced wine and sherry, but I added it to a braise yesterday and it added a really interesting dimension to the flavor profile.

All really helpful responses-- thank you so much!

the simple fact is if you boil the alcohol and reduce it to a glaze as the recipe says all the alcohol will have evaporated and burned off. Almost always when cooking with alcohol, unless it is added at the very end of the cooking process, there is no alcohol actually left in the dish but only the flavor of the spirits used. I have to say in this recipe a cup of wine and the sherry reduced will add a flavor only it and the sherry can but as always with cooking it is up to the cook to make decisions.

Good ideas, MrV and Queen.

I think the 1 1/2 cups of sherry/wine (which is reduced to a glaze) does lend a little acidity and sweetness to the dish, so use something with that flavor profile, like the tomato paste or the Worcestershire sauce or the reduced good-quality balsamic, or even a little no-salt-added ketchup. Since these are already "reduced", you'd probably be able to skip that step in the recipe and just mix it in with the garlic and spices.

Whatever you decide, go for it! Sounds like a really tasty dish. I'm saving that one!

I think you can omit them. You have plenty of spices in the recipe for flavor. If you need extra cooking liquid you can always add a little extra broth or water. You might try a teaspoon or two of vinegar towards the end of cooking to give it a boost.

It seems that a small amount of reduced balsamic would give some of the flavor sense of the sherry, without too much acid or alcohol.

You may want to omit them completely in your recipe. Sherry and red wine, would not be dominant flavors anyway. They are complementary flavors that are not necessary to enjoy the dish. Maybe use a little tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce to up the umami content of the dish.