Classic French Bordelaise Sauce
Ingredients
- 180 ml dry red wine
- 2 shallots (finely chopped)
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 480 ml beef stock
- Salt (to taste)
- Ground black pepper (to taste)
- Optional: 1 teaspoon butter (cold; for make-ahead)
Instructions
-
Gather the ingredients.
-
In a small saucepan, place the red wine, shallots, thyme, and bay leaf and set over medium heat.
-
Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and continue to cook to reduce the contents to half of the original volume. Add the beef stock to the pan and bring the mixture up to a boil again.
-
Using a tablespoon, skim and discard any foam that appears on top of the sauce.
-
Continue cooking the Bordelaise by another 50% or until it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon—otherwise known as having a nappe consistency. In total, the Bordelaise should have reduced by 75% of its original volume by now.
-
Pour the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Use on grilled steak or slow-roasted beef and enjoy.
Notes
Tip for Making Bordelaise Sauce Recipe
To thicken the Bordelaise sauce, prepare a beurre manié with about 1 tablespoon of softened butter and 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour. Use your fingers or a fork to make a smooth paste. Place the strained sauce over medium-low heat. Add about 1 teaspoon of the mixture to the sauce and whisk for about 1 minute. Repeat until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.
How To Store and Freeze Bordelaise
Refrigerate bordelaise sauce in a covered, airtight container for up to 1 week.
For longer storage, freeze bordelaise sauce in airtight container for up to 3 months.
Reheat bordelaise sauce in a saucepan over low to medium-low heat until it heated through, or to at least 73.9 °C.
Nutrition
Serving size 4 to 6 servings
Calories 77 kcal
Fat 0 g
Saturated fat 0 g
Unsaturated fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 322 mg
Carbohydrates 8 g
Fibre 1 g
Sugar 3 g
Protein 3 g
Imported from Mela.
