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Red wine sauce

Sauce · French

Red wine sauce

A glossy shallot and red wine reduction finished with cold butter. Uses up the last of the bottle.

38 min 15 min hands-on Serves 4 French

Red wine sauce is a classic French reduction: shallots softened in butter, red wine and stock boiled down until syrupy, then cold butter whisked in for gloss. It turns a plain steak, roast chicken or a pan of mushrooms into a proper dinner, and it is the best home for the last third of a bottle.

Ingredients

  • 30 g butter, for the shallots
  • 2 shallot, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic, clove, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp tomato paste
  • 300 ml red wine, a dry, fruity one you would drink
  • 300 ml beef stock, or chicken stock
  • 3 sprig thyme, or ½ tsp dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp sugar, only if the wine tastes sharp
  • 1 tsp cornflour, only for a thicker sauce (optional)
  • 40 g butter, cold, cubed, to finish
  • salt, to taste
  • black pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Melt the 30g of butter in a small, heavy saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the shallots with a pinch of salt and cook gently, stirring now and then, until soft, sweet and turning translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Keep them pale, so the sauce tastes sweet and mellow.
  2. On the same medium-low heat, stir in the garlic and the tomato paste and cook until fragrant and the paste darkens a shade, about 1 minute. The paste gives the sauce body and a deeper colour.
  3. Pour in the wine, tuck in the thyme sprigs (or sprinkle in the dried thyme) and the bay leaf, and turn the heat up to medium-high. Boil until the wine has reduced by about two thirds (a finger deep in the pan) and the bubbles turn slow and syrupy, 8 to 10 minutes. Boiling it hard cooks off the raw alcohol taste.
  4. Add the stock and keep it at a lively simmer until the sauce has reduced by half again and lightly coats the back of a spoon, 10 to 12 minutes in a wide pan; a tall, narrow pot can take 5 to 10 minutes longer. You should end up with about 200ml.
  5. Taste it and stir in the sugar if the wine left it sharp. Strain into a clean pan, pressing on the shallots, and discard the herbs and pulp. For a thicker sauce (if using the cornflour), mix it with 1 tablespoon of cold water, whisk it into the simmering sauce and let it bubble until thickened and glossy, 1 to 2 minutes.
  6. Set the pan over the lowest heat and whisk in the cold butter a few cubes at a time, letting each lot melt before the next, until the sauce is silky and shiny, 2 to 3 minutes. Keep it below a simmer, so the butter stays creamy and glossy. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Spoon it warm over steak, roast chicken, pork chops, sausages or mushrooms, with rice or mash to soak it up. To make ahead, stop after straining and keep the sauce 3 days in the fridge or 3 months frozen; reheat gently, then whisk in the cold butter as above.

Tips

  • Keep the shallots pale in the first step. Browned shallots turn the sauce bitter.
  • Once the butter goes in, never let the sauce boil, or the butter splits out and the sauce turns greasy.
  • Use a wine you would happily drink. Reducing concentrates every flavour, the flaws included.
  • Shop-bought stock makes a thinner sauce than homemade, which is rich in gelatine. Use the cornflour if you like it thicker.

Common questions

Why is my red wine sauce thin?

Shop-bought stock has little of the gelatine that gives homemade stock its body, so the sauce stays thin however long it simmers. Whisk 1 teaspoon of cornflour mixed with 1 tablespoon of cold water into the simmering sauce and let it bubble for 1 to 2 minutes, or reduce it further in a wide pan.

What wine is best for red wine sauce?

A dry, fruity red such as Merlot, Côtes du Rhône or Tempranillo. Very oaky or tannic wines can turn bitter once they are reduced.

Can I make red wine sauce ahead?

Yes. Make it up to straining and keep it 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. Reheat it gently and whisk in the cold butter just before serving.