Bordelaise Sauce

Bordelaise sauce is one of the mother sauces, meaning that many other sauces can be made from a mother sauce. Bordelaise sauce is is great on beef, veal, or pork.  It is really easy to make, and is one of my favorite sauces for filet mignon. The method used in this article was taught to me by a French chef.

• 4 Tablespoons of butter, divided
• 1 medium-large shallot, chopped,
• Small handful of thyme sprigs
• 2-3 bay leaves
• Small handful of parsley (using just the stems is fine)
• Small handful of whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 cup of red wine
• 1/2 cup demi-glace

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.

Add the shallots, thyme, bay leaves, parsley, and peppercorns

Note: if you use a high heat you will be sautéing and and you’ll seal the juices from the shallots and herbs inside.  You want to use low heat to sweat those juices out.

Cook over low heat until the shallots are tender.

Add the red wine and let it reduce to almost nothing, perhaps a tablespoon or two.

Add the demi-glace. Taste it immediately. If it tastes like wine or is too purplish then add more demi-glace.  If it is not thick enough then let it reduce to your desired consistency.

When it reaches the desired consistency, remove it from the heat and strain it through a fine mesh strainer. Discard the contents of the strainer.

Add two tablespoons of butter and whisk until fully combined.

Servings: 4