Learn how to make bordelaise sauce, a classic french sauce crafted from beef trimmings, bone marrow, and red wine. It’s the perfect pairing with any steak.
Category
Dinner
Servings
1L
Prep time
20 minutes
Cook time
2 hours
Learn how to make bordelaise sauce, a classic french sauce crafted from beef trimmings, bone marrow, and red wine. It’s the perfect pairing with any steak.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp tallow (or neutral-flavoured oil)
- 2 shallots, finely sliced
- ½ carrot, sliced
- ½ stick of celery, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 6 sprigs thyme
- 5 parsley stalks
- 150g (5½ oz) beef trimmings
- 100g (3½ oz) prepared bone marrow (or unsalted butter)
- 250ml (9 fl oz) red wine
- 1L (1¾ pints) demi-glace (see my demi-glace recipe)
Directions
To prepare the bone marrow, soak it in cold water in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. Once soaked, bring a pot of seasoned water to a light simmer and add the bones for 45 seconds to 1 minute. Remove the bones and plunge them into an ice bath to cool completely.
- Remove the marrow from the bones and dice into 1cm cubes. Leave in the fridge until ready to use.
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the tallow (or oil). Once hot, add the beef trimmings with a pinch of salt and sauté until well browned.
- Add the sliced shallots and carrots, and sauté for 4-5 minutes until they start to develop colour. Then add the rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, and celery. Deglaze the pan with the red wine.
- Reduce the red wine by 4-5 times before adding the demi-glace. Bring it back to a simmer and reduce until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. It should have a pleasant mouthfeel, not too sticky or too thick.
- Turn off the heat and add the parsley stalks. Let them steep in the hot liquid for 10-15 minutes, then strain the sauce through a fine sieve and cool.
- When ready to serve, heat up only the amount of sauce you need. Once it reaches a gentle simmer, check the seasoning. Whisk in 1 cube of cold bone marrow per portion. Add the marrow to the hot sauce and whisk until fully emulsified.