
This sauce is incredibly versatile and can be adjusted into one of many named sauces by modifying the ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 shallot (diced)1
- ½ cup of wine
- subst: a mild vinegar or more stock
- 1 cup of beef stock
- subst: water
- 1 tbsp of cold butter
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Cook meat to desired doneness. Set aside, reserving oil/grease/broth from cooking. Let rest for at least 15 minutes.
- In pan on medium heat, pour in sauce and add shallot. Sautee until shallot is softened.
- Increase heat to medium-high and add wine while scraping the bottom of the pan. Reduce for about 1-2 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add stock. Reduce until thickened.2
- Turn off heat, add butter to pan, and whisk until butter has completely dissolved.3
- Add any juices that accumulated from the steak resting.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
- Optional: you may strain the sauce to obtain a more uniform texture, though it is not necessary.
Any aromatic vegetables (onion, garlic, celery, etc.) can be substituted or combined in place of the shallot. ↩︎
¼ cup of cream can be mixed in after the sauce thickens in step 4. This creates an extremely rich and dense sauce, with a brighter color. ↩︎
Any acid or chopped fresh herbs can be added just after whisking in the butter to brighten up the sauce. ↩︎