Best Classic Sauce Espagnole Recipes

Sauce Espagnole image

Provided by Food Network

Time 1h15m

Yield about 4 cups

Number Of Ingredients 12

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 small carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup dry white wine
8 cups good-quality low- or no-sodium brown stock, such as veal or beef stock
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 dried bay leaves

Steps:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour to make a smooth paste. Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon and lowering the heat as needed to prevent burning, until the roux is several shades darker than peanut butter, 18 to 20 minutes.
Stir in the carrots, celery and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then whisk in the white wine and cook until the mixture thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Don't worry if the vegetables get stuck in the whisk; as you add more liquid, they will release and combine with the sauce. Whisk in the stock, 1 cup at a time, and lower the heat to a simmer.
To make a bouquet garni, place the peppercorns, parsley, thyme and bay leaves and in a square of cheesecloth and tie it into a bundle with kitchen twine. Submerge the bouquet garni in the sauce.
Simmer the sauce, using a spoon to skim off any fat or scum that rises to the surface, until it reduces by half and has the consistency of gravy, 30 to 45 minutes.
Remove the bouquet garni, then strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth. Use as desired as a base for sauces.

Espagnole Sauce image

Yield Makes about 2 2/3 cups

Number Of Ingredients 10

1 small carrot, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups hot beef stock or reconstituted beef-veal demi-glace concentrate*
1/4 cup canned tomato purée
2 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 celery rib, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf

Steps:

Cook carrot and onion in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Add flour and cook roux over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until medium brown, 6 to 10 minutes. Add hot stock in a fast stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then add tomato purée, garlic, celery, peppercorns, and bay leaf and bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat and cook at a bare simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 3 cups, about 45 minutes.
Pour sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids.
*Available at some specialty foods shops and cooking.com (stock requires a dilution ratio of 1:16; 1/4 cup concentrate to 4 cups water).

Classic Sauce Espagnole image

Provided by Barbara Poses Kafka

Number Of Ingredients 11

1/4 pound unsalted lard, chopped
1 large carrot, sliced in thin rounds
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup white wine
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
3 1/4 cups very rich meat stock, or 3 cups boullion and 3 tablespoons meat glaze
1 pound ripe tomatoes, skinned, quartered and seeded
Salt, pepper to taste

Steps:

Put lard in a heavy saucepan over low heat, cook for 10 minutes. Add carrot, onion, bay leaf and thyme; stir while cooking over medium heat and until onions are well browned. Spoon off 2 or 3 tablespoons of the liquid fat. Add wine and cook until liquid is reduced by half.
While this mixture is reducing, melt the butter in another heavy saucepan, add the flour and brown over low heat. Remove from heat, add 2 cups of stock or combined boullion and meat glaze stirring with a whisk. Return to heat, bring to boil, add vegetable mixture. Reduce heat to very low and let cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally and skimming from time to time.
Strain the sauce through an extremely fine sieve, pressing down on vegetables with a wooden spoon. Add 1 cup stock and again simmer over lowest heat for 3 hours. Put in refrigerator overnight. In the morning skim off fat. Peel tomatoes after drenching with boiling water. Add tomatoes to sauce along with remaining stock. Cook over moderate heat. After tomatoes have liquified, continue cooking until you have about 1 1/4 cups sauce remaining. Add salt and fresh pepper to taste. Use 2 or 3 tablespoons of sauce per serving.