Bordelaise Sauce - Master Chefs

Bordelaise sauce is one of the great French mother-sauce derivatives, born in Bordeaux and built to crown a perfectly seared steak. The technique is classical and the components are non-negotiable. Eight shallots, a clove of garlic, a bouquet garni for aromatics, dry red wine, bone marrow, flour, and veal stock. Each ingredient earns its place.

The move that gives bordelaise its signature glossy body is the marrow-flour beurre manie. Mashing the bone marrow with raw flour into a paste before whisking it into the reduced wine adds richness and thickening at the same time. Boil the marrow alone and it can break the sauce; bound to flour first, it emulsifies smoothly into the simmering liquid.

Reducing the wine by half before adding the stock concentrates the flavor and burns off raw alcohol. The finished sauce should coat the back of a spoon and reflect light like glass.

Chef Tips

• Use a wine you’d actually drink. The reduction concentrates every flaw of cheap wine into the sauce.
• Source good bone marrow from your butcher and ask them to remove it from the bone for you.
• Don’t skip the bouquet garni. The thyme and bay are quietly essential.
• Strain the sauce through a fine sieve before serving. Smooth restaurant-style finish without lumps or shallot bits.

Variations

• Add a tablespoon of cognac flamed off in the pan before the wine for extra depth.
• Use port instead of red wine for a sweeter, fruitier sauce that pairs with venison or duck.
• Stir in a pat of cold butter at the end (a monter au beurre) for a glossier finish.