Easy Classic Bordelaise Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is bordelaise sauce made of? ›

Bordelaise sauce is a classic French sauce named after the Bordeaux region of France, which is famous for its wine. The sauce is made with dry red wine, bone marrow, butter, shallots and sauce demi-glace. Sauce marchand de vin ("wine-merchant's sauce") is a similar designation.

Bourguignon. Similar to Bordelaise, but the difference is in the type of wine used; Bordelaise uses Bordeaux whereas Bourguignon uses Burgundy wine. Bourguignon is a red wine sauce with onions.

The description 'Bordelaise' indicates a rich sauce made with shallots, bone marrow and red wine, or there is the marchand du vin (wine merchant's) sauce which includes demi-glace: both are fabulous with steak. Fish, too, gets the red wine treatment.

To save time, you can prepare the bordelaise sauce a day or two in advance and refrigerate it until ready to serve.

It's what happens next that sets them apart: Hollandaise gets its acidity from lemon juice (sometimes vinegar) and is usually seasoned with salt, white pepper, and cayenne pepper. Béarnaise, meanwhile, builds upon hollandaise with white wine vinegar, shallots, tarragon, and other fresh herbs.

The five French mother sauces are béchamel, velouté, espagnole, hollandaise, and tomato. Developed in the 19th century by French chef Auguste Escoffier, mother sauces serve as a starting point for a variety of delicious sauces used to complement countless dishes, including veggies, fish, meat, casseroles, and pastas.

To the original four sauces (Velouté, Béchamel, Allemande, and Espagnole) enshrined by his predecessor, royal chef Marie-Antoine Carême a century earlier, Escoffier added Hollandaise and Sauce Tomate, and reclassified Allemande. (Mayonnaise, one of his essential cold sauces, is now considered the sixth mother.)

Known as the mother sauces, hollandaise, espagnole, velouté, bechamel, and tomato are essential to French cuisine. Here's what you need to know about each. Kelly is a former associate digital food editor for MarthaStewart.com.

The topping 'à la bordelaise' — literally Bordeaux style — combines breadcrumbs, shallots, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon and a splash of white wine. Cod or hake are often used, but in fact any white-fleshed fish is fine. The upshot is a sophisticated French take on breaded fish.

: a sauce consisting of stock thickened with roux and flavored typically with red wine and shallots.

What French red wine for Coq au Vin? ›

Best red wines for coq au vin

For coq au vin, I recommend using a soft, hearty red wine made with grape varieties like syrah, pinot noir, zinfandel or sangiovese. I don't think Cabernet Sauvignon is the best choice for this dish, because it often contains more tannins that don't taste great in the sauce.

Shelf-stable condiments, like stone ground mustard, red wine vinegar, strawberry preserves, and wing sauce, don't need to be as cold as other perishable foods like milk, eggs, and meat, so they can hang out on your refrigerator door.

Irresistibly creamy, buttery, and rich, Béarnaise combines an herby, slightly acidic reduction of white wine, vinegar, shallots, fresh tarragon, and lemon juice with hollandaise to make a luscious sauce for spooning over grilled steak, chicken, fish, or vegetables.

Red Robin Buzzard Sauce is a spicy wing sauce that works with your favorite sides as well.

a brown sauce flavored with red wine and shallots and garnished with poached marrow and parsley.