Easy Bordelaise Sauce

There is perhaps no other French sauce as famous as the amazing Bordelaise Sauce. A rich, indulgent Red Wine Sauce cooked down in the classic combination of Butter and Garlic, it’s quite possibly the best (and only) pairing for a beautiful piece of Red Meat at a classic French Bistro. In this recipe we’ll show you how to make our Easy Bordelaise Sauce that tastes so authentic, with it’s hallmark rich Red Wine and Beef Stock flavors being the true stars

How to make an Easy Bordelaise Sauce

Simply put, Bordelaise Sauce is a classic Pan Sauce that can be made in under 20 minutes. It’s classic French technique of building flavors in the pan is what delivers that unique and rich flavor to the Sauce. To begin the recipe, melt a generous amount of Butter in a saucepan or frying pan over medium heat

Once the Butter has melted in goes the classic pairing of finely diced Shallots. It’s always recommended to use Shallots instead of Onion if possible. They bring a sweeter, richer flavor to the dish which makes them the preferred Onion for sauce making in fine dining restaurants

If you’re in a pinch you can replace the Shallots with Onions. I’d suggest the sweeter variety of Onion like Yellow or Spanish Onion if so. Try to avoid Red Onions. Also, ensure that you are dicing the Shallot / Onion very finely to expedite the cooking process and extract the maximum amount of flavor from them

Guess what you add next? That’s right, Garlic!

It just wouldn’t be a classic French Recipe without the combination of Butter, Shallots, and Garlic now would it? Just like the Shallots, we want the Garlic to be very finely diced. You don’t want the Garlic chunks to be visible in the Sauce, so finely dice it and then add it to the pan

They don’t take long to cook. In fact, many people overcook their Garlic and ultimately burn it when making home cooked meals. After just 30 seconds in the pan, you’ll notice the Garlic smell will become very fragrant. This is as far as you want to take it before adding liquids

What kind of Wine goes in a Bordelaise Sauce?

Now, the truly classic Bordelaise Sauce should only use a French Bordeaux Wine. Hence the name Bordelaise. Bordeaux Red Wine is a medium bodied and tastes amazing. Now, Bordeaux Wines can sometimes be a little tricky to find depending on where you are in the world

For our Easy Bordelaise Sauce, we don’t recommend you specifically use Bordeaux Red Wine. I would suggest a medium to fuller bodied Red Wine from your part of the world is going to taste great. In Spain? Use Rioja! In the USA? Use a beautiful Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. In Australia? Shiraz will be amazing

Simply put, use a fuller bodied Red Wine that you enjoy drinking yourself. This dish requires about 2 cups of Red Wine, which will still leave plenty of Wine in the bottle for drinking. As this dish is typically paired with a Steak, think about what Wine you enjoy drinking with Red Meat. It’ll taste great in our Easy Bordelaise Sauce!

So, add two cups of Red Wine to the pan and bring it to a simmer. Allow it to cook down for about 5 minutes until it becomes slightly syrupy. At this stage the second very important ingredient is added, Demi-Glace

Demi-Glace is the key to a really good Bordelaise Sauce

Many Bordelaise Sauce recipes call for the use of Beef Stock. Reduce the Red Wine then add Beef Stock. Whenever I’ve cooked this sauce using Beef Stock the Sauce always comes out thin and watery. That is because you should not be using regular Beef Stock, but instead the concentrated version of it known as Demi-Glace

To make homemade Demi-Glace you will need to first prepare a good quality Beef Stock. Once that’s done, you will need to continue cooking down the Beef Stock in a saucepan to reduce it to a very concentrated, intensely flavored Demi-Glace

The comparison in flavors is quite obvious, with a Demi-Glace carrying a rich, intensely Beefy taste. You can buy Demi-Glace from the store, but I do recommend you try making it yourself. It’s very easy to do, and tastes so good in our Easy Bordelaise Sauce. Here’s our recipe

Finishing off the Sauce required more Butter

Of course we add more Butter to the sauce! It wouldn’t be a French recipe without copious amounts of Butter being added. Once you’ve mixed it through the Demi-Glace we add another 25g of Butter and stir it through

A nice way to properly emulsify the Sauce is to lightly shake the pan once the Butter has been added. As it melts it will begin to combine with the Red Wine and Demi-Glace, turning the whole pan into a beautifully glossy sauce

Once the Butter has emulsified the Sauce is done! All you need to do is remove it from the heat, add some freshly chopped Parsley and taste for seasoning. You should be seasoning throughout, but it’s always good to add a bit more Salt and Pepper at the end right before serving

Serve this wonderful Sauce with your favorite piece of Steak and perhaps some fries on the side to replace a classic French Bistro Steak. Try our amazing Filet Steak with Bordelaise Sauce recipe for an amazing home cooked French meal

Easy Bordelaise Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 50g Butter
• 1 Shallot, finely diced
• 3 Garlic Cloves, finely diced
• 2 cups of Red Wine
• 1 cup of Demi-Glace (recipe here)
• ½ cup of Parsley, finely chopped
• Salt and Pepper
  
  

Instructions

1. Melt half the Butter (25g) in a pot or frying pan over medium heat. Once melted, add the Shallots and cook for 5 minutes until caramelized. Season with a touch of Salt and Pepper
2. Add the Garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant then pour in the Red Wine. Increase the heat slightly and bring the Wine to a simmer. Cook until syrupy (about 5 minutes) then add the Demi-Glace
3. Stir everything through well and then add the remaining Butter. Reduce the heat to low and stir by shaking the pan to help emulsify. Continue to cook until the Sauce has thickened (about another 5 minutes)
4. Remove Sauce from heat and mix in Parsley. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary and serve
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can cook some Steaks in the same pan before you begin making the Sauce. Remove the Steaks and then begin the process, using the flavors of the Steak in the pan to add a beefier taste to the Bordelaise Sauce
• We highly recommend making this dish with homemade Demi-Glace. You can replace it with Beef Stock if you prefer
  
  

This wonderful Easy Bordelaise Sauce recipe will allow anyone to recreate the famous flavors of classic French Bistro dining at home for yourself. The rich Beef and Red Wine flavors in this sauce pair perfectly with a beautiful piece of Filet or Ribeye Steak

For more wonderful Sauces such as this one, check out these delicious recipes of ours:

• Cherry Red Wine Sauce
• Espagnole Sauce
• Mustard Velouté Sauce
• Classic Romesco Sauce
  
  

Happy Cooking!