Espagnole Sauce is one of the five French \u2018Mother Sauces\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You may have heard the term \u2018mother sauce\u2019 kicking around on your cooking journeys. What it refers to is basically a \u2018foundational\u2019 sauce that many other sauces are created from. There are five famous Mother Sauces which are Bechamel Sauce, Velout\u00e9, Tomato Sauce, Hollandaise Sauce, and finally our Espagnole Sauce
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While many of these mother sauces have fancy, French names, they are all very straight forward and simple to make. We highly recommend learning how to make the five mother sauces. Especially if you are looking to begin to experiment with developing your own recipes in the kitchen
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Espagnole Sauce baseline flavors are developing using a Mirepoix<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Unlike the other mother sauces, Espagnole Sauce is the only sauce that uses a Mirepoix in its development. You\u2019re probably very familiar with Mirepoix in your own cooking and have likely made a variation of an Espagnole Sauce without perhaps even knowing!
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Simply put, a Mirepoix is a combination of diced Onion, Carrots, and Celery that are cooked down in a fat (sometimes Oil, but in this case Bacon Fat) to release their flavors. The amount of flavor that you can develop in recipes by frying off a Mirepoix in a pan for about 5 \u2013 10 minutes is simply amazing. The vegetables will ultimately be discarded at the end of the sauces development, but what they leave behind are their natural sugars in the sauce, which are packed full of flavor
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So, we\u2019ve cooked down our Mirepoix in Bacon fat, now what?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The next step in making a classic Espagnole Sauce is one that is familiar to what is done in a Bechamel or Velout\u00e9 Sauce. That is, we add Roux to the sauce. A roux is a combination of Flour and Butter, which when cooked and mixed adds volume and richness to a sauce
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In this instance, the Flour and Butter is simply added straight into the pot with all the Vegetables and Bacon. Add equal quantities of Butter and Flour, as this will form the best consistency for a Roux. When adding Flour, you want to ensure it is thoroughly cooked through before adding liquids to the dish. So be sure to cook the Flour out for about 3 \u2013 4 minutes, stirring constantly
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The Flour is probably going to stick to the bottom and sides of the pan. So makes sure that you\u2019re scraping all that Flour up and mixing it back into the mixture. If the Flour ends up sticking to the pan, it\u2019ll eventually burn, and that flavor will make its way into the sauce. So, just mix constantly ensuring your scraping all those bits up as you go
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nYou can turn this classic Espagnole Sauce into a wonderful Duck a L’Orange dish by simply adding Oranges<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The key ingredient in a Espagnole Sauce is Beef Stock<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Once the Roux has been added and cooked through it\u2019s time to add the Beef Stock. In our opinion this is the key ingredient that makes up an Espagnole Sauce. Good quality Beef Stock is going to transform your sauce into something truly amazing
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We always advocate for making your own Stock at home. We\u2019ve got a dedicated section of our website here<\/a> for homemade Broths and Stocks. We recommend checking out this homemade Beef Broth recipe<\/a> to use when making an Espagnole For this recipe you\u2019ll need two cups of Beef Stock. If you are in a pinch and don\u2019t have any on hand then that\u2019s ok. You can always pick up some Stock cubes and simply use them. The flavor won\u2019t be as intense and concentrated, but it will suffice as an alternative if need be Once the Beef Stock has been added, bring the sauce to a boil then drop the heat to low and simmer it for 15 minutes. This is the final cooking stage before your sauce is done. Simmering the sauce for 15 minutes or so allows for all those sugars and flavors that you\u2019ve developed to blend into the liquid, forming a cohesive flavor Once the sauce has been simmering for 15 minutes you\u2019ll notice it will form a slightly thick texture, yet still smooth and runny. The sauce will also have a beautiful sheen to it, which is brought on by the Butter added earlier Once you reach this point, the sauce is done! All you need to do is strain the sauce through a fine sieve or strainer and it\u2019s completely done. You can use the sauce immediately, or freeze it for later use This sauce is so versatile and can be used to make beautiful Gravies and fillings for Pies. You can also use it as a baseline sauce for all kinds of delicious dishes including the famous Duck a L\u2019Orange. All you\u2019ll need to do is add the juice of 2 Oranges! This is such a versatile and delicious Sauce that is well worth everyone having in their cooking arsenal
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Strain the Vegetables and you are all done!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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