Pears Bordelaise Recipes

CLASSIC FRENCH BORDELAISE SAUCE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a small saucepan, place the red wine, shallots, thyme, and bay leaf and set over medium heat.
• Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and continue to cook to reduce the contents to half of the original volume.
• Add the beef stock to the pan and bring the mixture up to a boil again.
• Using a tablespoon, skim and discard any foam that appears on top of the sauce.
• Continue cooking the Bordelaise by another 50% or until it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon-otherwise known as having a nappe consistency. In total, the Bordelaise should have reduced by 75% of its original volume by now.
• Pour the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve.
• Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Use on grilled steak or slow-roasted beef and enjoy.

HOW TO MAKE BORDELAISE SAUCE

Steps:

• Place butter and shallots into a saucepan with pinch of salt; cook and stir shallots over medium-low heat until caramelized and browned, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add red wine and bring to a simmer.
• Reduce heat to low; cook until wine is nearly evaporated and pan juices are thick and slightly syrupy. Watch carefully, mixture burns easily. Add veal stock, return to a simmer, and cook until reduced by half and sauce is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
• Pour sauce through a fine mesh strainer set over a container. Tap the strainer with a spoon while straining and squeeze out the last remaining drops of sauce from the residue. Season sauce to taste with salt and black pepper.