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Brown Sauce

This is a basic brown sauce recipe that is very easy to make and will transform your meal into a delicious and tasty dish in very little time.

You can use the meat juices from a piece of meat you have roasted such as beef, lamb, pork or chicken but you can also use meat dripping as in this recipe.

Ingredients (Serves 4) 

• 2 oz pork or beef dripping (can be bought at the butchers or good supermarkets)

• 2 oz onion, chopped finely

• 3 oz lean bacon, chopped

• 1 stick of celery, chopped finely

• 1 oz all purpose flour

• 3/4 pint of stock (this can be beef stock or a vegetable stock)

• 1 teaspoon of tomato purée

• 1 sprig of parsley (you can use 1/4 teaspoon dried)

• 1 sprig of thyme ( you can use 1/4 teaspoon dried)

• 1 small bayleaf

• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Heat the fat in a heavy bottomed pan.

• Fry the onion, celery and bacon gently for five minutes.

• Add the flour and stir continuously as it cooks slowly and gradually turns brown.

• Add the stock, tomato purée, the parsley and thyme, salt and pepper and using a small whisk, mix until it boils.

• Cover the pan and cook to a simmer for about half an hour.

• Press through a sieve or put in a liquidiser.

• If your sauce is too thick, add a little more stock.

• Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning as you prefer.

NOTE
WITH THIS BASIC SAUCE RECIPE YOU CAN MAKE A NUMBER OF VARIATIONS FOR OTHER DISHES

Sauce Madère

To the above sauce, add four tablespoons of Madeira half way through the cooking.

This delicious sauce can be used to accompany ham, beef, veal and egg dishes.

Sauce Piquante

This is a delicious sauce that you can use with pork, boiled beef or any leftovers.

Simply fry 2 oz chopped shallot or onion in a little butter in a heavy bottomed pan. 

Add 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar and boil until almost evaporated.

Add the brown sauce as above, with 2 oz chopped gherkins, 1/4 teaspoon French mustard and 1 oz butter.