Red Wine Sauce with Roast Beef Tenderloin
I served this Red Wine Sauce with a Spice Rubbed Roast Beef Tenderloin, it was rich and delicious and a perfect accompaniment to the extravagant beef tenderloin. The deeply flavored, thyme-infused red wine sauce can be made days ahead, so there’s no last-minute panic when it comes time to serve.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Yield: about 2 cups- it’s very rich so you only need a little- it will serve 8-10 people
For the sauce:
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 Tbs. olive oil or grapeseed oil
4 oz. cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced (1-3/4 cup)
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallot (1 medium)
1/4 tsp. granulated sugar
1 beef bouillon cube
3 large sprigs fresh thyme
1 tsp. cracked black peppercorns
1 750-ml bottle dry, hearty red wine,such as Shiraz or Zinfandel
2 cups lower-salt beef broth
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste
Sieve to Press the Sauce Through
Make the sauce:
1. Melt 1 Tbs. of the butter and the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, shallot, sugar, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring often, until soft and beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Add the thyme, peppercorns, and half of the wine. Simmer briskly until the wine reduces and just covers the solids, 10 to 15 minutes.
Mushrooms and Shallots Cooking
2. Add the remaining wine and reduce again until the wine just covers the solids, 10 to 12 minutes more.
Thyme and Black Pepper Added to Mushrooms and Shallots
3. Add the beef broth and beef bouillon cube and simmer until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve set over a 1-quart measuring cup, pressing lightly on the solids. If you have more than 1-1/2 cups liquid, return the sauce to the pan and simmer until reduced to 1-1/2 cups.
Red Wine Reducing After Being Added To Thyme, Mushrooms and Shallots
4. Melt the remaining 1 Tbs. butter in a 1-quart saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking often, until smooth and light beige in color, about 1 minute. Slowly add the wine and beef broth reduction, whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer and cook, whisking often, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Now add cream just before service. If holding the sauce and storing in the refrigerator for a few days, do not add cream until you have heated the sauce to serve.
Red Wine Sauce Stained and Thickened Before Adding the Cream
Serve
If the sauce was made ahead, heat gently in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, whisking a few times, until barely simmering. Now add the whipping cream to finish it off.
