Sauce Poivrade

Sauce poivrade recipe summary:

Time taken: 2 hours

Sauce Poivrade is striking sauce in both appearance and flavour which is super quick and easy to make. Pairs extremely well with stronger meats like venison and other game.

Equipment Checklist:

  • Small saucepan x 2

  • Maryse, Chinois

Sauce Poivrade ingredients list:

Gastrique:

Brown Sugar | 15g

Red Wine Vinegar | 30ml

For the Sauce:

Demi-Glaze | 200ml

Peanut Oil | 30ml

Bouquet Garni | 1

Juniper Berries | 8

Black Peppercorns | 14

Potato Starch | 2g

Dark Chocolate | 3g

Butter | 10g

Chef tip: gastriques are a great way to add depth of flavour to a sauce, offering a balance of sweet and sour.

Chef tip: sometimes using a thickener like potato starch or arrow root powder is necessary because over-reducing can result in a sauce which is too rich.

Method:

First make the gastrique base:

  1. Make a brown sugar caramel in a small saucepan, deglazing with the red wine vinegar. Be careful not to add all the vinegar all at once or it might crystallise the caramel. Add it bit by bit, swirling it around to combine.

Add your sauce base:

  1. Add your demi-glaze to the pan, again not all at once, making sure the gastrique combines properly.

  2. Bring to a simmer, skimming off any impurities.

  3. After the first skim, add your bouquet garni, juniper berries and black peppercorns. Simmer for 5 minutes before skimming again.

  4. Allow the sauce to simmer for around 20 minutes (allowing aromats to infuse) before straining through a chinois into another saucepan.

  5. Make a little slurry using the potato starch, then whisk it through to thicken the sauce, strain again.

  6. Finish the sauce with a small amount of butter and the chocolate.