Russian Sauce is a traditional British recipe, based on Charles Elmé Francatelli's recipe of 1861, for a classic sauce of horseradish, shallots, herbs, ham, seasonings and vinegar thickened with a white sauce, cream and egg yolk liaison. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Russian Sauce.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Russian Sauce that's derived from the chef, Charles Elmé's 1861 volume, The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
Original Recipe
No. 92.—RUSSIAN SAUCE.
Put the following ingredients into a small stewpan, viz. : a stick of horseradish scraped, four sliced shallots, a bay-leaf and thyme, a little raw ham chopped, nutmeg, pepper, and salt, a dessert-spoonful of sugar, a small glass of vinegar, a like quantity of wine, and an ounce of butter; put the lid on, and set this to simmer over a very slow heat for about twenty minutes, in order thoroughly to extract the flavour. Next, add rather better than a gill of white sauce, four yolks of eggs, and a gill of cream; stir this over the fire until it begins to boil, and then strain it through a tammy into a stewpan for use.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
1 stick of horseradish, peeled
4 shallots, sliced
1 bayleaf
1 sprig of thyme
2 tbsp raw ham, chopped
freshly-grated nutmeg, to taste
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1 dessert spoon sugar
200ml vinegar
200ml red wine
30g butter
150ml white sauce
4 egg yolks
140ml cream
Method:
Combine the horseradish, shallots, bayleaf, thyme, ham, sugar, vinegar, wine and butter in a pan. Season to taste then cover with a lid, gently bring to a simmer and cook over a low heat for 20 minutes.
Beat together the white sauce, egg yolks and cream then beat this mixture into the contents of the pan. Continue cooking, stirring all the while, until this mixture comes to a boil then pass through a fine meshed sieve and either serve or keep aside for later use.
