Brown Sauce is a traditional British recipe, based on Alexis Soyer's recipe of 1849, for a classic brown sauce made from a veal stock base thickened with a butter and four roux. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Brown Sauce.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Alexis Soyer's 1849 volume The modern Housewife or Ménagère, a classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
136. BROWN SAUCE.—Put two ounces of butter into a stewpan, rub it over the bottom, peel two or three large onions, cut them in thick slices, lay them on the bottom, cut into small pieces about two pounds of knuckle of veal, all meat, or three pounds if with bone, a quarter of a pound of lean bacon, cut small, two cloves, a few peppercorns, a tablespoonful of salt, two bay leaves, a gill of water; set it on a brisk fire, let it remain ten minutes, when stir it well round, subdue the fire, let it remain twenty minutes longer, and stir now and then until it has a nice brown colour; fill your pan with three quarts of water; set it on a brisk fire, let it remain ten minutes, when stir it well round, subdue the fire, let it remain twenty minutes longer, and stir now and then until it has a nice brown colour; fill your pan with three quarts of water; when boiling, set it on the corner of the stove, with the lid three parts on the saucepan; when boiling, skim fat and all; after one hour, or one hour and a half simmering, pass it through a sieve into a basin. To make the thickening or Roux for it, proceed as follows:—Roux. Put two ounces of butter into a pan, which melt on a slow fire, then add three ounces of flour, stir it with a wood spoon until getting a thin deep yellow colour; this in France is called Roux, being very useful in cookery, and will be often referred to in these receipts. This process will take ten minutes, when remove from the fire for two minutes to cool, then add at once three pints and a quarter of the above stock, very quickly set it on the fire to boil, remove to the corner to simmer, and skim. It ought to be entirely free from grease, and of a light chesnut colour.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients
For the Stock:
60g butter
2 large onions, peeled and sliced into thick rings
1kg knuckle of veal (meat only), cut into slices
115g lean bacon rashers
2 cloves
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp sea salt
2 bayleaves
150ml water
3l water
For the Brown Sauce:
60g butter
90g plain flour
2l brown veal stock (made above)
Method:
For the brown veal stock, gently melt the butter in a large stewpan or stockpot. Brush the base of the pan with the melted butter then lay in the onion rings, followed by the veal slices and bacon rashers. Add the cloves, black peppercorns, bayleaves and sea salt then pour in the 150ml water.
Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes then stir the ingredients. Reduce to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Now add the 3l water and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally then reduce to the lowest possible heat, part cover with a lid and cook for 80 minutes. Skim the surface entirely free from fat then pass the liquid through a fine-meshed sieve into a clean bowl.
Now prepare the brown sauce. Melt the butter in a large pan over gentle heat. Scatter over the flour and stir to combine. Reduce the heat and cook the flour and butter roux, stirring constantly, until golden brown. Take off the heat then whisk in the 2l of brown veal stock until smooth.
Return to the heat and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook until thickened to your liking. Skim the surface entirely free from fat and grease.
The sauce can now be served or used as the base for other sauces.
