Espagnole Sauce

5 from 1 vote

Serve up a rich, decadent brown sauce worth craving with my Espagnole Sauce recipe! It's so luxurious, you won't believe how easy it is!

Prep Time5

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 20

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: French

Keyword: brown sauce, espagnole, espagnole sauce, espagnole sauce recipe

Servings:

Calories: 148kcal

See our Beef Temperature Chart for helpful tips on cooking any cut of beef!

Chop the onion, carrot, celery and garlic finely. Then melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and add the chopped vegetables. Saute the veggies in butter until soft and lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
2 Tablespoons Unsalted butter, ¼ Onion, ½ Carrot, 1 stalk Celery, 2 cloves Garlic
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir well, until it comes together as a roux. Continue cooking until the roux is golden brown. Make sure it doesn't get too dark!
2 Tablespoons Flour
Pouring slowly, add the red wine while stirring constantly. Scrape up any browned bits, and let the wine simmer for a few minutes.
1 cup Red wine
Add in the beef stock, then the tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Stir to combine.
2 cups Beef stock, 2 Tablespoons Tomato paste, 2 Bay leaves, 3 sprigs Fresh thyme
Bring to a simmer, then reduce to low heat. Let it simmer gently for approximately 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
After it's cooked, remove the bay leaves and thyme, then pour the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer over a mixing bowl. Press down on the vegetables to extract as much liquid as possible.
Rinse the saucepan, then return the sauce to the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste, simmer an additional 5 minutes, and serve!
Salt and pepper

When cooking the roux, make sure not to overcook it! Espagnole requires a light brown roux, so the flour should be a lovely golden brown, not dark brown.

Beef stock and veal stock are both classics for this recipe. Broth will work as well, but may not end up quite as thick or rich.

Feel free to try out some different vegetables and herbs in this sauce! I like swapping the celery out for fennel stalks and adding in a bit of rosemary for a more herbal sauce.

Make sure to let the sauce simmer for the full time. This will reduce the sauce and concentrate the flavor, making it silky smooth and incredibly rich.