Hunter's sauce with cream

2019-12-04

Wikipedia:

Sauce chasseur, sometimes called "hunter's sauce", is a simple or compound brown sauce in French cuisine. It is typically made using demi-glace or an espagnole sauce as a base, and often includes mushrooms and shallots. It may also include tomatoes and a finishing of fines herbes 

MY COMMENTS:

I have seen internet recipes that are nearly identical and some that are very different than this one. Apparently, there is a lot of confusion about what this sauce is supposed to be. Considering that most non-culinary-professional people—and I'm including myself in there— don't ever bother preparing espagnole or demi-glace, that isn't too surprising. Some internet recipes add cream, others don't.

This recipe is very similar to Bourguignon sauce and the sauce for granny's chicken. Common ingredients are bacon, mushrooms and the alcoholic beverage, although the former is with red wine, the latter with dark beer. I find the flavors very similar, although imo beer gives the sauce a sharper taste than wine.

I spent about 2 hours to prepare this sauce, most of this time simmering to reduce the volume. I think this is probably the closest I ever got—or ever will get—to espagnole sauce 'by the book,' not that I cared much for a sauce that dark

I did not add tomatoes or tomato paste to this sauce, although for beef tongue some of that would certainly be acceptable.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 2 quarts:

  • 1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 lb. ham, sliced
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 egg yolk (or whole egg)
  • 1 bottle dark beer or 2 cups red wine
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 tbsp. flour

optional:

  • onion / shallots
Pic1: hunter's sauce with cream
        served over rice and beef tongue

Directions

2019-12-04

Pic2: frying bacon
Pic3: add mushrooms
Pic4: add dark beer or red wine

 

Pic5: dark roux
Pic6: add broth, simmer
Pic7: add mushrooms back

 

Pic8: egg (yolks) + cream = final liaison
Pic9: add warm broth to cream
Pic10: add liaison to sauce