Rich Red Wine Sauce Recipe

Steps

1. 1Prep. Peel the carrot, and chop it along with the onion, and celery. Crush or press the garlic.
2. 2Cook. In a large frying pan melt 3/5 of the butter and add the onion, carrot, celery, rosemary, sage, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Cook over a high heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until the onions begin to brown. That's why we use a non-stick pan, when you reduce liquid this much, it can really make a mess of other pans. By the way, the mix of 2 parts onion, to 1 part carrot, and 1 part celery is called a mirepoix (MEER-a-pwah), and is a foundation of French cooking and is common in soups, stuffings, and, of course, sauces.
3. 3Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for about 3 minutes until it begins to darken. Add the wine and the beef stock. Boil for 30 minutes. Pour everything through a strainer into a saucepan, and squeeze the juices through the strainer with a ladle or whatever you used to stir the veggies.
4. 4Reduce. Boil over high heat until the liquid is reduced to about 1 cup (236.6 ml) and keep an eye on things so they don't burn. Add the grape jelly and stir until it is thoroughly dissolved. Turn off the heat, taste and add salt if necessary. It will not be thick and goopy like ketchup. It will be more like egg nog in thickness.
5. 5Use or store. If you are not planning on using the sauce immediately, you can store it in the fridge or freezer. When you need the sauce, warm it and add the remaining 2/5 of butter, and when it is thoroughly melted, swirl it around with a spoon and serve immediately. Do not whisk in the butter, just swirl it. This is called "mounting it" with butter (yes, that's the correct technical term). If you feel decadent, add another tablespoon.
6. 6Serve. Top steaks and more with this rich red wine sauce and serve immediately.