Easy Red Wine Jus
Looking to elevate your special occasion meals to a restaurant-quality level without too much effort, fancy ingredients or special kitchen tools? Then skip the traditional gravy and make this Easy Red Wine Jus recipe instead! This delicious sauce showcases the essence of traditional French cuisine where the simplicity and ingredients speak for themselves.
Ingredients
- 15 g butter
- 1 small red onion finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar optional
- 200 ml dry red wine
- 350 ml beef stock or 1 stock pot + 325 ml hot water, see instructions
- 1 rosemary sprig
- ½ teaspoon caster sugar
- 1 heaped tsp cornflour (corn starch) + 1 tablespoon cold water
Instructions
- Melt a knob of butter in a large frying pan. Add the finely chopped onions, and saute over low heat for 4-5 minutes, until the onion starts to soften.
- Add the garlic, vinegar and sugar and stir everything with a wooden spoon for another minute.
- Pour in the red wine, add the rosemary sprig and increase the heat to medium. Once the wine comes to a boil, simmer it for about 5 minutes until it’s reduced by about half.
- ***If you’re using beef broth/ stock in a liquid state, heat it up in a small saucepan. If you are using a stock cube, dissolve it in boiling water. You will need 350 ml beef stock, but make it more concentrated than the packet instructions state. We tend to reduce the amount of water by about ⅓. If you are using a stock pot, you don’t need to prepare it – we’ll add it directly to the wine reduction.***
- Once the wine has reduced, pour in the stock. If you’re using a stock pot, add it to the pan, and pour in 325ml of hot water. Stir everything to combine, and bring your red wine sauce to a gentle boil. Simmer it for 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Strain the sauce through a fine sieve into a clean medium saucepan and set it over medium-low heat. Discard the onions, garlic and rosemary. Taste it and add some salt and black pepper if needed.
- In a small bowl, mix 1 heaped teaspoon of cornflour (corn starch) with 1 tablespoon of cold water. If you like your gravy particularly thick, you may need more cornflour. Pour the slurry into the red wine reduction sauce and stir for a couple of minutes over medium heat until the sauce thickens to a desired consistency.
- If you are cooking your meat at the same time (pan-frying or roasting), add a few tablespoons of pan drippings from the bottom of the pan into the sauce together with the cornflour slurry. That’s it! Your beautiful sauce is ready to be poured into a gravy boat and served!
Video
Notes
Have Leftover Red Wine Jus? Or Making It Ahead of Time?
Pour red wine jus into an airtight container and store it in the fridge for a maximum of 4 days. Simply reheat it on the stovetop over medium-low heat.
Freeze any extra sauce in a sealed container for up to 3 months. Defrost it in the fridge overnight and reheat it on the stovetop as normal.
Nutrition
Calories: 95kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 2gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 201mgPotassium: 210mgFiber: 0.5gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 94IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 16mgIron: 0.3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!