Espagnole or Brown Sauce

Appears in

Published 2014

About

As one glance at the procedure for making espagnole will tell you, this sauce is more complicated than béchamel or velouté. Because it is the starting point for the hearty, flavorful sauces that accompany red meats, it is necessary to give it extra flavor and richness with mirepoix. Some chefs even add more browned bones and cook the sauce as long as a stock.

Note how the roux is made in the espagnole recipe. Though mirepoix is also cooked in the fat, the basic principle is the same as when you make a simple roux in a separate pot.