Featured Recipe
Twist Bordelaise Sauce
By Kate
"
Rich, reduced red wine and demi-glace sauce with roasted bone marrow and fresh herbs. Uses veal demi-glace instead of traditional beef. Replaces cognac with aged sherry. Brown sugar swaps with maple syrup for earthiness. Roasts marrow to coax fat release before quick sear. Sauce reduced until glossy, clings to meat. Finishes with tarragon and parsley mix. Aromas of caramelized shallots and roasted marrow dominate. Best with grilled ribeye or robust steaks. Practical moves to salvage marrow if stubborn. Emphasis on texture contrasts and layering deep savory notes.
"
Prep:
20 min
Cook:
30 min
Total:
50 min
Serves:
4 servings
sauce
French cuisine
steak sauce
gourmet
Introduction
Hit marrow bones hard with heat to unleash pure fat and flavor. Roasting first draws out nutty aromas and softens marrow for that creamy pop later. Sweat shallots slow so they soften but don’t burn—bitter ruins the whole thing. Maple syrup instead of sugar adds subtle woodsmoke, deeper than brown sugar, without clashing. Red wine reduction pulls sharp acidity and fruit to balance the fatty marrow. Veal demi-glace here—cleaner and richer than beef demi, lifts sauce thicker and silkier. Tarragon sprigs bring herbal brightness, slightly anise-like—a classic French tweak steering away from just thyme or rosemary. Sherry rounds out the sauce with warm nuttiness instead of fiery cognac, ideal if you’re out of brandy or want a mellow earthiness. Quick sear on marrow locks in texture but avoids grease overload. Final fold of fresh herbs lifts it, adding pop amid all that fat and reduction. Clingy sauce that hugs steak, making sauce and marrow one savory hit. No waste, all texture, all flavor.
Ingredients
About the ingredients
Veal bones offer cleaner marrow flavor, usually easier to find now in butcher shops or upscale markets; use beef marrow bones if unavailable, but reduce roasting time by a couple minutes to prevent over-rendering. Maple syrup stands in for brown sugar, adds subtle caramelized bitterness instead of overt sweetness—check quality maple with no additives. Red wine choice matters: pick a dry, fruity Cabernet or Merlot for balanced acidity. If you lack demi-glace, beef or veal demi-glace concentrates or a well-reduced beef stock can replace. Sherry or Madeira adds distinctive nutty body but cognac or brandy works fine as backup (just reduce quantity to avoid overpowering). Fresh tarragon replaced thyme for lively anise notes. Parsley mix with tarragon last minute brightens sauce and perfumes marrow fat with freshness. Butter quality influences shallot sweetness; European butter preferred for better mouthfeel. Salt late to avoid toughened shallots. Don’t skip roasting marrow bones first—it’s the foundation. If marrow too firm to paste, try quick 3-minute blast in hot pan after slicing.
Method
Technique Tips
Roasting marrow bones heats marrow slowly, rendering fat, and develops deep, nutty aromas—don’t skip, marrow texture suffers. Leave bones apart so heat surrounds marrow evenly. Watch shallots carefully, translucent without brown spots; low temp prevents bitter notes. When adding maple syrup, stir continuously to avoid burning—it’s delicate at this stage. Wine reduction key: slow boil until half volume gone but not dried up; sauce should coat spoon but not stick rock hard. Use medium heat for demi-glace addition to avoid burning sugars but keep sauce moving. Sherry goes in last to preserve aroma—boil off alcohol quickly but don’t overheat or flavor dulls. Marrow searing is quick; these delicate rounds brown fast—listen for light hissing sound, look for golden crust but don’t cook marrow through or it’ll lose silky texture. Deglazing pan with sauce lifts crust flavors; fold marrow into sauce off direct heat to keep shape. Herbs chopped fine, folded in last second to preserve brightness; coarse herbs risk masking marrow’s silken balance. Serve immediately, sauce thick but fluid, marrow melting but structured. Sauce leftover? Reheat gently, thin with splash stock. Avoid overheating marrow when reheating: fat can separate.
Chef's Notes
- 💡 Roast bones until fat bubbles—nutty aroma key, 12 minutes at 200 C. Softness matters too. Cool, scrape marrow into rounds. Keep shape. Add cooked marrow to sauce last second.
- 💡 Sweat shallots low and slow, around 5 minutes. Avoid browning. Butter quality impacts sweetness. European butter is best. Caramelize maple syrup without burning. Stir constantly.
- 💡 Wine reduction: crucial step. Add wine then concentrate flavors at medium heat. Half volume should be gone in 12-15 minutes. Sauce coats spoon but not rock-hard sticky.
- 💡 For quick sear, high heat about 1 minute per side. Look for golden crust—soft inside. Fold seared marrow gently into sauce, not directly on heat, keep texture.
- 💡 Storage tip: leftover sauce? Thin with stock, warm gently. Reheat marrow carefully—fat separates easily. If stubborn, cool bones after roasting, then pry with knife.
