Port Wine Reduction Sauce

Port wine reduction sauce used to be Rio’s favorite—back when she appreciated a good, rich, complex flavor. Now, she’s firmly in the salt-vinegar-lemon camp, leaving this sauce to the rest of us sophisticated types. Fun fact: if you take out all the demi-glace, aromatics, and herbs, it’s a decadent dessert sauce—proof that versatility is delicious.

Serves 6-8 People

30-45 Minutes

Ingredients:

  • Meat options: Filet mignon, or lamb ribs, or really any meat

  • Mirepoix (twice as much shallot as carrot and celery, ratio 2-1-1)

    • 1-2 shallots, rough chopped
      Medium carrot rough chopped
      Small celery stalk rough chopped

  • 1 tablespoon Porcini or Shitake mushrooms rough chopped

  • 1 clove garlic smashed (optional)

  • Bouquet Garni - Fresh

    • 2 sprigs of fresh thyme

    • 1 or 2 bay leaves

    • 3-4 parsley stems

  • OR: ½  tsp Bouquet Garni dried herbs (Penzeys Spices)

  • 1 cup ruby or tawny port wine

  • ¼ - ½ cup aged balsamic vinegar

Note: The quality of the port wine and balsamic vinegar is the difference between a good sauce and an amazing sauce.

  • 2-3 tablespoon of veal demi-glace - (recipe page ? or William Sonoma)

  • 1-2 Tbsp good quality honey (to balance the acidity)

  • 4 tablespoon butter (½ to start) - (and ½  to finish the sauce - keep cold)

  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • Thyme or rosemary for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

Note: Some people start with meat trimmings/drippings/fond from roasted lamb or beef in the pan, which you can do, it’s just better/faster/smoother to use veal demi-glace. If you have both use both.

Sauté the vegetables

  1. In a medium saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp of butter over medium heat.

  2. Put in the dried bouquet garni herbs if you don’t use fresh herbs.

  3. Add the vegetables and sauté until they are soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the liquids

  1. Add the port wine and balsamic vinegar to the saucepan, scraping up the vegetables. 

  2. Stir in the veal demi-glacé. 

  3. Wait for it… wait for it…when it’s fully combined and heated…taste it.

  4. Stir in the honey, adjusting the amount to your taste preference for sweetness/sour (I do approximately a tablespoon).

Reduce the Sauce

  1. Bring the mixture to a slow boil over medium-high heat.

  2. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally.

  3. Continue to simmer until the sauce has reduced by about half until it coats the spoon or has thickened to your desired consistency, which usually takes about 20-40 minutes.

  4. Finish the sauce with COLD butter (stick a fork in a tablespoon of cold butter, swirl it around in the sauce until it melts) this will give the sauce a glossy finish.

  5. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. 

Note: this is a tough sauce to adjust while it’s cooking because it’s so rich. Have faith in the process.

  1. Strain through a very fine strainer.

  2. Garnish with fresh herbs if desired. 

Adjustments 

If it’s too sour, add more honey. If it’s too weak, add more veal demi-glace, if it doesn’t have enough flavor add more balsamic vinegar.