Like a good mother, a well made brown sauce begets many delicious “child” dishes. It adds depth and character–a je ne sais quois–to your beef with barley soup. It takes a mustard-gherkin sauce poured over a pork loin and sends it over the moon. And it turns gravy into a legendary accompaniment to a meal. With Brown Sauce – You Add Elemental Flavors to all your holiday and special event cooking. 

The recipe below will require the some coaxing, scraping, and patience. But although there are several hours of roasting in the oven, the 8 cups of sauce that you produce from this recipe will be enough to get you through the winter months as a base for many fabulous meals such as beef burgundy, beef with carrots and onions and even a sauce for a simple steak sauteed with a few shallots and mushrooms. Mai ou.!

Brown Sauce – Add Elemental Flavors

Make sure you have all the following on hand:

• 2-3 lbs beef marrowbones (I got mine at Clarks Market.)
• 3 oz diced ham

Rough cut these vegetables:

• 1 celery rib
• 2 small carrots
• 1 large onion, cut 1 in. thick (the skin on the onion will add the brown to your brown sauce)
• 3 garlic cloves,crushed with their skins on
• 2 sliced leeks

Prepare and set aside:

• 2 Tbsp  tomato paste
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 quarts water
• 1 cup any white wine,  the drier the better
• 1 tsp  dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp dried tarragon
• A few sprigs parsley
• 2 tsp coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons clarified butter/Ghee

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.   Grease a large stockpot or roasting pan with clarified butter. Add the marrow bones and roast for approximately an hour and a half, carefully turning the ingredients several times during the cooking until almost a deep golden brown. Lower the heat by 25 degrees if you have to to prevent them from burning.
2. Once the marrow bones are almost golden, add the ham, carrots, celery, onions and garlic to the roasting pan/stock pot and continue to roast for another hour and a half or so,  turning the ingredients several times to ensure that nothing burns, as this will cause bitterness in the final sauce.

3. Once the mixture is roasted, remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle flour over the contents and mix thoroughly.

Return the pot to the oven for another 15 minutes or cook it on the top of the stove, stirring occasionally. 

4. Move the bone mixture to a large stock pot.

5.Meanwhile, in the roasting pan, add the wine to the roasting pan and deglaze, making sure to scrape up all the good bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute. Add the water and stir to combine then bring to a boil.

6. Pour the deglazed mixtureto into the stock pot. Add the leeks and parsley. Simmer covered for about three hours. Check and stir periodically; if you notice scum rising to the top, remove it.

1. 7. Strain the sauce through a sieve, cool then freeze in one and a half cup increments. 

To use this delectable brown sauce, first remove the layer of fat from the surface of the sauce then follow your recipe.