Brown Sauces and Jus
Cooking Skills: Sauces 2
Chapter 1 · Brown Sauces and Jus
Skill goal
Build a deep, glossy brown sauce from browned ingredients and good stock, without wine.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
A brown sauce gets its colour and depth from browning: onions, bones and flour are cooked until they turn deep golden or brown, and every bit of browning becomes flavour. A jus (French for juice) is the lighter cousin: no flour at all, just roasted bones and stock reduced until it is glossy and intense. Restaurants often use wine, but browned vegetables, tomato purée and a splash of vinegar give the same depth with no alcohol.
Brown sauces are built on stock, which is why a good one matters. Stock itself is the planned Soups and Stocks 1; until then, use ready-made low-salt stock and taste before salting. The simple gravy and pan sauce methods are in Cooking Skills: Sauces 1, chapters 4 and 6, and steak sauces are in Cooking Skills: Beef and Steak 1, chapter 3. This course starts where those finish: with time.
The method
- Brown first: cook onions, carrots and bones until deep golden, because pale ingredients make a pale sauce.
- Add tomato purée and cook it for a minute until it darkens; it adds depth and a little acidity.
- Use hot stock and add it gradually, scraping up everything stuck to the pan.
- Simmer gently and skim off the foam and fat that rise to the top, so the sauce stays clear.
- Strain, then reduce to the thickness you want, tasting for salt only at the end.
| Sauce | Thickened with | Time (approximate) | Goes with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick brown sauce | Browned flour | 30 minutes | Sausages, pies, burgers |
| Chicken jus | Reduction only | 50 minutes | Roast chicken, vegetables |
| Red onion and balsamic | Reduction | 35 minutes | Steak, pork, cheese on toast |
| Rich brown sauce | Dark roux | 1 hour 30 minutes | Beef, game, pies |
Hot sauce, hot pans and stock
Hot sauce: a thickening sauce bubbles and spits, and hot sauce sticks to skin and burns worse than water. Stir with a long spoon, keep your face back and turn the handle of the pan inwards.Hot pan and cooked-on bits: the pan is very hot after frying and the crusty bits spit when liquid hits them. Take the pan off the heat for a moment, pour in the liquid slowly with your face back, and use a long spoon.
Stock and salt: shop stock cubes and granules are very salty. Use low-salt stock, make it up weaker than the pack says, and taste before adding any salt, especially if you plan to reduce the sauce.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
A quick brown sauce
A fast everyday brown sauce: onion, browned flour and stock, with tomato purée and Worcestershire sauce for depth. It is good with sausages, mash, pies and burgers.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 1 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 400 ml hot low-salt beef stock
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- Cook the onion in the oil over a medium heat for 10 minutes until deep golden. Stir in the flour and purée and cook for 2 minutes until the flour turns light brown.
- Add the hot stock a little at a time, stirring, then the Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and sugar.
- Simmer for 12 to 15 minutes until it coats a spoon. Strain if you like a smooth sauce, then taste and season.
Hot sauce and allergens
Hot sauce: a thickening sauce bubbles and spits, and hot sauce sticks to skin and burns worse than water. Stir with a long spoon, keep your face back and turn the handle of the pan inwards.Allergens: contains gluten, soy, and fish (Worcestershire sauce); stock may contain celery.
Level 2 · Jus
A roast chicken jus
A jus is thin but intensely savoury. Roasted chicken wings give the flavour and natural gelatine, which gives the sauce a gloss without any flour. It transforms a plain roast chicken.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 500 g chicken wings, chopped in half
- 1 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 1 carrot, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 500 ml hot low-salt chicken stock
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan, gas 7). Roast the wings with the oil in a tin for 30 minutes until dark golden, adding the onion and carrot for the last 15 minutes.
- Move everything to a saucepan, stir in the purée and pour a little hot stock into the tin to loosen the brown bits; add this and the rest of the stock to the pan with the thyme.
- Simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, skimming. Strain through a fine sieve and boil the liquid hard until reduced to about 250 ml. Add the lemon juice, taste and season.
Hot oven, hot tin and sauce
Hot pot and hot steam: a heavy casserole dish or pan of hot liquid is heavy and scalding. Use oven gloves, lift the lid away from your face so the steam doesn't burn you, keep the handles turned in and never carry a full pot across a busy kitchen.Hot sauce: a thickening sauce bubbles and spits, and hot sauce sticks to skin and burns worse than water. Stir with a long spoon, keep your face back and turn the handle of the pan inwards.
Stock and salt: shop stock cubes and granules are very salty. Use low-salt stock, make it up weaker than the pack says, and taste before adding any salt, especially if you plan to reduce the sauce.
Level 2 · Sweet-sharp
A red onion and balsamic sauce
Red onions cooked very slowly turn sweet and jammy, and balsamic vinegar adds a rich acidity. It is lovely with steak, pork chops, sausages or a cheese sandwich.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 red onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 200 ml hot low-salt beef or vegetable stock
- 1 tsp plain flour
- 1 sprig of thyme
- Cook the onions in the oil over a low heat for 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until very soft and golden. Add the sugar for the last 5 minutes.
- Stir in the flour for 1 minute, then add the vinegar and stir until it has almost gone.
- Add the stock and thyme and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until syrupy. Remove the thyme, taste and season.
Hot sugar and burning
Hot sugar: boiling sugar and fruit are much hotter than boiling water and stick to skin like glue. Use a deep pan, a long spoon and oven gloves, stand back when stirring, and never taste straight from the spoon until it has cooled.Hot pan and cooked-on bits: the pan is very hot after frying and the crusty bits spit when liquid hits them. Take the pan off the heat for a moment, pour in the liquid slowly with your face back, and use a long spoon.
Allergens: contains gluten; balsamic vinegar contains sulphites.
Level 3 · Classic
A rich brown sauce (espagnole-style)
The classic French brown sauce, without wine. Chop the vegetables small so they give up flavour quickly. It takes time but little attention, and a batch freezes well in portions, so it is worth making a full one.
Ingredients (8 portions)
- 30 g butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 1 celery stick, finely chopped
- 30 g plain flour
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 litre hot low-salt beef stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 black peppercorns
- 1 sprig of thyme
- Melt the butter and cook the onion, carrot and celery over a medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes until dark golden. Stir in the flour and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring, until the roux is the colour of milk chocolate.
- Stir in the purée and cook for 2 minutes, then add the stock a ladle at a time, whisking. Add the bay leaf, peppercorns and thyme.
- Simmer very gently, partly covered, for 1 hour, skimming now and then, until reduced by half. Strain through a fine sieve, taste, and cool any you will freeze.
Long simmer, hot sauce and freezing
Hot sauce: a thickening sauce bubbles and spits, and hot sauce sticks to skin and burns worse than water. Stir with a long spoon, keep your face back and turn the handle of the pan inwards.Stock and salt: shop stock cubes and granules are very salty. Use low-salt stock, make it up weaker than the pack says, and taste before adding any salt, especially if you plan to reduce the sauce.
Keeping sauces: cool a sauce quickly in a shallow container within 1 to 2 hours, press cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming, chill and use within about 2 days. Reheat until steaming hot, stirring. Milk and cream sauces can split when frozen, so freeze other sauces instead.
Experiments
Experiment
Pale or dark roux
Flavour against thickening.
- Make two small brown sauces, cooking the roux for 2 minutes in one and 6 minutes in the other.
Look for: The dark roux gives a deeper, nuttier flavour but thickens less. A medium roux is a good balance.
Experiment
Browned or plain onions
Colour and flavour.
- Cook onion for 4 minutes in one pan and 15 minutes in another, and use each in a quick brown sauce.
Look for: The browned onion makes a darker, sweeter sauce; the pale one tastes thin. Browning is where the flavour comes from.
Experiment
Reduce by half or by two thirds
Concentration.
- Reduce a jus to half its volume, then take some out and reduce the rest to a third.
Look for: The more reduced jus is stronger, glossier and saltier. Stop when it tastes right, not when a number says so.
Experiment
Strained or rustic
Silky and textured.
- Strain half of a brown sauce through a fine sieve and leave half unstrained.
Look for: The strained sauce is silky and glossy; the rustic one has more texture. Restaurants strain; home cooks often don't.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quick brown sauce | ||||
| Chicken jus | ||||
| Red onion and balsamic sauce | ||||
| Rich brown sauce | ||||
| Pale or dark roux | ||||
| Browned or plain onions | ||||
| Reduce by half or by two thirds | ||||
| Strained or rustic |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Pale and bland | Not enough browning | Brown the onions and flour longer; add soy sauce or tomato purée |
| Bitter | Burnt flour or onions | Start again; burnt roux cannot be fixed |
| Greasy | Fat not skimmed | Skim with a spoon, or chill and lift the fat off the top |
| Too thin | Not reduced enough | Boil it down, or add a little cornflour mixed with cold water |
| Lumpy | Cold stock or added too fast | Whisk hard or strain through a sieve |
| Too salty | Salty stock, or over-reduced | Add water or unsalted stock, a pinch of sugar or a squeeze of lemon |
Hot sauce, hot pan and leftovers
Hot sauce: a thickening sauce bubbles and spits, and hot sauce sticks to skin and burns worse than water. Stir with a long spoon, keep your face back and turn the handle of the pan inwards.Hot pan and cooked-on bits: the pan is very hot after frying and the crusty bits spit when liquid hits them. Take the pan off the heat for a moment, pour in the liquid slowly with your face back, and use a long spoon.
Keeping sauces: cool a sauce quickly in a shallow container within 1 to 2 hours, press cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming, chill and use within about 2 days. Reheat until steaming hot, stirring. Milk and cream sauces can split when frozen, so freeze other sauces instead.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can brown onions and flour until deep golden.
- I can make a jus from roasted bones.
- I can skim and strain a sauce.
- I can make a brown sauce without wine.
- I can fix a pale, bitter or greasy sauce.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Sauces 2, chapter 2 is Mornay and Cheese Sauces: melting cheese into a sauce without splitting it.