Quebec Brown Sauce or Sauce Brune/Brune Sauce is a velvety silky smooth sauce made with a Mirepoix, Roux, Broth, Bouquet Garni with a very slight Tomato undertone. It is used across many dishes. But most notably as a base for Poutine sauce. In fact, this is the very first Poutine Gravy used when Poutine was created and later adapted to include Ketchup & Vinegar because customers kept adding it to their poutines. This is the sauce, where it all began, very similar to another sauce that predates this one, called Espagnole Sauce.
Servings: 1 portion
Equipment
- 1 Sauce Pot
- 1 Fine Sieve
Ingredients
- 3 C Water
- 3 Tbl Lard - Beef Suet or Rendered Beef Fat
- 3 Tbl Flour
- 1 Cube Beef Bouillon
- 1 Large Onion - sliced
- 1 Small Carrot - sliced
- 1 Stalk Celery - chopped
- 1 tsp Tomato Paste - Double Concentrate
- 1-2 Bay Leaves
- 2-3 Stems Parsley - or 1-2 tsp of dried Parsley
- 1 Sprig Thyme - or 1/2 tsp dried Thyme
- 2 Whole Cloves - or a pinch of ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 Tbl Mushroom Soy Sauce - see notes for other options
Instructions
- Mirepoix: Add the Mirepoix (Onions, Carrots & Celery) to the Pan with Fat and cook over medium heat while mixing until caramelized and browned. About 10–15 minutes.
- Roux: Stir in the flour and continue to cook, stirring often, until the Roux is dark brown (5–10 minutes). Be careful not to burn it. If it starts smoking, remove the pan from the heat to cool slightly. It will continue to brown if not already.
- Tomato Paste: Stir in the tomato paste to caramelize slightly, just a few seconds.Wine: Optional: Stir in a splash of wine if using—this was sometimes done just before serving in higher-end kitchens. Let reduce and thicken, creating a fond on the pan.
- Simmer: Gradually whisk in the Water. Add beef bouillon, bay leaf, thyme, parsley stems, cloves and mushroom soy sauce or other choice of browning liquid. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low (9 position) and leave to simmer.Let the sauce/gravy simmer uncovered for 30–45 minutes, stirring occasionally. It will reduce and develop a silky texture.
- Strain & Finish: Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve for a smooth finish. Place the Gravy back into the sauce pot and serve or keep warm, mixing every so often to avoid a skin from forming.
Notes
Darkening Liquid: Mushroom Soy Sauce is used to add a beautiful dark color to the gravy and umami flavors. This can also be exchanged with Worcestershire Sauce or Kitchen Bouquet or similar product in amounts to suit your taste.
Seasoning: Onion powder does wonders for a gravy and if you want to bolster the onion flavor up, you can add anywhere from 1/2 Tbl to 1 Tbl of Onion Powder, according to taste. A pinch of Garlic Powder can also be added. Along with Black Pepper to suit your taste.
Toasted Brown Flour: In earlier versions, the flour was toasted brown first, then used in brune sauce. To do this, brown flour in a pan over low heat, mixing often for even browning. Remove from heat as soon as it is the color you want and spread on a baking sheet to cool the flour fast. Store in a container. Add the Flour to the Mirepoix, there is no need to cook it as it is already brown. You can go straight to adding the tomato paste and liquids.