UROWN SAUCE
Brown sauce is used with all manner of meats, and some poultry. Many cookbooks contain recipes for this foundational sauce; I will include mine because its balance is weighted more generously to the vegetable flavors than many others. You can alter the brown sauce by the addition of such things as mushrooms, wines, mustards, and so on. I suggest making your brown sauce in as large a batch as you can; then freeze it in small containers that are well wrapped and dated.
Makes approximately 2 quarts
V2 cup peanut oil, for caramelizing the vegetables
1 pound slab bacon, rind on, cut into Ч2-inch cubes
6 stalks celery, cleaned and diced medium
to medium-large 8 onions, peeled and diced medium
to medium-large 6 carrots, peeled and diced medium
to medium-large % cup tomato paste
A 750 ml bottle red wine 3to 5 unpeeled heads garlic, cut in half crosswise 25 whole black peppercorns 4 bay leaves
1 bunch oregano, stems on 1 bunch basil, stems on 1 bunch thyme, stems on 3 tomatoes, cut in half 2V2 gallons Veal Stock (page 243), previously prepared
1. Heat a heavy, large, flat-bottomed saucepan or stock pot on medium-high heat. Add the peanut oil and bacon and cook until the bacon is almost half done.
2. Add the celery, onions, and carrots and turn heat to high. (In classical French cooking these vegetables used in this manner are known as a mirepoix.) Stir once to coat the mirepoix with fat. It is very important to have enough vegetables to cover the bottom of the pan, and it is best to use a large-bottomed pot so that there is greater surface heat
in contact with the cooking vegetables. The idea is to bring the vegetables' inherent sugars to the surface; in this intense heat the vegetables will darken and caramelize, adding sweetness and a dark color to your sauce. If you stir the vegetables too often, especially in the beginning, you will cause them to release too much of their liquid. (This is called "sweating" the vegetables, and you would want to work a sauce this way if you wished it to be very light in color. That is not the case here, however.)
3. Once the vegetables begin to stick, stay close to the pot-it is a short road between sweet and burnt. Add the tomato paste and stir with a wooden spoon, being sure to scrape the bottom to free any vegetables that may be sticking. Now add the wine. (The aroma is wonderfully intense at this point.)
4. Add the garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, herbs, and tomato. Allow mixture to cook a moment, reducing the wine. Now add the stock. Bring sauce to a boil once, then skim it, reduce heat, and allow it to reduce slowly to a glossy intensity. This will take several hours.
5. When the sauce is reduced and flavorful, turn off the heat and allow it to rest 20 to 30 minutes. Strain it first through a large-holed strainer to remove the larger items, and then through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the small impurities. Cool.
6. Refrigerate the sauce overnight. The next day there will be a layer of hardened fat on top of the sauce. Carefully remove it and discard.
7. If you are going to use the sauce within 2 or 3 days, you can store it in the refrigerator. Otherwise, freeze the sauce in batches.