Poivrade Sauce is a traditional British recipe, based on Charles Elmé Francatelli's recipe of 1861, for a classic pepper-flavoured sauce of vegetables, ham, spices and herbs cooked in a vinegar, mushroom catsup, anchovy, brown sauce and sherry stock until thickened. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Poivrade Sauce.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Economical White Sauce that's derived from the chef, Charles Elmé Francatelli' 1861 volume, The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
Original Recipe
No. 19.—POIVRADE SAUCE
Cut up into very small square pieces an ounce of lean ham or bacon, the same quantities of carrot, celery, and onion, a bay-leaf and thyme, twenty peppercorns, and a bit of mace; fry these ingredients in a small stewpan, with a piece of butter the size of a walnut, until the whole becomes well browned; add a wineglass of vinegar and half that quantity of mushroom catsup, and a teaspoonful of anchovy; and when this has boiled down to half its original quantity, then add about half a pint of brown sauce, a few spoonfuls of good stock, and a wineglassful of sherry; let the sauce boil gently by the side of the fire, and throw up the grease, &c., which having been removed, strain through a sieve or strainer into a small stewpan for use.
Note.—It frequently happens in small households that ready-made brown sauce is not to be had; in such cases, and in order to save time and expense, a little thickening can be easily made by using for that purpose equal portion of butter and flour kneaded together, and stirred quickly over a slow fire for three minutes, and moistened with good stock, or any kind of broth.
Melt the butter in a pan, add the ham, carrots, onion, bayleaf, thyme, peppercorns and mace then fry for about 8 minutes, or until well browned. Add the vinegar and mushroom catsup along with the anchovy essence. Stir to combine, bring to a boil and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the volume has reduced by half.
Now stir in the brown sauce along with the stock and sherry. Bring to a boil and continue boiling gently for about 10 minutes, or until all the fat has risen to the surface of the liquid. Skim off the fat then pass the sauce through a sieve. Set aside ready for use, or serve immediately as an accompaniment.
