Rich Sauce is a traditional British recipe, based on Hannah Glasse's recipe of 1747, for a classic rich sauce or stock base made from a blend of meats, vegetables and spices boiled to reduce until flavoursome. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Rich Sauce.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Hannah Glasse's 1747 volume The Aft of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, the classic Georgian cookbook.
Original Recipe
Take a large deep ſtew-pan, half a pound of bacon, ſat and lean together, cut the fat and lay it over the bottom of the pan ; then take a pound of veal, cut it into thin ſlices, beat it well with the back of a knife, lay it all over the bacon ; then have ſix-penny worth of the coarſe lean part of the beef cut thin and well beat, lay a layer of it all over, with ſome carrot, then the lean of the bacon cut thin and laid over that : then cut two onions and ſtrew over, a bundle of ſweet-herbs, four or five blades of mace, ſix or ſeven cloves, a ſpoonful of whole pepper, black and white together, half a nutmeg beat, a pigeon beat all to pieces, lay that all over, half an ounce of truffles and morels, then the reſt of your beef, a good cruſt of bread toaſted very brown and dry on both ſides : you may add an old cock beat to pieces ; cover it cloſe, and let it ſtand over a ſlow fire two or three minutes, then pour on boiling water enough to fill the pan, and cover it cloſe, and let it ſtew till it is as rich as you would have it, and then ſtrain off all that ſauce. Put all your ingredients together again, fill the pan with boiling water, put in a freſh onion, a blade of mace, and a piece of carrot ; cover it cloſe, and let it ſtew till it is as ſtrong as you want it. This will be full as good as the eſſence of ham for all ſorts of fowls, or indeed moſt made-diſhes, mixed with a glaſs of wine, and two or three ſpoonfuls of catchup. When your firſt gravy is cool, ſkim off all the fat, and keep it for uſe.— —This falls far ſhort of the expence of a leg of veal and ham, and anſwers every purpoſe you want.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
225g fatty bacon
250g veal, sliced
1.5kg stewing beef, cut into thin slices
2 carrots, scraped and sliced
1 bunch of sweet herbs
4 blades of mace
6 cloves
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp white peppercorns
1/2 nutmeg, freshly grated
1 pigeon, beaten flat
2 onions, finely sliced
15g truffles and morels, finely sliced
2 slices of white bread, toasted until dark
500g chicken wings (or an old chicken), beaten flat (optional)
For the Second Boiling:
1 onion, sliced
1 blade of mace
1 carrot, sliced
Method:
Remove the fat from the bacon. Cut the fat into strips and use this to line the base of a large stewpan. Beat the veal slices until thin and lay these over the bacon fat. Beat the beef slices until thin and overlay half the slices on top of the veal. Now add the carrot.
Slice the lean bacon then overlay on top of the carrots before adding the 2 sliced onions, herbs and spices. Now add the pigeon and mushrooms then overlay with the remaining beef slices. Add the white bread slices and the chicken pieces (if using). Cover with a tight-fitting lid and place over a low fire for 5 minutes.
Pour over enough boiling water to fill the pan, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer then cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook for about 4 hours, or until the liquid has reduce and extracted the maximum flavour from the meats. Strain off the liquid and set aside (return the solids to the pan). Add the ingredients for the second boiling then fill the pan with boiling water once more. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for a further 4 hours. Strain the liquid into a bowl and set aside to cool.
Once the liquids have cooled strain off any fat then place in a pan and reduce down to about 1l. Freeze the liquid in aliquots and use as the base for sauces, soups and stews. For a richer flavour you can add wine or ketchup to the stock base before reducing.
