Pignons Sauce

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4-quart (3.8 L) heavy saucepan
• •Small lidded saucepan for the juniper infusion
• •10-inch (25 cm) dry skillet
• •Mortar and pestle or rolling pin
• •Fine-mesh sieve lined with damp cheesecloth
• •Warm saucière or sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the raisins

   Rinse the raisins and inspect them for any seeds, then cover them with the tepid soaking water for about 1 hour. They should plump without becoming swollen or fragile. Drain them thoroughly just before finishing the sauce. If you forgot the soak and the raisins remain hard, ça se rattrape: cover them with just-boiled water for 10 minutes, then drain and blot them dry.

2. 2

   Make juniper infusion

   Concass the juniper berries, crushing them roughly with a mortar or beneath a rolling pin. Split berries release their resinous perfume; powder releases bitterness and clouds the sauce. Bring the infusion water to a boil in a small covered saucepan, add the juniper, return it just to a simmer, then cover and remove it from the heat. Let it infuse for 20 minutes and keep it covered until the final strain.

   Use culinary juniper from a spice merchant. Ornamental garden junipers are not interchangeable, and some are unsafe to eat.
3. 3

   Toast pine kernels

   Spread the pine kernels in a dry skillet over medium-low heat. Toss them constantly until they are evenly butter-gold and smell gently nutty, then tip them immediately onto a cool plate. The old instruction calls this grilling; the dry skillet gives the same result without special equipment. Pine kernels travel from pale to burnt very quickly, and scorched ones must be replaced.

4. 4

   Boil the Poivrade

   Put the fully prepared Ordinary Poivrade Sauce (No. 49) in a heavy saucepan with enough room for the finishing ingredients. Bring it to a clean boil while stirring along the bottom, then lower the heat to a steady simmer. If the sauce begins to catch, don't scrape the scorched layer into it. Pour the clear upper sauce into a clean pan and continue; the batch can still be saved.

5. 5

   Finish at service

   Line a fine-mesh sieve with damp cheesecloth and strain the juniper infusion directly into the simmering Poivrade, without pressing on the berries. Stir and let the sauce return briefly to the boil until it once again coats the back of a spoon. If the infusion has loosened it too far, ça se rattrape: reduce it now, before adding the garnish. Stir in the drained raisins and toasted pine kernels, remove the pan from the heat, and add the Madeira. Do not boil it again. The sauce should be glossy and dark, with the juniper arriving first, Madeira behind it, and small bursts of fruit and toasted pine.

6. 6

   Sauce the venison

   Transfer the Sauce Pignons to a warmed saucière and serve it immediately with a roasted joint, saddle, or haunch of venison. Spoon it beside the carved meat so the browned surface remains visible and each guest can take as much fruit and pine kernel as desired. If service pauses, hold the sauce for no more than 10 minutes over barely warm water, never direct heat. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Juniper is a seasoning, not a garnish here. Crush the berries coarsely and strain the infusion through damp cloth; whole berries give too little, while ground berries make a resinous, bitter sauce.
• •Buy pine kernels from a shop with good turnover and taste one before cooking. Their oils become stale quickly, and no amount of toasting repairs a rancid kernel.
• •Taste Sauce Pignons with a morsel of venison, not only from a spoon. The raisins and Madeira can seem pronounced alone, but roast game supplies the lean, mineral savor they were chosen to balance.
• •A structured dry red suits the table better than another sweet wine. Red Burgundy or a northern Rhône Syrah has enough acidity and savory character to meet the juniper and venison.
• •The completed sauce keeps for 2 days under refrigeration, but the pine kernels gradually soften. For longer storage, keep the finished Ordinary Poivrade Sauce (No. 49), infusion, raisins, and toasted kernels separate and assemble them at service.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare Ordinary Poivrade Sauce (No. 49) up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate it, or freeze it in measured portions for up to 3 months. Reheat it gently before beginning this derivative.
• •The juniper infusion may be made up to 6 hours ahead. Keep it covered and chilled so its perfume does not escape, then strain it only when finishing the sauce.
• •Soak and drain the raisins earlier the same day. Toast the pine kernels and keep them dry at room temperature, but don't combine either garnish with the sauce until service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 60g)