Périgueux Sauce

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5- to 6-quart heavy saucier or wide sauté pan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Heatproof measuring jug
• •Wooden spoon or flat-edged sauce spatula
• •Ladle

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the components

   Pour the completed Madeira Sauce (No. 44) and the very strong veal stock into a wide, heavy 5- to 6-quart pan. Keep the truffle essence and chopped truffles aside and cool; they belong at the finish, not in the reduction. Note the combined volume of 12 cups so you can judge how far it must travel.

2. 2

   Concentrate the foundation

   Bring the combined sauce to a brisk simmer over medium-high heat, skimming away any coarse foam and stirring across the pan floor often enough to prevent catching. Reduce to about 7⅓ cups, 30 to 40 minutes depending on the width of the pan. The sauce should be slightly denser than a normal nappé, coating a spoon heavily and holding a clean line when you draw a finger through it; the truffle essence will loosen it. If it reduces until sticky or begins dragging across the pan, take it off the heat and whisk in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the gloss returns. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Strain only if needed

   If the veal stock has left sediment, pass the reduction through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pan. Do not press the residue through. If the sauce is already perfectly smooth, skip this entirely; the brigade needed a tammy for consistency across a long service, while one careful home batch can be judged directly.

4. 4

   Finish with truffle

   Take the pan completely off the heat and wait for active bubbling to stop. Stir in the truffle essence, then fold in the finely chopped black truffles. The sauce should settle at a flowing nappé, glossy but dense enough to keep the truffle suspended. If it is unexpectedly loose, ladle 2 cups into a second pan, reduce that portion rapidly until dense, then whisk it back into the main sauce off the heat. This corrects the body while protecting most of the truffle perfume.

5. 5

   Hold it gently

   Warm the finished sauce over the lowest heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring gently so the chopped truffle distributes evenly. Never let it boil. Hold it around 150°F (65°C) for no more than 30 minutes, with parchment laid directly against the surface if a skin begins to form. Spoon generously over small hot entrées, timbales, or hot pâtés. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Jus de truffe, the concentrated cooking liquor from black truffles, is the truffle essence meant here. Truffle oil is not an equivalent; it gives aroma without the deep, savory liquor on which the formula depends.
• •Use Périgord black truffles when they are properly ripe. Outside their season, good preserved whole black truffles and their packing liquor are the classical pantry's honest answer; supplement the liquor with bottled jus de truffe to reach the required measure.
• •Measure the reduction by volume as well as by eye the first time. The base must be denser than usual before the essence enters, because trying to correct a thin sauce afterward costs the perfume you paid dearly to preserve.
• •This is a sauce for roast veal, beef tournedos, sweetbreads, timbales, and hot pâtés. Keep the food beneath it plainly seasoned so the Madeira, veal, and truffle remain legible.

Advance Preparation

• •The Madeira Sauce (No. 44) and strong veal stock can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and kept chilled separately, or frozen for longer storage.
• •The sauce may be reduced through the straining step earlier on the day of serving. Reheat it gently, then add the truffle essence and chopped truffles shortly before it reaches the table.
• •Leftover finished sauce keeps for up to 3 days in the cold. Reheat it over very gentle heat without boiling; the flavor remains fine, though the freshest truffle perfume belongs to the first serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 60g)