Recipe: Sauce Espagnole (Brown Sauce) and Beef Stock for Nancy

Hi Nancy:-) You can get a pretty good beef gravy (in a jar), from Whole Foods if you have one near you. Otherwise the recipe for Brown Sauce (below) that Gladys/PR posted would be delicious.

SAUCE ESPAGNOLE (BROWN SAUCE)
Source: The Chef's Art: Secrets of Four-Star Cooking at Home by Wayne Gisslen
Makes about 1 quart

FOR THE MIREPOIX:
4 oz onions, medium dice
2 oz carrots, medium dice
2 oz celery, medium dice
2 oz butter
2 oz flour
3 pints brown stock, hot (You could probably use a good store bought beef stock, rather than making your own as per the recipe below.)
2 oz tomato pur e
FOR THE SACHET:
small piece bay leaf
pinch of thyme
2 parsley stems

Saute the mirepoix in butter until well browned.

Add the flour and stir to make a roux. Continue to cook until the roux is browned.

Gradually stir in the brown stock and tomato pur e, stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a boil.

Reduce the heat to a simmer and skim the surface. Add the sachet and let simmer for about 2 hours, until the sauce is reduced to the desired quantity (and consistency). Skim as necessary.

Strain through a china cap (or you can use a seive/strainer) lined with several layers of cheesecloth. Press on the mirepoix gently to extract juices.

Cover or spread melted butter on the surface to prevent skin formation. Keep hot in a hot-water bath or cool it in a cold-water bath for later use.

BEEF STOCK
Source: The Complete Book of Sauces by Sallie Y. Williams
Makes about 6 cups

It is not difficult to make stock at home, and the results are well worth the trouble. Far healthier and tastier than any kind of commercial stock base, homemade stock produces sauces of infinitely higher quality as well. Don't hurry the process; most stocks benefit from long slow simmering on the back of the stove.

2 lb beef bones and trimmings
2 lb veal bones, cut up
3 large carrots, scrubbed, unpeeled, and
1 cut up
3 large onions, quartered
1 stalk celery, split
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cup hearty red wine
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 several sprigs of fresh thyme
1 freshly ground black pepper to
1 taste
8 cup water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Spread the bones, carrots, onions, celery, and garlic, in a roasting pan and sprinkle them with the oil. Roast, turning the bones from time to time, until very well browned, about 1 1/2 hours.

Scrape the bones and vegetables into a large stock pot and add the remaining ingredients and simmer over 4 to 5 hours, or longer, skimming the, foam from the surface from time to time.

Then strain the stock through a cheesecloth lined strainer and allow it to cool. Skim off any fat and chill.