Beurre Rouge

Beurre Rouge
1/4 cup red wine
1 - 1 1/2 cups salted butter, cold and cut into cubes
pepper, to taste

Bring the wine to a boil in a saucepan and reduce by half.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and gradually whisk in the butter, cube by cube, to form a thick, rice sauce. Season to taste.

This sauce recipe is a very easy and basic beurre rouge. Red wine vinegar, shallots, garlic, and peppercorns may be added along with the wine to form a reduction and the sauce may then be strained at the end. Cream can also be added as a 'cheat' to form a more stable beurre rouge. Beurre rouge is an a la minute (last minute) sauce that does not hold well for long periods of time. 

Braised Baby Onions

We got some adorable little local baby onions in last week and I wanted to prepare them in a way so as to showcase them, and not just chop them up like any other onion (also because small onions are a pain to chop!). We had some little white onions, yellow, greenish, and purple. They are kind of similar to pearl onions but pearl onions are usually sold in a jar of brine, already peeled.
Anyway, I decided to peel them and trim them up, but leave them whole and braise them.

Braised Baby Onions
baby onions, peeled and bottom root sliced off
butter
brown sugar
red wine vinegar
red wine
water
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the butter in a pan, add the onions, and toss to coat them. Sprinkle on some sugar and stir to coat Pour in a little vinegar and deglaze. Then pour in enough wine to cover and simmer until wine is reduced and no liquid remains Pour in a little extra wine and some water, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook until onions are very soft and almost falling apart. Check on them periodically to make sure the mixture doesn't run dry. You want the braising liquid to be sticky and thick at the end but you don't want it to burn! Season as desired.

Red Wine Jus

This is the sauce I served accompanying my prime rib roast. I made it using the juices and vegetables from the roast.

1. Prepare the prime rib roast as described in yesterday's post.
2. After removing the roast from the pan, you can either use that pan (especially if it is a rondeau) or transfer the contents to a pot. If the bottom of the pan is quite charred, then transfer the contents. You want the carmelized bits and vegetables but not anything which will impart a burnt, bitter flavor.
3. Choose a red wine and poor in enough to just cover the vegetables. Add the stalks of the thyme and rosemary used for the roast rub.If the roast is already carved, add in the bones as well.
4. Reduce until almost au sec. Then add some stalk (beef or veg) to completely cover. Reduce the mixture until it begins to thicken and darken. Then add more red wine and continue reducing.
5. Strain the mixture into another pot and reduce further until you have a thick, dark, rich jus. If the mixture is still too thin, it can be thickened gradually with a cornstarch slurry, just note this will become a 'jus lie' and not a true 'jus'.
6. Taste and adjust any seasonings as required.