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Sauce

Madeira Sauce

A sauce made from Espagnole sauce, gravy, meat glaze, Madeira wine, salt, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Sherry and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,107 recipes. Both carry piperonal, which smells bitter, coconut. The science ↓

Madeira Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Simmer the Espagnole sauce, gravy, and wine until well reduced.

  2. Season to taste.

  3. Add the meat glaze and stir until dissolved.

  4. Strain the sauce and use as required.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Sherry + peppertop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,107 recipes

    Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

  2. Meat + peppertop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,777 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Sauce + meattop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,167 recipes
  4. Meat + sherrytop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together505 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).

  5. Sauce + sherrytop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,097 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Espagnole sauce
Forms the thick, savoury base that gives the sauce body.
Gravy
Adds meaty depth and liquid that reduces into a richer flavour.
Madeira or sherry
Adds sweetness and acidity, and aroma that concentrates during reduction.
Meat glaze
Adds concentrated savoury flavour and gelatin that gives the sauce a glossy finish.

The step that matters

Reduce the sauce well before adding the meat glaze. Simmering evaporates water and concentrates flavour and body. Reducing fully before adding the meat glaze keeps the sauce from becoming too salty or thin, since the glaze is already concentrated and seasoned.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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