Red Wine Jus

An impressive and elegant jus made with red wine that’s perfect for complementing savoury meat dishes, such as steak, lamb or venison.

Ingredients

2 shallots, finely diced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tbsp plain flour

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

400 ml red wine

400 ml beef or bone stock

1 beef stock cube

1 sprig fresh rosemary

30 g butter

½ tsp pepper

Ingredients

2 shallots, finely diced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tbsp plain flour

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1.50 cups red wine

1.50 cups beef or bone stock

1 beef stock cube

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1 oz butter

½ tsp pepper

Ingredients note

The best red wine for this recipe is a bright and heavy red such as a shiraz or cabernet sauvignon.
If you can’t find shallots, substitute with 4 finely sliced spring onions.
Use a good quality beef or bone stock. The additional beef stock cube adds deep umami flavour, so I highly recommend you don’t omit this.
If you don’t have fresh rosemary, add 1 teaspoons of dried rosemary leaves.
I haven’t included salt in this recipe because stocks tend to be quite salty. I recommend only adding salt at the end once you’ve tasted the finished jus, to determine if it needs more salt or not.

Directions

Make the red wine jus

1. Heat the oil in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add the shallots (or spring onions) and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened (about 3 minutes).

2. Add the pepper and flour, and stir until well combined.

3. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook until it’s mostly evaporated.

4. Add the rosemary and red wine. Cook over medium-high heat at a rolling simmer, until it has mostly evaporated and has reduced by two thirds (this will take about 30 minutes).

5. Add the stock (both the liquid and the stock cube), turn down the heat and simmer until the stock has also reduced by two thirds (about 40 minutes). The jus will be thicker when reduced, but will thicken further on standing.

6. Turn off the heat and add the butter, stirring until it has melted. Taste the jus to determine if you want to add any salt.

7. Finally, add any juices from the meat you’re serving this with, stir, and serve.

Note on reheating: This jus can be made ahead of time and reheated over low heat on the stove top. Note, though, that the hotter the jus is the thinner the consistency will be. It’s actually best to turn off the heat and leave the jus to rest for 10-15 minutes before serving it, so it has a thicker consistency but is still warm.

Wine pairing

This recipe uses about half a bottle of wine so, naturally, the rest of the bottle will pair perfectly with the meal!

I suggest using a Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon to make this jus, but you could also use another heavy red such as a Malbec or Cabernet Franc.