The king among the classic game sauces. Grand veneur, literally “Grand Huntsman”, is a rich sauce based on red wine, demi-glace and redcurrant jelly, finished with cream. The sauce has a perfect balance between strength, freshness and a subtle sweet touch. Indispensable with venison, roe deer, wild boar and saddle of hare.
Sauce grand veneur
Sauce grand veneur
Sauce grand veneur
Sauce grand veneur
Method
01
Base
Melt the butter in a saucepan and sweat the shallots for 2 to 3 minutes over a low heat until translucent.
02
Reduce
Add the red wine, port, bay leaf, thyme, juniper berries and peppercorns. Bring to the boil and reduce to about a third of the original volume.
03
Build
Strain the reduction into a clean pan. Add the demi-glace and the game stock and simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes until a beautiful, glossy sauce forms.
04
Finish
Stir the redcurrant jelly into the sauce until completely dissolved. Then add the cream and heat for a few more minutes over a low heat without letting the sauce boil.
05
Serve
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Just before serving, finish with the finely chopped parsley.
Tips & notes
Use good-quality redcurrant jelly. The jelly should support the sauce with a fresh fruitiness but should never dominate. If the sauce has become a little too sweet, add a few drops of red wine vinegar to bring back the balance. Keeps for 3–4 days in the fridge, and freezes very well (up to 3 months); the flavour often deepens further the next day.
Chef's tip
In classical French cuisine, grand veneur is almost always served with large game. The sauce combines the powerful flavour of demi-glace with the freshness of red wine and the light sweetness of redcurrants. It is precisely that balance that makes it special. Some chefs add a splash of cognac or Armagnac, but the traditional version relies entirely on the quality of the wine and the demi-glace.
Variations
- Grand veneur au cognac – Flambé the shallots with 30 ml of cognac before adding the wine, for extra depth.
- Grand veneur aux morilles – Add 100 g of fried morels for a luxurious restaurant sauce.
- Grand veneur aux airelles – Replace the redcurrant jelly with lingonberry compote for a Scandinavian twist.
- Grand veneur sans crème – Leave out the cream for a more powerful, more classic sauce in which the wine and demi-glace come fully into their own.
Contains:
Milk
Sulphites
Serve with
- Saddle of venison
- Venison steak
- Saddle of roe deer
- Saddle of hare
- Wild boar
- Duck breast
- Pheasant
- Partridge
| Calories | 584 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 15 g |
| Carbohydrates | 105 g |
| Fat | 18 g |
| Fibre | 44 g |
Estimated values, calculated from standard nutritional values per ingredient.
