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Recipe Friday: A Flavorful Finish
Catersource
March 1, 2024
3 Min Read
March is National Sauce Month!
From a beurre blanc to a bordelaise, entree sized proteins have seen their share of classic sauces—but not all sauces stand the test of time.
During this year's Art of Catering Food, chefs Jason Sutton (Footers Catering) and Jay Varga (The JDK Group) took a deep dive into a saucy world of condiments for meat proteins and vegetarian options. Check out a few of their recipes below!
Juniper Berry, Fennel & Bourbon Reduction
Yield: 2 gallons
Ingredients
8 lbs juniper berries
12 ea. fennel bulbs, julienned
1.75 L bottle bourbon
4 T juniper berry extract
4 lbs unsalted butter
1 tsp black peppercorns
6 oz fresh thyme
4 bay leaves
1 gal water
8 cups Knorr Demi Glaze powder
Method
Combine juniper berries, fennel, butter, thyme and peppercorns and let simmer for 15 minutes. Turn pot to high heat and add in bourbon and then let reduce by 75 percent. You must be patient in this process.
After bourbon has reduced, add in water and bring to a boil. Once your mixture is boiling, add in demi powder slowly while whisking vigorously. Add in your bay leaves, reduce heat and let simmer for 1 hour. Strain sauce when complete.
Umeboshi Umami Sauce
Yield: 2 gallons
Ingredients
96 oz umeboshi paste
1 gal Chinese cooking wine
64 oz soy sauce
4 oz lime juice
64 oz rice wine vinegar
1 cup ginger paste
1½ cup honey
Method
Put your Chinese cooking wine and reduce by half. Add in your ginger paste and soy and let simmer for 20 minutes.
Next add in the umeboshi paste, honey, lime juice, and vinegar and let simmer for an additional 20 minutes or the sauce can coat the back of a spoon.
Cranberry & Smoked Rosemary Agrodolce
Yield: 1 quart
Ingredients
1 T olive oil
5 oz dry onion, sweet - small diced
½ oz dry garlic, chopped
4 oz red wine vinegar
6 oz dry apricots, dried, chopped
4 oz dry cranberries, dried, chopped
4 oz dry pecans - chopped
2 oz agave
4 T butter
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Zest of one lemon
½ oz dry rosemary - burnt over fire
Method
Sauté onion then garlic in olive oil. Deglaze with red wine vinegar and add in apricots, cranberries, and pecans. Let warm and flavors mesh.
Take full stem of the rosemary and burn over an open flame until the edges of the rosemary are burnt.
Remove rosemary stem and grind leaves in spice grinder. Fold ground rosemary into fruit/nut mixture and finish with agave, butter, red pepper flakes and lemon zest. S/P to taste. Serve warm or room temp.
Aji Amarillo Coulis
Yield: 1 quart
Ingredients
3 cup canned roasted red peppers, drained well & roughly chopped
3-4 cloves garlic
2 ea. shallots, sliced into thick rings
2 T neutral oil
½ cup aji amarillo paste
¼ cup red wine vinegar
3 T honey
½ tsp coarse kosher salt
2 tsp smoked paprika
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Method
In a saucepan, sauté the whole cloves of garlic and shallots until garlic is lightly browned. Allow to cool completely.
Add all ingredients except olive oil to a blender and blend until smooth. While blending on high, slowly stream in the olive oil.
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