Madeira Wine Sauce
A rich, strained brown sauce made from a bacon and vegetable base, mushrooms, stock, and white wine, finished with Madeira wine just before serving.
Quick Summary
Butter, root vegetables, and bacon form the base of this rich brown sauce, thickened with a light roux and simmered with mushrooms, stock, white wine, and tomato paste. A splash of Madeira wine stirred in just before serving finishes it off.
Historical recipe
Modernised adaptation of an early 20th‑century source. Not independently kitchen-tested by Attic Recipes. Quantities, temperatures, and food safety guidance have been updated for a contemporary kitchen — results may vary and errors may exist. Nutritional values, where provided, are estimates only and have not been laboratory tested. Always follow current food safety guidelines for your region. If you have a health condition, allergy, or dietary requirement, consult a qualified professional before preparing this recipe.
Use of this recipe is entirely at your own risk and subject to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Attic Recipes accepts no liability for any adverse outcome.
- Dairy
- Gluten
- Sulphites
Additional notes
-
Note
This sauce contains both white wine and Madeira, and retains some alcohol even after simmering. Consider this when serving to pregnant women, children, or anyone avoiding alcohol.
- 1
Melt the butter in a pot. Add the chopped carrot, parsley root, and onion, and sauté until softened.
- 2
Add the diced bacon and cook everything together until well browned.
- 3
Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, with the vegetables until it turns a pale golden-brown.
Tip Don't let the flour darken too much — an overly browned roux will taste bitter and throw off the sauce's flavor. - 4
Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté briefly.
- 5
Pour in the stock and white wine. Once the sauce begins to simmer, stir in the tomato paste.
- 6
Move the pot to a cooler part of the stove and let the sauce simmer gently for 20 minutes, skimming off any fat that rises to the surface.
- 7
Strain the sauce through a fine sieve.
- 8
Just before serving, stir in the Madeira wine — add it at the very last moment so its aroma doesn't dissipate.
Tip If you need to prepare the sauce ahead of time, keep it warm over a pot of gently simmering water (a bain-marie) once strained, and stir in the Madeira only right before serving.
Nutrition Information per 45ml (about 3 tablespoons)
Nutritional values are approximate estimates and may vary based on specific ingredients used, preparation methods, and portion sizes.
Serving Suggestions
Serve warm, spooned over roasted or pan-seared meats — this sauce pairs especially well with beef, veal, or pork roasts.
About This Recipe
This sauce builds its depth in stages: a base of butter, root vegetables, and bacon sautéed until fragrant, a lightly colored roux to thicken it, mushrooms for texture, and a simmer in stock, wine, and tomato paste to bring it all together. What sets it apart from a simpler brown sauce is the finishing touch — a splash of Madeira stirred in at the very last moment, added only once the sauce is ready to serve so its aroma stays intact rather than boiling away.
It’s a sauce clearly built for special-occasion roasts rather than a quick weeknight dinner, with enough steps and attention to timing that it rewards a bit of patience.
Why It Works
Cooking the flour with the sautéed vegetables and bacon fat, rather than adding it to a separate pan, lets the roux pick up flavor from everything it’s cooked alongside, instead of tasting like plain thickened stock. Keeping the roux pale rather than deeply browned preserves more of its thickening power while avoiding the bitterness that comes with an overcooked roux. Straining the finished sauce removes all the solid vegetables and bacon once they’ve given up their flavor, leaving a smooth, glossy sauce — and adding the Madeira only at the end means its delicate aroma survives instead of cooking off during the simmer.
Modern Kitchen Tips
Use a light hand with the heat while cooking the roux — medium-low is usually enough to get a pale golden color without scorching it. Skim the fat off the surface periodically while the sauce simmers rather than only once at the end, since it’s easier to remove in smaller amounts along the way. If the sauce needs to be held before serving, the bain-marie method described in the source still works well today: keep it warm over barely simmering water and add the Madeira at the last possible moment.
A classic of early 20th century home cooking, preserved and adapted for the modern kitchen.
The Story Behind This Recipe
Historical Context
Building a brown sauce from a base of butter, root vegetables, and bacon, thickened with a lightly colored roux and enriched with stock and wine, reflects the classic French sauce-making technique that spread widely through Central European kitchens of the period. Adding the fortified wine only at the very last moment, rather than simmering it in, was a deliberate choice to preserve its aroma, since prolonged cooking would boil off much of what makes Madeira distinctive.
Modern Kitchen Adaptation
The source doesn't give a quantity for the mushrooms, so 150g is estimated here based on standard proportions for a sauce of this size. 'Sauce stock' in the original is a rich, well-seasoned beef or veal stock; a good-quality store-bought version works fine if homemade stock isn't on hand. Because this sauce contains both white wine and Madeira, and only some of the alcohol cooks off during the 20-minute simmer, it isn't fully alcohol-free even after cooking — something to keep in mind when serving to guests who avoid alcohol.
This recipe is an independent modern adaptation developed from historical sources in the public domain. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute professional dietary, nutritional, or medical advice. Food preparation involves inherent risks. The reader assumes full responsibility for safe food handling, ingredient sourcing, and adherence to current local food safety guidelines. The site operator accepts no liability for outcomes resulting from the preparation or consumption of this recipe.
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