Recipe: Perigourdine Sauce

Name: Perigourdine Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: For ½ liter of sauce2 sliced shallots; 25 cl (1.1 cups) of red Port; 10 cl (0.4 cup) of truffle juice; 40 cl (1.7 cups) of half-glace sauce*; 1 truffle of 40gr (1.4 oz) (melano) roughly chopped; 20 gr (0.7 oz) of cooked foie gras mixed with 20 gr (0.7 oz) of softened butter; butter salt and freshly ground pepper

By chef patrick Asfaux 5/5 (1 review)

Prep 5 min

Cook 10 min

Total 15 min

Servings 6 serv.

The queen of all queens To accompany your Tournedos Rossini, your sautéed veal kidneys or your braised veal sweetbreads but also for your veal tenderloins, your sautéed foie gras escalopes and what can we say when drizzled over just cooked tagliatelles "al dente" Fresh truffle (minimum 40g for texture) must be added just before serving to preserve its aroma. Concentrated truffle juice provides the aromatic base, but the whole diced piece makes the difference. Prepare maximum 30 minutes before serving.

Ingredients for 6 servings

Adjust for

servings

For ½ liter of sauce

2 sliced shallots
25 cl (1.1 cups) of red Port
10 cl (0.4 cup) of truffle juice
40 cl (1.7 cups) of half-glace sauce*
1 truffle of 40gr (1.4 oz) (melano) roughly chopped
20 gr (0.7 oz) of cooked foie gras mixed with 20 gr (0.7 oz) of softened butter
butter salt and freshly ground pepper

Step-by-step directions

1 In a saucepan with butter gently sweat your sliced shallots (5 to 6 minutes)

2 Then add your Port and truffle juice and reduce by half.

3 Pour in your half-glace sauce, reduce for another 3 minutes, then strain your sauce through a chinois into a saucepan while pressing well.

4 Reheat this sauce, then add your chopped truffle, taste the seasoning (salt and freshly ground pepper)

5 Then just before serving without boiling "mount" your sauce by making back and forth movements with the butter and foie gras mixture
Just Sublime !!!

Chef's tip

Périgourdine sauce is the queen of noble meat accompaniments. You cook it mainly in autumn and winter when fresh truffles appear at the market. Historically it's a Périgord region sauce, where truffle hunting has gone on for centuries, and it always accompanied tournedos and veal sweetbreads in classical restaurants. Red Porto is the backbone here. You must let it reduce properly, until it caramelizes slightly, otherwise the sauce stays too acidic. Concentrated truffle juice then intensifies without drowning other flavors. Demi-glace is the binder that gives body, but the real signature comes from the final mounting with emulsified butter and foie gras. For wines, choose structured reds: a Pomerol, Saint-Émilion, or Côtes du Rhône village. If serving with fish (seared foie gras escalope), a rich white like Meursault works too. The cooked foie gras you incorporate last doesn't need light wines. Classic pitfall: adding diced truffle too early. It becomes bland if it boils in the sauce. And mounting with the butter-foie gras mixture, never do it over high heat or it breaks. Small regular movements, keep stirring gently, just to emulsify.

Frequently asked questions

Can concentrated truffle juice be replaced with chicken stock?

No, it's a key aromatic element. Truffle juice defines the signature. If unavailable, increase fresh diced truffle to 50g instead of 40g and use excellent red Porto, but it won't be the same sauce.

How long does this sauce keep in the refrigerator?

Maximum three days in airtight container, without fresh truffle. Diced truffle is always added at the end, just before serving. You can freeze the base (up to one month) and add truffle back during gentle reheating.

Why mount the sauce with butter and foie gras just before serving?

Because excessive heat breaks the emulsion. Mounting creates a glossy, velvety sauce. Make regular back-and-forth movements off heat or over very low heat, adding butter-foie gras mixture in small pieces. If sauce becomes greasy, emulsion broke: impossible to recover.