How to Make Red Wine Reduction

A red wine reduction sounds impressive, but it isn't as difficult as you might think. You can turn this into a pan sauce for steak by removing the cooked steak from the pan, adding the stock to the pan and scraping to loosen browned bits, then proceeding with the recipe as follows. The deglazed bits add wonderful depth of flavor to the sauce.

Reduce 2 cups chicken stock to 1/2 cup in a small saucepan. We suggest starting with homemade Roasted Chicken Stock, but in a pinch, you can substitute purchased fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth for the homemade and omit the salt. Place stock in a bowl and keep warm.

Combine 1 cup fruity dry red wine, shallots, tomato paste, and thyme in a pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to to 1/3 cup. Stir in reduced stock. Return mixture to a boil. Cook until reduced to 2/3 cup.

 

Strain the wine-stock mixture through a sieve over a bowl; discard solids.

Whisk in 5 teaspoons butter, 1 teaspoon at a time, stirring until butter melts. The butter enriches the sauce and slightly thickens it.