Pan Sauce "Bordelaise" – She Sears Strip Scraps by the Seashore

Say that five times fast! As promised, here’s the pan sauce you saw me dragging those perfectly trimmed chunks of NY strip through in our Manhattan filet video. As I say in the intro, this isn’t truly a bordelaise, but it’s close enough for YouTube, and absolutely delicious.

Of course, one could argue it would be smarter to use the strip scraps for something like pasta sauce or chili, and you’d get no argument from me; but if you want to put your Manhattan filet experience over the top, this is a more than a worthwhile sacrifice.

I used chicken broth, but if you can find veal stock (check your more expensive grocery stores) that makes this already gorgeous sauce even better. Just be careful with the salt if you’re using broth from a carton. Because we are reducing (and reducing again), an overly salty stock could become inedible. Since I know someone one will ask, I’ll tell you right now; I threw out the meat scraps after they were strained. Why? I don’t have a dog.

Once those tiny pieces of meat are simmered for that long, they're completely tasteless, and certainly not good eats. But hey, you guys are the Bobby Flays of your faux "Bordelaise," so suit yourself (didn't think of this one until after the audio was done). Also, if you don’t have, or can’t have red wine, don’t make this sauce. If you do, and you give our Manhattan filets a go, I hope you give this great pan sauce a try as well. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 generous or 4 smaller portions of sauce:

8 ounces trimmed beef scraps, chopped fine

1/4 cup sliced shallots

pinch of salt

1/2 cup red wine (something from Bordeaux would be nice)

2 cups rich chicken broth (unsalted or low-sodium) or veal stock

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp cold butter