Red Wine Sauce for Meat — Easy Salsa de Vino Tinto

Glossy red wine sauce poured over sliced steak — Red wine sauce for meat

Red wine sauce for meat, or salsa de vino tinto, is onion sautéed in butter, simmered with red wine to cook off the alcohol, enriched with broth, seasoned, and thickened with a little cornstarch. It takes 15 minutes of preparation and about 20 minutes of cooking, and serves 4.

Easy and versatile, it brings out the flavor of grilled and roasted red meats and is essential for any home cook.

How to Make Red Wine Sauce?

You need red wine, beef, chicken, or vegetable broth, onion, butter, cornstarch, salt, and pepper. The onion is softened in butter, the wine is reduced, the broth is added and simmered, and the sauce is thickened with cornstarch dissolved in water, then strained if you like.

Nutritional Information

Each serving of red wine sauce contains approximately 140 kcal, 1 g of protein, 13 g of fat (8 g of saturated fat), 50 mg of cholesterol, 6 g of carbohydrates, 4 g of sugars, and 400 mg of sodium. These values are estimates and may vary depending on ingredients and portion sizes.

Homemade Red Wine Sauce for Meat Recipe

Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

250 ml (1 cup) of red wine
50 g (3½ tablespoons) of butter
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
½ cup (120 ml) of beef broth
½ onion, finely chopped
Fine salt
Black pepper

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Instructions

In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat, add the chopped onion, raise the heat, and sauté, stirring, for about 5 minutes until translucent.

Red wine for making a sauce for meat — Red Wine

Add the red wine, adjust to medium heat, stir, and cook for about 5 minutes to evaporate the alcohol. Add the broth, season with salt and pepper, and simmer over low heat for another 5 minutes.

Cornstarch to thicken red wine sauce — Cornstarch

Dissolve the cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of water, add it to the pot, and keep stirring over low heat until the sauce reaches the consistency you like. Strain out the onion if you prefer a smooth sauce and let rest a couple of minutes before serving.

Additional Tips

Choose a medium bodied red

Young, medium bodied reds such as Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon balance tannin and acidity. Very old wines can turn bitter. Use the same wine you will serve with the meal.

Mount with butter

For a glossy, silky finish, whisk in a few cubes of cold butter off the heat at the end.

Balance the flavor

If the sauce is too acidic, add ½ teaspoon of honey or brown sugar. For more depth, add a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce.

Original ingredient	Substitute	Ratio	Flavor note
Beef broth	Chicken or vegetable broth	1:1	Lighter
Cornstarch	Reduction only	Simmer longer	More concentrated
Onion	Shallot	1 shallot	Finer, sweeter
Plain	Thyme or rosemary sprig	1 sprig	Herbal aroma

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Which red wine is best?

Young, medium bodied reds such as Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon are ideal. A good trick is to use the same wine you will drink with the meal.

2. Can I freeze this sauce?

Yes, for up to 3 months. Reheat it gently and adjust the texture with a little broth or cornstarch slurry.

3. How do I thicken it without cornstarch?

Reduce it slowly over medium low heat to evaporate excess liquid, and finish by whisking in cold butter.

4. How do I fix a sauce that is too acidic or bitter?

Add ½ teaspoon of honey or brown sugar for acidity, or a spoonful of cream or cold butter for bitterness.

How to Use Red Wine Sauce

Pour it over grilled or roasted beef, pork, or chicken, drizzle it over roasted vegetables, toss it with pasta and pieces of meat, or spoon it over a baked brie with crusty bread.

Origin of Red Wine Sauce

Red wine sauces date back to Roman and medieval cooking, when wine was used to balance game meats, and French cuisine later refined them into the classic reductions served today.