I thought I was going crazy when I first looked up the labouchere sauce recipe on the internet and couldn’t find it. This was probably the first time (and hopefully the only time) I googled something and didn’t find my answer.
I was disappointed but not surprised. After all, it’s a proprietary recipe. So why’d anyone give it out for free?
But I didn’t give up. I shuffled through the pages and came across some answers finally. And I hate to be bearer of bad news, but it is what it is! Yikes..
I saw a comment on a certain forum where Copeland’s ex-employee spilled the beans. So apparently, even after working for years at the eatery, the author couldn’t get hold of the recipe.
From what they said, the roux needed to make the sauce is mixed into a ball. And it is dark in color. The roux is made in New Orleans at the Copeland’s factory and sent out to all the locations.
Also, this certain liquid base needs to be mixed with the roux to make the holy grail sauce. Turns out, the liquid base, too, is made in New Orleans.
From whatever little information she could gather, some of the ingredients used in the sauce are mushrooms, duck stock, and wine.
Okay, now let’s hear another anecdote with not-so-happy ending!
A certain Good Samaritan on a food forum shared that labouchere sauce literally translates to butcher’s sauce. She added that it is made with shallots, creole mustard, vinegar or pickle juice, beef consomme, and sherry added to a roux starter of butter and flour.
So, I went ahead and made butcher sauce with the aforementioned ingredients and some more. And guess what?
It didn’t taste like labouchere sauce. 🙁
So, I have come to the conclusion that labouchere sauce cannot be replicated at home.
Now when I look back at it, I think it’s for the greater good that I don’t know the recipe. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to cherish the excitement of having steak labouchere at Copeland’s on weekends with my parents.
My sincere apologies if I disappointed you today. I didn’t mean this to be a clickbait article, but here we are! I recommend visiting Copeland’s on special occasions with loved ones, eating their heavenly steak labouchere, and creating some wonderful memories.
Before I end this article, here’s a quick iteration of a butcher’s sauce recipe that I made. Of course, it’s completely different from the labouchere sauce you and I hope we could emulate, but it tastes great nonetheless – I promise!
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Ingredients For Butcher’s Sauce
- ½ lb. ground beef
- ½ lb. ground lamb
- ½ lb. ground pork
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 stalks of celery, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 2 28oz. Cans of Italian peeled tomatoes packed in tomato puree, chopped
Instructions For Butcher’s Sauce
In a slow cooker on a sear setting at 350 degrees F, heat olive oil and stir in the celery, carrots, onions, and garlic. Saute until the onions are tender and golden.
Add meat to the mixture – crumbling it into small lumps. Stir until brown. Add tomato paste, sprinkle some salt and pepper and give it a good stir once again. Pour in white wine.
Next, cover the slow cooker and set the cooker at ‘high’ and the timer for 4 hours.
Once the sauce starts to simmer, remove the lid and add cans of tomatoes, crushing each tomato with your finger first. Give everything a good stir and cover with a lid once again.
Bide your time and let the sauce simmer to a really thick consistency. Then, skim some fat from the surface if you want and serve over pasta or steak!
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