Sauces French / European
Mushroom sauce for steak
A classic creamy mushroom sauce made in the steak pan with chestnut mushrooms, shallots, a splash of brandy and Dijon. Ready in 30 minutes.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
Once you've cooked a steak, the browned layer left on the bottom of the pan is half of a great sauce. Fry the mushrooms in the same pan, deglaze with brandy and you'll have a steakhouse-style sauce in a few minutes.
Chestnut mushrooms are firmer and more flavourful than white buttons, giving the sauce a rich colour and depth. It's just as good with chicken breast, meatballs or a pile of mashed potatoes.
Ingredients
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Sauce
To serve
Method
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-
Wipe and thinly slice the mushrooms; finely chop the shallots, garlic and parsley. If you've just cooked steak, don't wash the pan: the browned bits stuck to the bottom are the best part of the sauce. Set the steaks aside to rest and pour off all but about a tablespoon of the fat.
~8 min -
Put the pan over a medium-high heat, melt the butter and spread the mushrooms out in a single layer. Leave them alone for the first 2 minutes, then stir now and then for 6 minutes in total, until their liquid has evaporated and they're golden.
~6 min -
Lower the heat to medium, add the shallots and soften for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and thyme and stir for another 30 seconds.
~3 min -
Take the pan off the heat and pour in the brandy (never pour straight from the bottle near a flame). Return to the heat and let it bubble for 1–2 minutes, scraping up the browned bits with a wooden spoon, until almost all of it has evaporated. Without brandy, do this with a splash of the stock instead.
~2 min -
Add the stock and simmer for 3–4 minutes until reduced by half.
~4 min -
Stir in the cream and mustard, lower the heat and simmer for 2–3 minutes until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Tip in any juices from the resting steaks and season with salt and pepper.
~3 min -
Scatter over the parsley and spoon the sauce straight over the steaks, or serve it on the side in a warm jug.
~1 min
Enjoy!
The mushroom in this recipe
Mushroom swaps
- Button mushroom Agaricus bisporusGives a paler, milder sauce; brown them a few minutes longer for colour.
Porcini / cep Boletus edulisIf you can't get fresh, soak 15 g dried porcini in 150 ml hot water for 20 minutes; chop and add to the chestnut mushrooms, and use the strained soaking liquid instead of stock.
Shiitake mushroom Lentinula edodesDiscard the stems and slice the caps thinly; it adds a deeper, more savoury note.
Tips
- Don't crowd the pan; piled-up mushrooms steam instead of browning. Cook them in two batches if you need to.
- For a lighter sauce, swap half the cream for the same amount of stock and reduce it a little longer.
- No Dijon? A teaspoon of wholegrain mustard or a few drops of Worcestershire sauce works well too.
Storage
Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat gently without boiling, adding a spoonful of water or stock if it's too thick. Because it's cream-based, it isn't a good candidate for freezing; it can split once thawed.
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Kitchen guides
Before you cook: clean, store, dry
How to clean mushroomsPractical ways to clean everything from button mushrooms to morels without waterlogging them or ruining their texture.
How to store mushroomsHow to keep fresh, cooked, frozen and dried mushrooms at their best — and how to tell when they’ve gone bad.
How to dry mushroomsA step-by-step guide to drying mushrooms at home in the oven, in a dehydrator or on a string — and how to store and rehydrate them.