Red wine pan sauce

Name: Red wine pan sauce
Prep time: 3 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 tsp neutral vegetable oil; 1 shallot, finely chopped; 2 sprigs thyme (fresh), whole sprigs; 150 ml dry red wine; 200 ml beef stock; 30 g butter, cold, cubed; ¼ tsp salt; ¼ tsp black pepper

Non-vegetarian

Sauce au vin rouge

A quick sauce built in the pan you seared steak or duck in: shallot softened in the drippings, deglazed with red wine and stock, reduced and finished with cold butter.

Red wine pan sauce is a French sauce from France, ready in about 15 minutes and made with dry red wine, beef stock and butter. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

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Prep: 3 min
Cook: 12 min
Total: 15 min
Serves: 4
Level: Easy
Calories: 108

Ingredients

4 servings (about 40 ml each)

1 tsp (4.5 g) Neutral vegetable oil (opens in a new tab)Only if the pan is dry; normally you use the fat left from searing the meat.
1 (30 g) Shallot (opens in a new tab), finely chopped
2 sprigs (1 g) Thyme (fresh) (opens in a new tab), whole sprigs
150 ml Dry red wine (opens in a new tab)A dry red you would drink.Swap: Beef stock (Plus 1 tbsp red wine vinegar for an alcohol-free sauce.)Contains sulphites
200 ml Beef stock (opens in a new tab)Swap: Chicken stock; Vegetable stock
30 g Butter (opens in a new tab), cold, cubedContains milk
¼ tsp (1.5 g) Salt (opens in a new tab)
¼ tsp (0.5 g) Black pepper (opens in a new tab)

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
After searing the meat, move it to a warm plate to rest. Pour off all but about a teaspoon of fat from the pan, leaving the brown residue behind.
- 1 min
- Frying pan / skillet (opens in a new tab)
2
Step 2
Over medium heat, add the shallot (opens in a new tab) and thyme (opens in a new tab) and stir for a minute until the shallot softens.
- 1 min
- medium heat
3
Step 3
Pour in the wine and scrape the pan with a wooden spoon (opens in a new tab) to dissolve the browned bits. Boil until reduced by about two-thirds.
- 4 min
- medium-high heat
- Wooden spoon (opens in a new tab)
4
Step 4
Add the stock and any juices from the resting meat and boil until reduced to about 150 ml and lightly syrupy.
- 5 min
- medium-high heat
5
Step 5
Take the pan off the heat, remove the thyme (opens in a new tab) and swirl or whisk (opens in a new tab) in the cold butter (opens in a new tab) until glossy. Season and pour over the meat.
- 1 min
- Whisk (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels

About this dish

Origin: France · Commonly attributedDeglazing and mounting with butter are core French techniques; pan sauces like this are cooked throughout Europe and North America.Also popular in United States, United KingdomMore food from France
Dish: Dinner · Sauces
Cooking method: Simmered, Sautéed
Taste: savoury, rich, fruity, umami
Diet: No gluten ingredients · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carb
All labels
Non-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Pork-free · Keto-style · Low-carb
With the listed swaps: Vegetarian (lacto-ovo), Eggetarian, Lacto-vegetarian, Pescatarian, Beef-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: One-pan
Cook more with: Dry red wine · Beef stock · Butter · Shallot · Thyme (fresh)
Techniques: Searing · Sautéing · Boiling · Simmering · Reduction

Allergens

Contains: Milkfrom butter
May contain: Celeryfrom beef stock
Contains, can be adapted: Sulphitesfrom dry red wine

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

108 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 43 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

Protein 6%
Carbohydrate 14%
Fat 79%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g
Energy	108 kcal	254 kcal
Protein	1.3 g	3 g
Carbohydrate	3 g	7 g
Net carbohydrate	2.7 g	6.3 g
Sugars	1.1 g	2.6 g
Added sugars	0 g	0 g
Fibre	0.3 g	0.7 g
Fat	7.3 g	17.1 g
Saturated fat	4 g	9.3 g
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	16 mg	38 mg
Sodium	295 mg	695 mg
Salt equivalent	0.7 g	1.7 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 170 mg
Calcium: 13 mg
Iron: 0.5 mg
Magnesium: 10 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 52 µg
Vitamin C: 1 mg
Vitamin D: 0 µg
Vitamin B12: 0 µg
Folate (DFE): 4 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

Low-salt stock matters: reduction concentrates salt.
A teaspoon of redcurrant jelly or a dash of balsamic rounds a harsh wine.

Common mistakes

Boiling after the butter goes in makes the sauce greasy.

Serve with

Steak, duck breast, lamb chops or calf's liver
Mashed potato

Storage

Best fresh; leftovers keep 2 days in the fridge.

Reheating

Warm gently and whisk; add a fresh knob of butter if it separates.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 29 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

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Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Butter, cold, cubed30 g

Used in step 5

Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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