Red Wine Jus
2 shallots or half an onion, chopped roughly
175 mL port
175 mL red wine
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
750 mL homemade beef stock
Salt, to taste
2 rounded teaspoons butter
Put enough oil in a pan to just coat the shallots, then caramelise them. Add port, red wine and herbs, bring to boil. Add stock and simmer to reduce to about 1/3 of the original amount of liquid, to a consistency that will coat a spoon. Taste regularly and add a pinch of salt, if needed. Remove pan from heat and strain jus through a fine sieve. Return to stove and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in butter til melted.
Notes:
Using homemade and not stock cubes is important as this is where most of the flavour comes from. Don't add too much salt as when reducing, the salt content will be more obvious. Leftover jus can be frozen.
Sprinkle the onions with a pinch or 2 of sugar