Burns Night Whiskey Sauce

I stand a little against whiskey sauce (for Haggis).  Many whiskey sauces have a lot of cream and whilst cream is good, too much is bland for me (and fatty on the mouth feel). A little rethink was in order.

Mine is a cheerfully light brown onion gravy that meets a little cream and a splash of whiskey.

A first effort had 'too much' whiskey, even by my standards, and was promptly declared, 'not something Marcus Wareing (professional Masterchef Judge) would approve of.

So I refined the recipe, perhaps distilled it even and it's just smashing.  No claims of authenticity here, only a sauce to happily scoff.

Ingredients (4):

2 small onions, halved and finely sliced in quarter rings

2 tsp butter (to cook the onion)

450 ml half vege and half beef stock (cubes or stock pots are fine)

(A) flavourings, seasoning and thickeners:

2 TBSP whiskey (you may need a drop or so more later)

3 or 4 TBSP double cream

2 TBSP Beurre manié (what? 1 TBSP cornflour  mashed with 1TBSP butter)

Salt and black or white pepper

Method:

Soften and lightly brown the onion in butter (a pinch of salt, lid on and low heat for approx 10 minutes).

Add the stock and when bubbling..

Add (A) flavourings, seasonings and thickeners.

Reduce fairly gently until you have a smooth sauce (perhaps 12 minutes or so) whilst stirring periodically.

Check for whiskey and pepper, add more if needed.

Perfect with Haggis and Clapshot (or Haggis, Neeps and Tatties):

Clapshot for Haggis Recipe