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Cumberland Sauce
2 shallots 1 lemon (juice and rind) 1 orange (juice and rind) 1/2 cup water 6 tablespoons jelly ginger cayenne Chop shallots (or small onions) very fine. Put them into a sauce pan with the finely sliced rinds of the orange and lemon, add 1/2 cup water and simmer gently until the rinds are very soft. Strain off the water and put shallots and rind in a bowl, add tart jelly (red currant is best), a dash of ginger and cayenne, and the juice of the orange and lemon. Mix thoroughly and serve cold with game or fowl.
A cold, uncooked-at-the-end sauce built on softened citrus rind and melted tart jelly. The only real technique is getting the rind soft and thin enough that it reads as texture rather than obstacle.
- The hinge: the rindPare the zest with a peeler so no white pith comes with it, then cut it into hair-thin julienne before simmering. Fifteen to twenty minutes of gentle simmering in the half cup of water should leave it limp; if it is still leathery, keep going and add water as needed.
- "Jelly" means red currantSix tablespoons is three-eighths of a cup. Red currant jelly is the classic and is worth seeking out; a tart crabapple or redcurrant-heavy berry jelly will stand in. Grape jelly is too sweet and too assertive.
- Getting the jelly to combineStirring cold jelly into a cold bowl gives lumps. Add it to the hot drained shallots and rind and stir until it slackens, or warm it briefly on its own, then cool the finished sauce.
- Shallots"Two shallots" most likely means two whole bulbs rather than two cloves from a split head, so roughly 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped. Simmering them with the rind as written softens their bite.
- Ginger and cayenneBoth are most likely dry ground spices here. Start at an eighth teaspoon of ginger and a pinch of cayenne, then taste; the sauce should finish warm at the back of the throat, not hot.
- Port, if you want itMost versions of this sauce include a few tablespoons of port, and the omission here is a choice rather than an error. Adding 2 to 3 tablespoons deepens the colour and rounds the acid.
- Yield and keepingAbout a cup, enough for six to eight servings alongside cold ham, venison, duck or goose. It improves after a day in the refrigerator and keeps a week or more, covered.