Traditional Cumberland Sauce Recipes

CUMBERLAND SAUCE (A CLASSIC ENGLISH SAUCE FOR COLD MEATS)

Steps:

• Using a vegetable peeler, thinly pare off the zest of the orange and lemon in long strips.
• Using a knife, slice the zest into thin strips.
• Bring a small amount of water to boil in a small saucepan.
• Add the sugar and the orange and lemon zest.
• Lower the heat down and simmer for 3 minutes. This is to get rid of any bitterness in the peel.
• Strain and leave aside until the end, throwing away the liquid.
• Rinse and dry the saucepan and place the rest of the ingredients into it. So, the orange and lemon juices, redcurrant jelly, port, ginger and mustard.
• Bring to a simmer and leave to cook for 5-10 minutes, to allow to thicken and for the flavours to deepen. The time depends on how you like your sauce, thick, strongly flavoured and almost syrupy, or light.I go the full 10 minutes for a lick the spoon Cumberland Sauce! Take it off the heat when the time is up. For a perfectly smooth sauce, strain to as sieve. I rather like the bits of ginger in mine, so I usually leave it as it is.
• Stir in the orange and lemon zests and the sauce is ready to be served, once cooled to room temperature. You can serve it at room temperature or straight out of the fridge.
• Store in a clean jar in the fridge for up to a week.

BLACK CUMBERLAND SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat vegetable oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir onions in the hot oil, until nearly dark brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Pour wine into the saucepan, bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half, about 1 minute; remove pan from heat.
• Stir currant jelly, orange juice, orange zest, lemon zest, lemon juice, brown sugar, black pepper, mustard powder, ginger, cayenne pepper, and salt into onion mixture until combined.
• Bring sauce to a boil; remove from heat.

TRADITIONAL CUMBERLAND SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat water in small saucepan over medium heat to boiling. Add shallot and orange and lemon zests, blanch 3 minutes. Drain in fine mesh sieve. Combine shallot zest mixture, red currant jelly, port, dry mustard, ginger and ground red pepper in small non-corrosive saucepan. Heat over medium heat to boiling. Cook, uncovered, until jelly is smooth and mixture is well combined, about 3 minutes. Transfer to small heat proof bowl to cool at room temperature. Refrigerate, covered until well chilled. Serve sauce hot or cold. Serve with baked ham, roast venison or roast Cornish hen.

CUMBERLAND SAUCE

Steps:

• First, thinly pare off the zest of both the lemon and the orange, using a potato peeler, then cut them into very small strips ½ inch (1 cm) long and as thin as possible. Boil them in water for 5 minutes to extract any bitterness, then drain well. Now place the redcurrant jelly in a saucepan with the port and melt, whisking them together over a low heat for about 5 or 10 minutes. The redcurrant jelly won't melt completely, so it's best to sieve it afterwards to get rid of any obstinate little globules. In a serving bowl, mix the mustard and ginger with the juice of half the lemon until smooth, then add the juice of the whole orange, the port and redcurrant mixture, and finally the strips of lemon and orange zest. Mix well and the sauce is ready to use. Cumberland sauce stores well in a screw-top jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

CUMBERLAND SAUCE

Steps:

• Peel the thin outside rind of the lemon and orange. Cut into shreds and put in a small saucepan. Add the water and bring to a boil. Simmer seven minutes. Scoop out and discard the shreds.
• Squeeze the juice from the lemon and orange and set aside.
• Add the Port, jelly, vinegar, mustard, salt, cayenne and lemon and orange juice.
• Bring to the boil and let simmer five minutes. Let cool. Serve.