Homemade German Jager Sauce (Hunter Sauce)

Homemade German Jager sauce

This hunter sauce is a brown sauce and so easy to make yourself that you will no longer use a package or bag. Because let's face it, you don't want a bland, too salty, or too thin sauce, do you?

With this homemade hunting sauce, fry the mushrooms in butter until golden brown, and then season them with herbs.

This sauce feels luxurious because it feels velvety in your mouth yet has a strong taste. That's because of the red wine, cream, and bacon you let the mushrooms stew in. These are the ingredients that give this sauce a little bit extra. Some depth, creaminess, and lots of flavors.

And are you not a fan of red wine? No problem, you can use extra tomato juice or stock.

What do you need for Jäger Sauce (Mushroom Hunter Sauce)?

To prepare this German Jager Sauce, you need the following ingredients. You can find the correct amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog:

• Mushrooms - You can use white or brown champignons for this recipe. The latter is a bit firmer and has got a nutty flavor.
• Butter and oil - For frying the mushrooms. This combination gives you a delicious creamy taste without burning solid butter components.
• Shallots - This onion with spice gives the sauce a bit of a pit.
• Bacon Strips - Smoked bacon, fried, so the released fat gives the sauce an extra salty taste.
• Thyme: Use fresh thyme to give the hunter sauce a lot of flavor. You can also replace the thyme with two teaspoons of dried thyme.
• Flour - To bind the sauce. Fry the flour for at least 2 minutes so that the sauce does not have a flour taste. You can also replace the flour with cornstarch. You add this after the cream has been added and everything is boiling. Stir two teaspoons of cornstarch with three tablespoons of water and add that to the sauce. Let it cook for 2 minutes, and you will see it thicken.
• Tomato Paste - Gives the sauce a deeper flavor. Fry the tomato purée for 2 minutes before thinning the sauce; this will make it sweeter (otherwise, the sour taste of the purée can be overpowering)
• Red Wine - Use a full-bodied red wine with a deep flavor. A Cabernet Sauvignon, or a Bordeaux. You can also replace the red wine with a Port wine. If you don't like or don't want to use wine, replace it with extra stock or tomato juice. The sauce will then have a slightly different taste.
• Beef stock - To give the sauce the right thickness and extra flavor. Preferably use homemade beef stock, but if you don't have it, just use a cube dissolved in water.
• Sugar - Adding a little bit of sugar will increase the sauce's flavor.
• Cream - The use of cream makes the sauce soft in taste. Would you prefer a leaner sauce? You can use light cream. 
• Paprika powder - Has a spicy taste, which adds umami to the sauce.

How to prepare Brown Mushroom Gravy?

You can find a printable recipe with a step-by-step description at the bottom of this blog.

1. Clean the mushrooms and cut them into slices (not too thin, they should still have some bite). The best way to clean mushrooms is to cut a slice off the bottom of the stem with a sharp knife. Then use a brush or dry paper to clean the top. Do not use water. Mushrooms absorb the water and then have less taste. Heat the butter and oil in the pan and fry the mushrooms until golden brown but haven't shrunk yet. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
2. In the same pan, fry the bacon strips for about 2 minutes, then add the onion. Fry this on medium heat for another 3 minutes. Also, put the tomato purée and sugar in the pan and sprinkle the flour. Bake this, while stirring, for two minutes.
3. Pour wine into the pan and bring to a boil, then simmer for 3 minutes. Add the stock. Boil for 2 minutes and pour the cream into the sauce. Mix in the paprika powder and place the thyme on the sauce. Let it come to a boil.
4. Return the mushrooms to the sauce, bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Let it boil until it has the desired thickness.

Serve - This German Jager sauce is delicious with schnitzel with fries, chicken, roulade, ham, steak (recommended!), or meatballs. Tasty vegetables with hunter sauce are green beans, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower.
Garnish - with some fresh thyme leaves.