What is Jager Sauce?

Jager sauce is a mushroom-based brown sauce that is traditionally served with meat. In Germany, it is one of the most popular sauces. In German, it is called “Jager Soße“ – Jäger meaning „Hunter“ in German. “Soße” is the word for sauce. It is pronounced – YAY-GER SO-SE (the last “S” is pronounced sharp.) It has gained worldwide fame for being THE mushroom sauce for schnitzel. Schnitzel served with this sauce is called Jägerschnitzel (translated Hunter Schnitzel). However, the pairing of this German mushroom gravy is not limited just to Schnitzel.

Origins of German Jäger Soße

Jager Sauce comes from the French Sauce “Chasseur”. “Chasseur” means “Hunter” in French – and was traditionally served with game meat such as venison, rabbit, or fowl. The mushrooms were picked by the hunters in the woods, while they were returning from their hunt.

The inventor of the chasseur sauce was Philippe de Mornay. The “Sauce the Chasseur” (translated sauce of the hunters) gained popularity in Germany.

How to make Jager Sauce

You will not find just one recipe of hunter sauce in Germany. There are variations with cream and without cream. Sometimes onions are used and sometimes shallots. Often the onions are deglazed with some white wine, other recipes use red ones.

The classic chasseur sauce uses shallots and deglazes them with some dry white wine.

I like my sauces simple, so this German hunter sauce is made without wine and ordinary onions. As the consistency of sauces is often controversial and up to the eater's preference, this sauce gets thickened at the end with some corn starch. Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

400 g / 14 oz mushrooms (I used champignons)

150 ml /5 fl oz cream. (Germany Schlagsahne and UK and US whipping cream - at least 30% fat)

150 ml /5 fl oz beef stock / or broth (alternatively you can use vegetable stock (affiliate link)/ broth)

1 small yellow onion (around 60 g)

1 teaspoon dried thyme.

2 tablespoon fresh parsley

2 tablespoon butter or oil or lard

Salt and pepper

1 teaspoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (to taste)

Jager Sauce Recipe

Wash the mushrooms and slice them into 0.5 cm thick slices. Peel and finely chop the onion. Chop the parsley finely.

In a frying pan heat up 1 tablespoon butter/oil/lard. Fry the mushrooms until they start to brown. Mushrooms tend to lose water quickly so remove them before they start to "shrink". Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set them aside.

Using a further tablespoon butter/oil/lard fry the onions. Add the tomato paste just when they begin to brown, and fry for a further minute. Roasting the tomato paste will add to the "brown" color of the sauce. Deglaze with the vegetable stock (affiliate link)/broth and cream.

Add the mushrooms back in and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the thyme, parsley, and balsamic vinegar, and cook the sauce until you achieve the desired consistency.

If you like the sauce to be thicker, mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoon of water. Add to the sauce. Bring the liquid back to a boil. If the sauce is too thick for your liking, you can add more vegetable broth or milk.

Which dishes go well with Hunter Sauce

Schnitzel with jager sauce is called Jägerschnitzel and it is a famous dish.

Semmelknodel (German Bread Dumplings) – a delicious vegetarian dish.

Spätzle and Huntersauce

Frikadellen (German Meatballs)

Roast Beef or Pork

Steak

Noodles or Pasta

Recipe

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