1. Basic White Sauce (Béchamel Sauce)
This common white sauce uses roux to thicken milk or cream.
The roux is cooked for about 3 minutes to keep it "white."
For lump free sauce, remove the roux from the heat before
stirring in the milk. Warm the milk in the microwave before
adding to the roux. Use a whisk to incorporate the milk
into the roux and stir until it is lump free. Return to the
heat source and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat after bringing the sauce to a boil, then
continue to simmer the sauce for 15-30 minutes, stirring,
to remove the flour taste.
If you have any lumps pour it through a strainer
or process the sauce in a blender. Return the strained or
blended sauce to a clean pan and heat to the boiling point.
Makes 1 cup
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup milk, warm
Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour, salt,
and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is
smooth and bubbly. This is called a white roux. Remove from
heat. Stir in warm milk and whisk until mixture is smooth and
lump-free. Return to heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Boil for at least one minute.
For a thicker sauce, use 3-4 tablespoons butter to
3-4 tablespoons flour. Béchamel can be stored in the
refrigerator for up to 1 week.
2. Blonde Sauce (Veloute Sauce)
Veloute sauce is a thinner, lighter white sauce than
béchamel because it uses chicken or fish stock instead of
milk or cream. Ideally, the consistency of veloute should
be thin enough to pour or a sauce that thinly coats the
back of a spoon. Serve over chicken, fish, veal, or with rice.
Since it is so similar to béchamel, be sure to read the tips
above to ensure a successful sauce. You can either perk up
your sauce with a dash or two of lemon juice (or other seasonings)
or reduce it further to bring out more flavor.
Store veloute in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the
freezer for up to 1 month.
Blonde Sauce
Makes 1 cup
2 cups chicken or fish stock
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
Bring stock to a boil; set aside. Melt butter in a 2-quart
saucepan over low heat. Create a roux by whisking in the flour.
Cook over medium heat, stirring continually, for 2-3 minutes,
until the roux is bubbly and begins to darken slightly. Remove
from heat. Whisk in the stock until smooth. Return to medium
heat and bring to a boil, whisking continuously. Reduce heat.
Simmer uncovered for 5-30 minutes. Season with salt and
pepper to taste. Set over a double boiler filled with warm water
until ready to serve. If not serving right away, dab butter on top
of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming.
Variation: Supreme Sauce (to serve over chicken)
Stir 1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms and 2 tablespoons
heavy cream into heated veloute sauce. Simmer gently for
about 10 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking. Strain
the sauce into a clean pan set over medium heat. Whisk or
swirl in 1 tablespoon chilled butter, a teaspoon at a time.
Remove from the heat. Add lemon juice to taste. Season
with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Brown Sauce
in the flour until smooth. Continue cooking over medium heat
for 8 minutes, stirring constantly or until the mixture becomes
chestnut brown. This sauce freezes well for up to 3 months.
Basic Brown Sauce
Makes 3 cups
3 tablespoons clarified butter
1 large carrot, scrubbed and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
1/4 cup flour
6 cups brown stock
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 bouquet garni
1/3 cup tomato puree
In a heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add
vegetables. Saute until golden, but not brown. Dump in the
flour and stir over low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally,
until flour and vegetables are well browned, but not burnt.
Stir in stock. Add garlic, bouquet garni, and tomato puree.
Simmer for 60 minutes or until the sauce is reduced to half,
stirring occasionally. Strain. Cool, chill and skim off any fat
before using.
4. Hollandaise
considered a hot emulsified egg-yolk sauce. Mayonnaise
would be a cold emulsified egg-yolk sauce. While in mayonnaise egg yolks are whisked with other room temperature ingredients, in hollandaise, the yolks are whisked with liquid over heat. The trick is to cook the sauce ever so slightly without curdling the eggs.
Water simmers in a double boiler where it should never be
allowed to touch the bottom of the bowl in which the sauce
is made. The temperature of the water should never rise
above 150 F., either. You don't want the sauce to be too hot
because it will coagulate the eggs and make it impossible for
the butter to emulsify with the liquid.
Perhaps your sauce is too thin after you've completed all
the steps. You may have not reduced the initial liquid
enough or perhaps you didn't add enough butter. To remedy,
add more butter.
Hollandaise should be served warm. To keep it that way,
place the sauce in a bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of hot
water (just barely over lukewarm), ensuring the bowl
bottom doesn't touch the water. If hollandaise is spooned
onto really hot food, the sauce may separate; for this reason,
it is almost always served separately from the food it is to
complement. Store any extra sauce in the refrigerator.
You can use it as a sandwich spread. It should never be reheated.
Hollandaise becomes the basis for rich sauces like
béarnaise sauce, which complements meats and salmon.
The technique to master in making hollandaise also serves
in making sabayon sauces. Sabayon is often served with
desserts and is a light airy sauce.
Hollandaise
Makes 3 cups
4 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon peppercorns, crushed
4 egg yolks
1 cup unsalted butter, clarified, cooled to room temperature
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt to taste
In a small pan, bring the water, vinegar, and peppercorns
to a simmer over low heat. Continue simmering until the
mixture reduces about a third, about 2-3 minutes. Strain
the reduction into a glass or stainless steel bowl; cool.
Place the bowl over a pan of just-simmering water; add
the egg yolks and stir until the mixture is lemon colored,
thickened, and smooth. Keep the heat low. Do not allow
the mixture's temperature to rise above room temperature
or the eggs may coagulate. Slowly pour in the cooled,
clarified butter, stirring constantly until the sauce becomes
thick and fluffy. Stir in the lemon juice and salt. When the
whisk is lifted from the sauce, a ribbon of sauce should
trail down from the whisk.
5. Sabayon Sauce (for desserts)
The French version of that Italian favorite, Zabaglione,
Sabayon in usually served warm as an accompaniment
to steamed pudding.
makes (7 fl oz)
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp (25 g) 1 oz caster sugar (superfine granulated)
50 ml (2 fl oz) Marsala, Madeira, sweet sherry or sweet white wine
small strip of lemon rind
Beat the yolks and sugar together in a heatproof bowl until
thick and pale. Gradually whisk in the chosen wine. Add
the lemon rind. Pour the mixture into a double saucepan or
stand the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.
Cook until thick and creamy, whisking all the time. When the
whisk is lifted out of the mixture it should leave a trail that
lasts for 2 - 3 seconds. Remove the lemon rind. Serve at once.
Clarified Butter
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
Place butter in a small saucepan and melt over low heat.
Remove from heat and allow milk solids to sink to bottom.
Skim all foam from surface with spoon, then carefully pour off clarified butter, leaving solids behind.
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