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Savory Sauces
Cyber-Kitchen
Savory Sauces
| The word "sauce" is a French word that means a relish to make food more appetizing. Sauces are liquid or semi-liquid foods created to make other foods look, smell, and taste better, and be more easily digested. Because of the lack of refrigeration in the early days of cooking, meat, poultry, fish, and seafood didn't last long. Sauces and gravies were used to mask the flavor of tainted foods. No dish was complete without its highly flavoured and seasoned sauce, and it was often joked about that meats were unidentifiable because the sauces served with them were so overpowering. |
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Sauces Today
Today's sauces are not used to mask the flavors of what they are served with. Rather, modern sauces are used to enhance flavors. However, from out of the "Dark Ages" came the Mother Sauces. These are the five foundational sauces in cooking. They are bechamel, brown (espagnole), veloute, hollandaise, and red (tomato). These are sauces that every serious cook should master. They provide the basis for many other sauce variations.
Sauces Defined
Mother Sauces
Béchamel Sauce (bay-shah-mel)-
It is also know as "white sauce." This is a smooth, white sauce made from a roux made with flour, boiled milk, and butter. It is usually served with white meats, eggs, and vegetables. It is also used as a base in Potatos Au Gratin.
Brown Sauce-
Also called Demi Glace or Sauce Espagnole, brown sauce is a brown stock bound with a brown roux. Brown stock is made from veal, bacon rind, carrots, onion, garlic and bouquet garni.
Veloute Sauce (veh-loo-TAY)-
Also called rich white sauce, it is a stock-based white sauce that can be made from chicken, veal, or fish stock thickened with white roux.
Hollandaise Sauce (HOL-uhn-dayz)-
This sauce uses butter and egg yolks as binding agents. It is served hot with vegetables, fish, and eggs. It is a pale lemon color, and does not appear oily. Making this emulsified sauce requires lots of practice and is not for the faint of heart.
Red Sauce-
A tomato based sauce. Tomato Sauce is made with seeded tomatoes, which are stewed with seasonings, garlic and parsley. Common sauces in this category include Spaghetti sauce, Marinara sauce and a wide variety of tomato sauces.
Other Classic Sauces
Aioli (eye-YO-lee)-
(French) Sometimes called the "butter of Provence." Aioli is garlic-flavored mayonnaise made from pounded garlic cloves, oil, seasoning and egg yolks. It is served as a sauce for a variety of garnishes and main courses.
Béarnaise sauce (bair-naz)-
A variation of hollandaise sauce made with white wine or vinegar, diced shallots, tarragon, and peppercorns that are cooked together and reduced and sieved and then added to hollandaise sauce. Tarragon is what gives this sauce its distinctive taste. It is often served with beef and some varieties of shellfish.
Mayonnaise (MAY-uh-nayz)-
Mayonnaise is an emulsion consisting of oil, eggs, vinegar, condiments, and spices.
Did you know? When first invented, it was called Mahonnaise. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the sauce got its present name of mayonnaise purely by accident through a printing error in an early 1841 cookbook.
Newburg Sauce-
An American sauce that was created at the famous Delmonico Restaurant in New York City by their French chef, M. Pascal. This elegant sauce is composed of butter, cream, egg yolks, sherry, and seasonings. It is usually served over buttered toast points. The sauce is also used with other foods, in which case the dish is usually given the name "Newburg."
Did you know? The sauce was originally named after a Mr. Wenburg, a frequent guest at the Delmonico restaurant. Mr. Wenburg and the boss of the Delmonico had an argument, and Wenburn insisted that the sauce be renamed. The first three letters were changed to "New" instead of "Wen" to create the name "Newberg."
Roux (roo)-
The base to many sauces, this mixture consists of equal parts flour and fat. The fat, usually butter, is heated in a pan until just melted. Flour is added and the mixture is cooked until it reaches the desired color. Most sauce recipes call for an ivory roux. Creole and Cajun recipes often call for darker rouxs, which are made by cooking the mixture for a longer period of time.
Recipe Corner
Now that you know what's what, try the recipes below to practice your cooking techniques.
Basic Mayonnaise
Makes Approx. 1 1/2 pints
Ingredients
2 egg yolks
½ ounce wine vinegar
½ ounce water
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 pint vegetable oil
Lemon juice to taste
Salt+Pepper to taste
Instructions
Place egg yolks and small amount of water in medium sized mixing bowl and beat with wire whisk until frothy. Gradually add oil in a thin stream beating constantly. When mayonnaise gets too thick, add small amount of vinegar to thin down slightly. When all oil is incorporated, add lemon juice, salt and pepper and store in refrigerator.
Basic Brown Sauce
Makes Approx. 2 ½ quarts.
Ingredients
4 ounces diced onion
2 ounces diced carrots
2 ounces diced celery
5 pints beef broth
2 ounces tomato paste
6 ounces roux
2 ounces vegetable oil
1 bouquet garni
Instructions
Start by heating saucepot and then add oil followed by the onion, carrot and celery and sauté until sweated. Then add tomato paste and carmelize slightly then add beef broth and bouquet garni. Bring to a simmer then whisk in roux and simmer for at least 20 minutes up to an hour. Strain through fine mesh strainer and use for base to sauces.
Veloute Sauce
Makes Approx. 1 quart
Ingredients
1 quart Chicken broth
4 ounces roux
Salt+Pepper to taste
Instructions
Bring chicken broth to a boil in sauce pan then whisk in roux and simmer for 20-40 minutes. Strain through fine mesh strainer and season to taste.
Bechamel Sauce
Makes Approx. 2 quarts
Ingredients
½ gallon whole milk
½ pound roux
1 ounce diced onion
S+P to taste
Instructions
In sauce pot scald milk then pour over roux whisking vigorously until smooth. Then add onions and simmer for 20-30 minutes, then strain through fine mesh strainer and season to taste.
Hollandaise Sauce
Makes Approx. 1 ½ pints
Ingredients
8 egg yolks
1 pint warm clarified butter
(cannot be too warm or too cold)
2 ounces water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
Salt+Pepper to taste
Instructions
Place egg yolks and water in medium size stainless steel mixing bowl and place over simmering pot of water making a tight seal. Start whisking over steam and continue to whisk constantly until the middle of the bowl is seen and steam rises off the whisk when you lift it out of the egg mixture. Then transfer to another cold pot with a wet towel underneath so the bowl does not spin. Add all the butter very slowly in a thin stream whisking constantly making sure not to add too fast. Finally add lemon juice, Tabasco, and salt and pepper, then add water if needed to make the right thickness.
Beurre Blanc Sauce
Makes Approx. 1 pints
Ingredients
2 ounces minced shallots
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 ounces white wine
1 cup heavy cream
¾ pound softened butter
cut into ½ tablespoon chunks
Salt+Pepper to taste
Instructions
In medium sauce pan melt 1 tablespoon butter and sauté garlic and shallots until sweated. Then add white wine and reduce until almost dry. Add heavy cream and reduce by ¼ , after reduced take off heat and gradually whisk in butter 1-2 chunks at a time until well incorporated. Finally salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Tomato Sauce
Makes Approx. 2 quarts
Ingredients
1 ounce minced salt pork
1 ounce butter
1 ounce medium diced carrot
2 ounces medium diced onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 ounce flour
1 quart drained diced tomato
4 ounces beef broth
4 ounces tomato puree
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon sugar
S+P to taste
Instructions
In sauce pot render salt pork with butter then add carrot and onion and sauté until sweated. Then add garlic and sauté until aroma is apparent. Then add flour and cook for five minutes. Meanwhile combine the diced tomatoes, stock, and tomato puree and add to pot 1/3 at a time bringing it to a simmer each time. Then add bay leaf, thyme, and sugar and simmer for 1 ½ hours. Puree finished product and season with salt to taste.
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