Writing about sauces when it comes to French cuisine is an ambitious enterprise. The art of making them is steeped in old traditions of chefs working for demanding palates, and the subject has filled many books. After centuries of dedicated cooks with a flair for accompaniments, trial and error and many happy ‘accidents’, preparing sauces is a fundamental part of major French dishes.
“Une sauce doit prolonger le goût d’un plat, mais jamais le masquer ou le dénaturer.” (“A sauce must prolong the taste of a dish, but never mask it or distort it.”) - Fernand Jobert
Influential cooks include: De la Varenne, Antoine Parmentier, François Vatel, and especially Antonin Carême with his seminal book “L’Art de la cuisine française au XIXe” (“The Art of French cuisine in the 19th century”) with whom the preparation of sauces becomes an art in itself. Later, the great chef Auguste Escoffier modifies Carême’s primary sauces: there are now 5 mother sauces: l’Espagnole, le Velouté, la Hollandaise, la Tomate and la Béchamel.
“L’Angleterre a trois sauces et trois cent soixante religions, alors que la France a trois religions et trois cent soixante sauces.” (“England has three sauces and three hundred and sixty religions, whereas France has three religions and three hundred and sixty sauces.” - Talleyrand
Here are the recipe for these five essential sauces:
I. Sauce Béchamel:
▪ 4 oz/125 grams white roux
▪ 1 qt/1 L milk (whole milk preferred)
▪ 1/4 white onion, skin peeled off
▪ 1 whole clove
▪ 1 whole bay leaf
▪ Salt, White Pepper and Nutmeg to taste
- Start by making a white roux.
- In a separate pot, heat up milk to a simmer.
- Add roux to the milk (make sure both the milk and the roux are not too hot)
- Whisk the roux and milk together. Bring to a simmer.
- Stick your bay leaf to your white onion with your whole clove, and place in simmering milk.
- Simmer for about 30 minutes, and thin with milk if necessary.
- Season with salt, white pepper and nutmeg to taste. The nutmeg should not be prevalent, but instead should add depth of flavor.
- Finish by straining through a chinois.
II. Sauce Velouté:
▪ 4 ounce blond roux (2 ounces clarified butter and 2 ounces all purpose flour)
▪ 1 1/4 quarts hot, White Stock (Veal, Chicken, or Fish)
- Heat up the white stock in a heavy bottom sauce pan.
- In a separate pan, cook roux to a blond stage.
- Allow roux to cool slightly before adding it to the gently simmering stock.
- Whisk stock and roux together and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Allow to simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Adjust consistency by adding more hot stock if necessary, so the sauce thinly coats the back of a spoon.
- Finish by straining through a chinois or a strainer lined with cheesecloth.
Note: Veloute is always used as a foundation for other secondary sauces at which time you will season the sauce as a whole.
III. Sauce Tomate:
▪ 2-3 oz of Salt Pork (the fattier (more white), the better)
▪ 3 oz of Carrots, peeled and medium diced
▪ 3 oz of White or Yellow onion, medium diced
▪ 2 oz of whole butter
▪ 2-3 oz of all purpose Flour
▪ 5 lbs of quality tomatoes, quartered
▪ 1 qt of white Veal Stock
▪ 1 clove of freshly crushed garlic
▪ Salt and Pepper To taste
▪ A Pinch of Sugar
- In his book, chef Escoffier says: “Fry (render the fat) the salt pork in the butter until the pork is nearly melted.”
- To render out the salt pork properly, place the salt pork in a heavy bottom saucepan with a tablespoon of water, cover with a lid, and place over medium heat. Check in about 5 minutes. The steam from the water will allow the fat to render out of the salt pork before it starts to brown or burn.
- After the salt pork is nice and rendered out, add in the butter, carrots and onions, and sweat over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes, or until they become nice and tender and start to release their aromas.
- Sprinkle the flour over the carrots and onions and continue to cook for another few minutes. Essentially, use the residual fat from the butter and salt pork to make a blond roux.
- Add in the raw tomatoes. Roast with other ingredients until they start to soften and release some of their liquid.
- Add in the white veal stock and a clove of crushed garlic.
- Cover the pot with a lid, and Escoffier says to put it in a moderate oven, which is about 350 degrees F or 175 C. Bake in oven or simmer for 1.5-2 hours.
- Escoffier’s classical recipe also mentions to pass the finished sauce through a Tamis, but for a smooth tomato sauce, it is recommended to first blend it in a blender, and then press it through a chinois.
- Once you have passed your sauce through the chinois, finish by seasoning it with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar.
- Note: The addition of sugar is used to balance the natural acidity of the tomatoes. The tomato sauce should not taste sweet.
▪ Mirepoix: 4 oz of onions, 2 oz of celery, 2 oz of carrots
▪ 2 oz of butter
▪ 2 oz of flour
▪ 2 oz of tomato puree
▪ Sachet with: 1/2 Bay Leaf, 2-3 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme, 2-3 Sprigs Parsley
▪ 1.5-2 qts of Roasted Veal Stock
- Start by roasting the mirepoix over medium heat, in the bottom of a heavy bottom sauce pot with the butter, until the mirepoix turns a nice golden brown.
- Once the mirepoix has browned, add in the tomato puree and continue roasting for 2-3 more minutes.
- Sprinkle in the flour, and cook until the flour is well incorporated into the other ingredients (about 5 more minutes).
- Add the roasted veal stock and sachet.
- Bring to a simmer, and gently simmer for about 2 hours, reducing the entire sauce down to 1qt. If necessary, add more stock if too much evaporates during the cooking process. Skim sauce as needed.
- Note: While simmering the sauce, pull it half way off the burner, so that all the scum will collect on one side of the pot, making it easier to skim.
- Once the sauce is finished cooking, pass it through a fine chinois a couple of times to insure a smooth, consistent texture.
V. Sauce Hollandaise:
The Hollandaise requires the most skill. check the great website of Stella Culinary for a detailed recipe.
