These Sauces Are Mama, You Listen to Them
A good sauce is the key to a delicious meal. It can save a bland dish, moisten dry meat, or star in the main event (creamy mac and cheese, period). Having a few simple sauces up your sleeve and with your meal is a great way to up your regular weekly dinner. You just have to know where to start.
Use five basic sauces, known as “mother sauces”. These basic recipes allow endless experimentation and create well-matched sauces for any flavor profile. Each sauce only requires a few ingredients and the method is pretty much the same every time. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll be ready to make your own sauce for dishes that will make you say, ” That’s Mom.”
Bechamel
The first time I ate bechamel after I made a hundred croissants with ham and cheese. It looked so damn pasty that I wondered how it could improve anything. I then tried the breakfast sandwich and was completely fascinated by the béchamel.
Bechamel is a simple creamy white sauce with a light tangy taste. Four out of five of these basic sauces start with a roux, and this is one of them. ( Read here to brush up on sauce techniques.) Since this is a white sauce, the fat and flour should not brown or take on a deep flavor. For about 2 cups of bechamel, use 2 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons flour, and 2 cups milk. Mix the butter and flour in a saucepan for a few minutes to cook the flour, then add the warm whole milk. Beat until smooth and thick. Add a pinch of nutmeg and I always add a pinch of salt because I’m unstoppable. You can use lower fat or non-dairy milk, but the texture will suffer, so consider yourself forewarned.
You can spread béchamel on sandwiches, add a layer to veggie lasagna, replace red sauce with it, and make bianca pizza or put it on baked potatoes. Add cheese and you have the perfect mac and cheese base that makes you want to drop it all and run away to live in a cottage, just you and mac and cheese forever. I like to add chopped onions very early on in my light roux and make a lazy subise version.
Velute
Perhaps Thanksgiving has already introduced you to velouté. This dressing-based sauce starts the same way as bechamel, with dressing. Instead of milk, you add a light-colored broth such as chicken, veal, fish, vegetables, or turkey. For those who don’t like turkey sauce thickened with cornstarch, you can try turkey velouté in November.
For about two cups of velouté, use the same measurements as for bechamel and substitute the amount of milk for the broth. Add flour and fat ( ghee will do) to the pan. This time you can take the mixture a little darker, but not too much. Save this for later. The preparation of the roux eliminates the pasty taste of the flour and intensifies the color, while the flavor becomes more toasty and complex. Cook until golden or brown, then add hot or warm broth. Heating the liquid first makes it easier to insert, as the fat does not seize or form lumps. Pour over meat, vegetables, or casseroles. For more enjoyment, season the velouté with chopped herbs or spices.
Spanish
If velouté isn’t bold enough for you, espanol is the rich, roux-based sauce you might be looking for. It is also called “brown sauce” (“Spanish” has more panache, of course, but you choose) and is made with a dark roux and a dark broth such as beef or veal broth. It takes another five to ten minutes to give the flour a rich chestnut color, but it’s worth it. Use ghee or ghee to avoid the bitter taste from milk solids that can burn. In addition to the richer roux, the espagnole sauce gets more flavor from other fun ingredients like tomato puree, mirapua , white wine, and a bouquet of parsley, thyme, and bay leaf garnish that add a sweet, earthy, and savory flavor and aroma. .
Using the same roux sizes as the other two sauces, you’ll cut 1/4 cup each of the carrots, celery, and onions for your mirapua. Add the oil to the pan and add the mirapua. Simmer the vegetables until they are soft and translucent. Add flour and cook until roux turns dark brown. It will look like a lumpy mess, no big deal, he’ll figure it out later. Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste or 1 cup of tomato puree. Add 1/2 cup white wine and slowly pour in 3 cups warmed brown broth and whisk. Add a bouquet garni. (This could be three or four sprigs of thyme and parsley, plus a bay leaf, but this can be changed.) Simmer for 30-40 minutes to thicken slightly. Strain the sauce. Pour over grilled meats or serve with a hot sandwich as a dipping sauce. More ingredients go well with more additional sauces, but the most common is espagnole-style demi-glace. Just return the finished sauce to the pan to make it even thicker and richer. Extend the base espagnole with other vegetables like mushrooms or shallots and add bold spices like dry mustard or cumin. You can even mix the alcohol component and substitute red wine for white wine, try brandy or maybe sherry.
Tomato
It turns out there are several ways to make tomato sauce. Italian-style tomato sauce is a staple, but try the French style and enjoy the velvety texture and earthy flavor. Between ourselves, I think the espagnol is a real granny sauce, because this mother is, in fact, espagnole with jerky pork and a bunch of tomatoes. Salted pork is added to the oil to cook it, and this simple step changes the sauce dramatically by adding salt and umami.
Aside from making 1/3 cup chopped jerky pork such as bacon, pancetta, or bacon and opening 2 28-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes, all other measurements (for mirapua, sauce, broth, and bouquet) remain. just like the espagnol recipe above. Melt two tablespoons of butter in a saucepan and add chopped cured pork such as bacon, pancetta or bacon. Cook until the pork has shed fat and is golden brown. Add the mirapua and cook until it becomes soft. Add flour and cook until you have a medium brown roux. Add brown broth, chopped tomatoes and a bunch of herbs. Place the sauce in the oven and let it cook slowly, about an hour to 90 minutes, until it thickens. Remove the bouquet garni and blend the sauce until smooth. Serve with pasta or meat. This sauce can add a twist to classic Italian dishes that use red sauce. Add ingredients such as garlic, bell pepper, or olive oil to the tomato sauce.
Dutch
We have come to this. A mother sauce that doesn’t bother roux to thicken. Hollandaise Sauce is a silky, rich, and spicy sauce that wraps your eggs Benedict lovingly. Since the roux has nothing to do with it, Dutch is thickened with egg yolks. Its main ingredients are butter, lemon juice, and egg yolks, making it similar to another well-known sauce: mayonnaise.
Dutch is tricky because it’s an emulsion and the eggs need to be cooked carefully. Some recipes add a bit of water to the yolks to soften them up and give you a bit of a breather while the water evaporates. Use a double boiler or set an inch pot of water to simmer over medium heat. Use a larger bowl than the top of the pot and add 4 egg yolks, 1 tablespoon water (if using) and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Place the bowl over a saucepan of water and whisk vigorously. As soon as it heats up and the eggs begin to cook, you will notice that the mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and slowly add 1 stick (8 tablespoons) of freshly melted or very softened butter, a little at a time. Season with a pinch of salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Spoon eggs, asparagus, chicken, or any blanched vegetables. Add chopped greens, finely chopped shallots, or garlic to your hollandaise sauce. For an easy transition, replace the lemon juice with another citrus like orange, lime, or grapefruit.
These five basic sauces are a great starting point to start experimenting with the creaminess of your dishes. Trying to remember them all can be a difficult task, but generally you can start with a roux, choose a milk or broth, and get creative.