Ikosaedri: I would love a brief explanation into what each sauce is used for or what they are traditionally paired with! Where do I need these sauces and which foods are built on these basics?
BushyEyes: (Going to try and post these one at a time so the filter doesn’t take it down…)
**I’ve been gettin’ lost in the sauce for the past month**
I’m a self-taught cook who really likes experimenting and having fun in the kitchen. But, I’m really not that great at making sauces on my own, so I decided that a sauce exploration was needed! I worked with a really amazing food writer (and illustrator) to walk through what mother sauces are and to explain the process of creating them [here](http://triedandtrue.recipes/features/how-mother-sauces-improve-your-cooking). I realize this isn’t the first time this has ever been done, but I wanted to complete this exercise on my own to help improve my cooking.
**RECIPES**
#BÉCHAMEL
**INGREDIENTS**
5 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
4 cups heavy cream or milk
Salt and white pepper to taste
**METHOD**
Prepare the Béchamel: Add the cream to a small saucepan and turn the heat to low. Set aside. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to incorporate. Cook for 1-2 minutes until golden, but not overly browned. Whisk in the warm heavy cream and continue whisking until smooth. Bring the mixture to a very low boil and immediately turn the heat to low.
Continue whisking as the sauce thickens. Cook for 2-3 more minutes or until the sauce reaches your desired consistency (it should be thick). Taste and season with salt and white pepper.
Serve immediately.
*Note: if you need to set the sauce aside as you finish up the rest of the meal, you can cover the top with wax paper to prevent a skin from forming. Gently reheat the sauce and whisk as necessary for a smooth consistency.*
**BÉCHAMEL RECIPE INSPO 1:** I made a simple béchamel for macaroni and cheese but stirred harissa paste and cheese into the sauce before adding the noodles.
**BÉCHAMEL RECIPE INSPO 2:** I made a simple gratin (sans cheese/breadcrumbs) by making the béchamel with nutmeg, black truffle zest, salt and white pepper and then layering the sauce with thinly sliced potatoes and baking for about 1 hour until cooked through.
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#VELOUTÉ
**INGREDIENTS**
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups warm chicken stock (or fish or another white stock)
Salt and white pepper
**METHOD**
Warm the Stock: Microwave the stock for 2 minutes before starting the sauce.
Make the Roux: In a saucepan, heat the butter over medium high heat until frothy and melted but not browned. Add the flour and use a wooden spoon to stir constantly until well combined. Continue stirring until the roux is a golden brown color and has a nutty, aromatic scent, about 2 minutes.
Stir the stock into the roux and whisk vigorously with a wire whisk until smooth and creamy. Reduce heat to very low and cook, whisking regularly, until the sauce reaches your desired consistency, about 5-10 minutes longer.
Taste and season with salt and a dash of white pepper if desired. Note: You can use black pepper, but white pepper will be unnoticeable and adds a unique flavor to the sauce.
**VELOUTÉ RECIPE INSPO 1:** I served velouté sauce with seared chicken breasts (salt and pepper, cooked in a skillet until done) and black garlic and roasted mushrooms (variety of mushrooms roasted with herbs such as thyme and rosemary, salt and pepper, and a crack of black garlic). Spoon the velouté over the chicken and sprinkle with fresh parsley.
**VELOUTÉ RECIPE INSPO 2:** I turned velouté into sauce suprême by adding cream, lemon juice, and a touch more butter. I served it with clams cooked with chorizo. (I plated it by spooning the sauce suprême into a shallow bowl and served the clams and chorizo on top…it was amazing)
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#ESPAGNOLE
**INGREDIENTS**
1 carrot
1 stalk of celery
1 onion
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoon tomato paste
4 cups good quality beef stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
3 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
**METHOD**
Prepare Ingredients: Roughly chop the carrot, celery, and onion. Roughly chop the garlic clove. Pat the steak dry and season with salt and pepper.
Start the Espagnole Sauce: In a large pot, heat the butter until melted and frothy. Add the carrot, onion, and celery and cook for 6-8 minutes or until softened. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring regularly, until the paste is dark red. Stir in the flour and cook for 5 minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to keep the flour from burning, until the roux is dark brown.
As the roux is cooking, microwave the stock for 2-3 minutes until very hot.
Carefully stream the hot stock into the roux, whisking as you stir it in to keep lumps from forming. Continue whisking until everything is completely incorporated and smooth.
Stir in the garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaf and reduce heat to a very low simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 45 minutes until reduced to 2-3 cups.
Strain the reduced sauce through a fine mesh sieve and discard the solids. Rinse out the pot and transfer the sauce back to the pot. Note: You may need to reheat the sauce prior to serving.
**ESPAGNOLE RECIPE INSPO 1:** I served Espagnole sauce with seared filet mignon and ricotta mashed cauliflower (cooked cauliflower puréed with ricotta and lemon juice and a lil heavy cream)
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#SAUCE TOMAT
**INGREDIENTS**
3 ounces salt pork (this is not bacon, but a small slab of fat that has been salted not smoked) If you can’t find salt pork, use olive oil or duck fat instead.
1 pound pork neck bones
4 medium carrots
1 large onion
4 stalks of celery, leaves included
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary, optional
2 ounces butter
2 ounces flour
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 quart veal or chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of sugar
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar, optional
Cayenne powder, optional
Olive oil
Special tools: Cheese cloth, kitchen twine
**METHOD**
Roast the Pork Neck Bones: Preheat oven to 375ºF. Arrange the pork neck bones on a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to the oven. Roast for 45 minutes or until well browned and beginning to caramelize around the edges. Flip once during cooking. Once the pork neck bones have finished roasting, turn the heat in the oven to 300ºF.
Prepare Ingredients: Cut the salt pork into small cubes. Finely chop the carrots, onion, and celery. Create a sachet by tying up the bay leaf, thyme, and rosemary in the cheesecloth with the kitchen twine. Mince the garlic cloves.
Melt the Salt Pork: In a large pot, add the salt pork and cook over medium heat until the fat has completely liquefied. Once the fat has melted, add the carrots, onion, celery, and garlic and cook until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the flour on top of the vegetables and stir to incorporate. Once it has browned, add the tomatoes and veal stock and stir vigorously until well incorporated.
Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar. Taste and add a touch of cayenne powder or a bit of white balsamic vinegar if desired. Add the roasted pork neck bones along with the sachet to the sauce.
Partially cover the pot of sauce with a lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2 hours.
Finish the Sauce: After the sauce has finished cooking, discard the sachet and pork neck bones. Carefully transfer the remaining sauce to a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth.
Serve immediately. Leftover sauce can be frozen.
**SAUCE TOMAT RECIPE INSPO 1:** Most common application is simply tossing with your favorite pasta and serving with some fresh basil and parmesan cheese. (I did that and it was really good!)
**SAUCE TOMAT RECIPE INSPO 2:** I made ricotta-tomato toasts by toasting bread with butter/garlic/salt and pepper. I spooned the tomato sauce on top of the bread and toasted until hot and a little bubbly. I served a spoonful of whipped ricotta (ricotta puréed until smooth and creamy with a touch of extra virgin olive oil and a TINY bit of cream) on top of the toast and then put a few pieces of torn prosciutto on top. My husband loved it!
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#HOLLANDAISE
**INGREDIENTS**
3 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 stick of butter, divided
A pinch of cayenne powder, optional
**METHOD**
Whisk the egg yolks: In a saucepan, whisk the egg yolks and the lemon juice until smooth. Add half the butter and turn the flame to very low. Using a wire whisk, vigorously whisk the butter into the egg yolks until the butter has melted and the sauce is creamy. Continue whisking until the sauce is a bit thick. Add the remaining butter and whisk vigorously until completely melted. Continue whisking until the sauce has thickened. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon.
Serve immediately.
Note: if you need to set the sauce aside as you finish up the rest of the meal, you can refresh the sauce with a splash of warm water over very low heat.
**HOLLANDAISE RECIPE INSPO 1:** Most common application is eggs benedict, but I made breakfast bowls with lentils and a celery salad. I made black lentils first, and tossed them with a bit of lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. Then I made a celery salad by thinly slicing celery and tossing with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Then I served with smoked salmon + soft boiled eggs. Arranged all the ingredients (celery salad, soft boiled eggs, and smoked salmon on top of the warm lentils and drizzled the hollandaise on top)
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**If you’re interested in recipes that use any specific sauces, let me know and I’ll share them!**
WendyLRogers3: Next up on your journey, in no particular order:
Mayonnaise and Aioli sauces.
[Oil smoke points](http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/collectedinfo/oilsmokepoints.htm) Important to know before you “do Roux”.
The various Roux, using different oils and flours, blond, brown and dark.
The Mexican Salsas (Wiki has a good list, but parentheses in URL)
The Indian Chutneys.
[The best of the spice blends](https://www.thekitchn.com/spice-mixes-189368)
Pickling and canning.
Extracts and liqueurs.
Dehydrating, drying and smoking.
Chocolates, candy making and confections. Icings.
Compotes, jams and jellies.
And so much more.
Lots of fun to be had along the way.
bolivious: Love the traditional mother sauces!
ketchup, ranch, mayonnaise, BBQ, honey mustard
/theSouth
mickis021195: Thank you!! This is great!
arithmeticulous: So cool of you to drop this knowledge. Bravo.