BUTTER SAUCES

HOT BUTTER SAUCES

• Beurre Noisette - nut-brown butter, classically served with fish

• Beurre noir - butter, classically served with skate wings or veal brains

WARM BUTTER SAUCES

• Beurre blanc- white butter sauce, classically served with vegetables, fish or white meats

• Hollandaise- classically served with grilled meats, or made into a derivative such as mousseline or moutarde

• Béarnaise- similar to hollandaise, but a reduction of shallots, peppers and tarragon is used to create the flavour of the sauce

COLD BUTTER SAUCES (COMPOUND BUTTER SAUCES)

Café de Paris butter- contains a mix of fresh herbs and spices. Other condiments such as marjoram, dill, rosemary, tarragon, paprika, capers, chives, a little curry powder, parsley, shallots, garlic, anchovies and Worcestershire sauce is beaten into unsalted butter. The resulting compound butter is shaped into a cylinder and chilled. When served, a piece is sliced off and allowed to melt on top, for example, grilled entrecôte steaks.

COMPOUND BUTTERS CONTINUED – PARSLEY BUTTER

Parsley butter- softened unsalted butter has a little lemon juice and chopped fresh parsley beaten into it. Seasoning and a little cayenne pepper are added and then chilled before use. This butter is sometimes also known as Beurre MaÎtre d’Hotel.

YOU WILL NOW COVER

• Emulsified sauces

• Velouté

• Brown sauces (Espagnole)

• Pureed and blended vegetables

EMULSIFIED SAUCES

• This area of sauce- making requires the most skill. The key to a good emulsified sauce are the order in which the ingredients are added, the temperature and the speed at which the ingredients are blended.

• Emulsified sauces are produced by dispersing fats as small droplets in liquids they would not otherwise mix with. Various proteins are used to stabilise the emulsion formed by mixing the two principal ingredients. The most common emulsified sauces are mayonnaise, hollandaise and beurre blanc. However many other water-based solutions can be emulsified with fats by using egg yolks, powdered lecithin, gelatine or agar-agar as a stabiliser. When egg yolks are used it is the lecithin protein it contains that acts as the stabiliser.

EMULSIFIED SAUCES CONTINUED

• All emulsified sauces are unstable and will separate if stored for too long or at the wrong temperature.

• Temperature control can be a problem for hollandaise sauce. A mix that has separated due to being too cool can be brought back by whisking it into a little boiling water. A hot mix can be remedied in a similar fashion but instead using iced water.

VELOUTÉ SAUCE

• The Velouté is made the same way as a béchamel sauce except that stock replaces the milk content and no clouté is used. A liasion is added to finish the sauce.

• Variation of a Velouté are Aurore - addition of fresh tomato sauce Curry - addition of curry paste Estragon - addition of tarragon

BROWN SAUCE (ESPAGNOLE)

• Classically, a brown sauce is made by taking a brown roux and adding brown stock. This can then be mixed with the same quantity of brown stock and reduced by half to create a demi glace.

• In modern professional cookery, a brown sauce or jus is made by browning meat trimmings and some aromatic vegetables before deglazing with wine and adding brown stock. This is then reduced, passed and seasoned, then the consistency is checked before using.

VARIATIONS OF BROWN SAUCES ARE

Bordelaise- addition of red wine and bone marrow

Chasseur- addition of mushrooms, white wine, shallots, fresh tarragon and tomato concassé

Diable- addition of chopped shallots, vinegar, Worcester sauce, cayenne pepper and peppercorn

BORDELAISE SAUCEVeal jus 450mlShallots 4Vegetable oil 45mlRed wine 200mlCrushed peppercorns 1 tspBay leaf 1Bone marrow 60gUnsalted butter 40gGood quality salt and pepper To taste

BORDELAISE METHOD

• Finely chop the shallots, sweat in the oil with the peppercorns and bay leaf

• Add the red wine and reduce by half

• Add the jus. Bring to the boil and simmer, skimming occasionally

• Soak the bone marrow for 20 minutes in cold water, then clean and slice

• Add the knob of the butter to the jus and whisk in to give a good glaze

• Add the marrow to the sauce to warm through and serve

PURÉED AND BLENDED VEGETABLES

These sauces are the most versatile as they can be used on all types of meats, fish, poultry, game and vegetarian dishes. The sauce base is made by pureéing or blending a cooked main ingredient (e.g. garlic, roasted red peppers) and then a stock, cream or butter is added to obtain a smooth well- flavoured sauce. These sauces can be served hot, warm or cold. The sauce is generally passed through a chinois before being used to ensure a smooth silky consistency.

FOAMS

This type of sauce has recently transformed modern high-class restaurants dishes. The base liquid, which may be cold or hot, is aerated by whisking, blending or by using gas- charged siphon to create a frothy texture. The foam is then spooned onto the dish; but it should only be added at the last minute to ensure that the air remains in the sauce for the duration of the customer’s eating experience. A heavy, well flavoured sauce can be used to create a light delicate accompaniment that still keeps the taste required.

Foams best suit cream, vegetable or fruit sauces as it is difficult to keep denser sauces aerated.

FOAMS CONTINUED

When aerating a sauce, the size of the container needs to be double the volume of sauce being used. If a blender is used, it should be positioned so that its blades skim the surface of the sauce, which causes the bubbles/froth to develop. A siphon will inject gas directly into the liquid and will expel the foam directly into the bowl, glass or plate being used to serve the dish.

A gelatinisation agent, such as gelatine or agar-agar, is sometimes used to stabilise the foam and create a stronger, foamier texture.