Chef Andys Techniques Class Classic Béchamel Recipes

CLASSIC BECHAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Use or store the sauce: Use immediately or pour into a storage container. Spread the remaining 1 teaspoon of butter over the surface of the hot sauce to keep a skin from forming. Cool the sauce for 10 to 15 minutes before storing. Refrigerate, tightly covered, up to 5 days, or freeze up to 3 months.

CHEF ANDY'S TECHNIQUES CLASS: CLASSIC BéCHAMEL

Steps:

• What you will need: Saucepan, Whisk, and Wooden Spoon.
• Chef's Note: If you don't have my other recipe on French "mother sauces" click here: https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/sauce-spread/sauce-spread-other-sauce-spread/chef-andys-technique-class-mother-sauces.html?p=4
• The Down & Dirty Recipe ------------------------------------------------ Add the flour and fat to a saucepan and cook, add the liquid, and whisk until thickened... Congratulations, you just made a Béchamel Sauce. Now, here's a bit more detail...
• Start with a Roux: A béchamel sauce begins with the making of a roux (pronounced: roo, like in kangaROO. The "x" is silent).
• To make a roux, you will need fat and flour in a 50/50 ratio, by weight. For this example we'll use clarified butter as our fat, and regular old run-of-the-mill all-purpose flour. For an excellent recipe for clarified butter, check here: https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/sauce-spread/sauce-spread-other-sauce-spread/double-boiler-clarified-butter-with-video.html?p=1
• Chef's Note: Why measure the ingredients by weight? Because a tablespoon of butter weighs more than a tablespoon of flour. We're looking for equal amounts by weight.
• For this example we will use 2 ounces (55g) of clarified butter, and the same amount of flour.
• In addition, we'll need 2 cups (480g) milk (whole fat).
• Chef's Tip: The amount of milk you add will determine the thickness of the béchamel sauce. For this recipe, you could use less or more, depending on what you're looking for in thickness, but more on that later.
• Place the butter into the saucepan over medium heat, and allow it to melt, but do not let it brown.
• Add the flour to the melted butter.
• Use a wooden spoon to mix the flour and fat together into a happy harmony.
• Chef's Note: Why clarified butter? You don't have to use it but... regular butter is 15% water by weight, so the roux will need to be cooked slightly longer to achieve the same results. On the other side of the coin, some chefs like regular butter because they feel the milk solids help to flavor a dark roux. In addition, if you don't remove all the water from the roux when it's cooking it can break a sauce.
• Types of Roux ------------------------------------------------
• White Roux ------------------------------------------------ Cook for just a few minutes until the fat and flour are evenly mixed together and start to froth. You want to cook out the raw taste of the flour, but stop cooking the roux before it starts to turn color. White roux's are used for white sauces that are cream and milk based such as béchamel.
• Blond Roux ------------------------------------------------ Cooked a little longer than a white roux, just until it starts to slightly turn color. A blond roux is used for white sauces that are stock based, such as veloutés.
• Brown Roux ------------------------------------------------ Traditionally used for brown sauces, which are sauces based upon brown-roasted stocks such as the mother sauce espagnol. The key to a good brown roux is to cook it over low heat so that it browns evenly without scorching. A good brown roux will have a rich and nutty aroma, and is great for thickening brown sauces and gravies.
• Chef's Tip: While most recipes on making a roux assume you will be using all-purpose flour, if you substitute other flours the thickening power of the roux will be effected. For example, cake flour has 20% more thickening power than all-purpose flour.
• Chef's Note: The longer a roux is cooked, the less thickening power it will have. A general rule of thumb is that a brown roux has 1/3 less thickening power than a white or blond roux.
• For the making of a béchamel, we need a white roux, so after a few minutes of cooking, remove the roux from the heat, and allow to slightly cool.
• Chef's Tip: A roux can be added to a liquid either warm or cold, but never hot. A sizzling hot roux will separate and break when it hits the liquid, causing lumps and the loss of the roux's thickening power.
• Return the saucepan to the stove over medium heat, and immediately add about half the warm milk to the saucepan, then begin to whisk vigorously.
• Add another half of what's left of the milk, and continue to whisk over the heat, as the béchamel begins to thicken.
• After several minutes of whisking, if the béchamel is still too thick for your needs, add more milk, and continue whisking until the desired thickness is achieved.
• Chef's Tip: Most roux-thickened sauces are slowly simmered for about 20 minutes. This helps to eliminate any starchy taste created by the flour. And remember, this is a slow simmer... after all your hard work; you don't want to wind up burning your béchamel sauce. I HATE it when that happens.
• Chef's Tip: Don't add any salt or pepper, until you know what you're going to be doing with that béchamel.
• Ratio of Roux to Liquid 3 ounces to quart: thin consistency 4 ounces to quart: medium consistency 5 ounces to quart: thick consistency 6 ounces to quart: heavy consistency
• Ratio of Roux to Liquid in Metric 85 grams to liter: thin consistency 113 grams to liter: medium consistency 141 grams to liter: thick consistency 170 grams to liter: heavy consistency
• Chef's Tip: Did you know that you can freeze béchamel? This is handy to know if you make too much and don't want to throw it out, or you may like the idea of keeping some in the freezer for future béchamel needs.
• Chef's Tip: Here in the test kitchen we make up to a gallon of béchamel, and then freeze it. I always make to the thick consistency because I'm not sure what I'll be using it for. When I need it, I pull it out of the freezer, and if it needs to be a thinner sauce, I just add more milk...
• Uses for a Béchamel Thin Consistency: Cream of (just about any kind of) soups. Medium Consistency: Lasagna or other classic creamy pasta dishes. Thick Consistency: Soufflé, Casseroles, Gratins, and Pot Pies. Heavy Consistency: Add some sausage and slow-cooked onions, and spoon directly over some good homemade biscuits... YUMMY.
• Chef's Note: Experiment with flours and with fats. I've done many a roux using bacon grease... mmmmmmm
• Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

CHEF ANDY'S TECHNIQUE CLASS: MOTHER SAUCES

Steps:

• How Many Mother Sauces are there? ------------------------------------------------ Some purists say four, while most of the rest of us concede that there are five. The French mother sauces were originally four base sauces created by Antonin Careme in the 19th century. The man was a culinary genius... he even made Napoleon's Wedding cake.
• The original mother sauces set out by Careme's were Béchamel, Espagnole, Velouté, and Allemande. In the 20th century, Chef Auguste Escoffier added the Hollandaise, dropped Allemande, and replaced it with Sauce Tomat.
• A sauce should be the crowning glory of any dish. And from the basic mother sauces, there are hundreds of variations that are used to dress, compliment, enhance and bring out the flavor of the food they are served with.
• Don't forget that when a sauce is used on a food, it is the first thing you will taste. In addition, a sauce is only as good as the ingredients you put into it and the care you take while preparing it.
• Before the days of refrigeration, strong sauces were used to mask the off flavors of old food, thankfully in most establishments that's no longer the case.
• But What Exactly Is a Mother Sauce? ------------------------------------------------ Simply put, a sauce is flavored liquid plus thickening agent. By varying the combination of liquid, flavoring and thickening agent, the possibilities are endless.
• A "mother" sauce is a base sauce that, once created, can be used to generate other sauces. These five base, or mother sauces are responsible for almost all other sauces.
• One thing you have to admit about the French... they know how to cook, and they know their sauces. I guess you could say that they are a saucy people.
• The Béchamel Sauce ------------------------------------------------ To make a, Béchamel Sauce, cook fat (typically butter) and flour together to make a roux, then whisk in some milk (typically whole milk). The thickness depends on the ratio of flour to fat, and the amount of added milk. The more milk, the thinner the sauce will be.
• Additional Flavorings: ------------------------------------------------ White Onion, Clove, Bay Leaf, Salt, White Pepper, and Nutmeg.
• Sauces Made from a Béchamel: ------------------------------------------------ Cream Sauce, Mornay, Cheddar Cheese Sauce, Mustard Sauce, and Nantua, to name a few.
• Traditionally Served with: ------------------------------------------------ Eggs, Fish, Steamed Poultry, Steamed Vegetables, Pastas, and Veal.
• The Veloute Sauce ------------------------------------------------ A Veloute is a white sauce that's made just like a Béchamel, except it's with chicken, veal, or fish stock in place of the of milk.
• Additional Flavorings: ------------------------------------------------ None... this is used as a pure base sauce.
• Sauces Made from a Veloute: ------------------------------------------------ Venetian sauce, Suprême sauce, Sauce Vin Blanc (White Wine Sauce), , Sauce Allemande, Sauce Poulette, Sauce Bercy, and Sauce Normandy.
• Additional Uses: ------------------------------------------------ Add in tarragon, shallots, and chervil for Venetian Sauce, or make Sauce Albufera by adding in a little meat glaze (reduced brown sauce).
• Traditionally Served with: ------------------------------------------------ Eggs, Fish, Steamed Poultry, Steamed Vegetables, Pastas, and Veal.
• The Tomat Sauce, or Tomato Sauce ------------------------------------------------ The Tomat sauce is made with tomatoes (raw, tomato paste, tomato puree, stewed tomatoes). I think that we all have our favorite variation of a good tomato sauce. It is classically thickened with a roux, a reduction, or purees.
• Additional Flavorings: ------------------------------------------------ Salt Pork, Mirepoix, Garlic, White Veal Stock, Salt & Pepper, Sugar.
• Sauces Made from a Tomat: ------------------------------------------------ Most variations concentrate on various spices.
• Traditionally Served with: ------------------------------------------------ Pasta, Fish, Vegetables (Especially Grilled), Polenta, Veal, Poultry (Especially Chicken), Breads and Dumplings such as Gnocchi.
• The Espagnole Sauce ------------------------------------------------ A brown sauce. Made by combining a dark brown roux, tomato paste, browned veggies, herbs, and rich meat stock.
• Additional Flavorings: ------------------------------------------------ Mirepoix, Sachet (Bay Leaf, Fresh Thyme, Parsely), Tomato Puree
• Sauces Made from a Espagnole: ------------------------------------------------ Demi-Glace, Bordelaise, Sauce Robert, Lyonnaise, Sauce Madeira, Sauce Bercy, and Sauce Chasseur.
• Traditionally Served with: ------------------------------------------------ Roasted meats, especially beef, duck, veal, lamb
• The Hollandaise Sauce ------------------------------------------------ Hollandaise is a rich, buttery yellow sauce. It consists of egg yolks and lemon juice, whisked together with small amounts of oil so that the fat emulsifies, then it's enriched with butter.
• Additional Flavorings: ------------------------------------------------ Peppercorns (Black), White Wine Vinegar, Salt, Lemon Juice, and Cayenne Pepper.
• Sauces Made from a Hollandaise: ------------------------------------------------ Bearnaise, Maltaise, Mousseline, Foyot, Choron, and Mayonnaise
• Traditionally Served with: ------------------------------------------------ Eggs (Eggs Benedict), Vegetables (especially Asparagus), light poultry dishes, fish, Beef (Bernaise Sauce)
• . ------------------------------------------ TIPS FOR MAKING GREAT SAUCES ------------------------------------------
• • Constantly stir roux-thickened sauces while cooking to prevent lumps. • If you must leave the sauce for a few seconds, set the pan off the heat during that time. • If a roux-thickened sauce develops a few lumps, beat them out with a rotary beater or wire whisk. As a last resort, strain sauce with sieve to remove lumps.
• • Cook egg-thickened sauces over low heat, or cook these sauces in the top of a double boiler over hot, not boiling, water. • Always temper (warm) the egg yolks before adding them to the sauce by first stirring in a little of the hot sauce mixture into them. Then add to the remainder of the sauce mixture. • Never let a sauce boil after the egg yolks are added.
• • Don't let water boil in the bottom of the double boiler if you use it to make egg-thickened sauces. • Finally, be sure that the water doesn't touch the bottom of the pan holding the sauce. • Master the making of Roux ("roo"), a principal thickening agent, and you will have a whole bunch of French sauces at your fingertips
• • Heating equal parts in weight of flour and fat (usually butter) will produce a white roux (5 mins), a blond roux (20 mins) or a brown roux (35 mins). • The darker the Roux, the nuttier the flavor. • Emulsifying is another great skill to crack. Technically it means adding two liquids that do not usually mix, like oil and vinegar.
• Keep the faith, and keep cooking.