We all know the French saying “à chacun son goût”—and les connoisseurs agree that the French have a taste for sauces. Sauce-making is the key to haute cuisine and ranks foremost among the many skills that any aspiring French cook must learn, practice, and finally master. In France, the saucier, the head sauce chef of the hotel or restaurant kitchen staff, stands second only to the executive chef himself. And any young apprenti or commisambitious to reach the top of our profession, to become an executive chef, will find that he must ascend the ladder step by step and spend ample time learning the art of the saucier. In my own quite typical case of a boy with ambitions, this rule certainly held true.
One does not walk casually into the job of the saucier.One grows into it. In the world of French chefs, saucemaking is a serious business because sauces are an essential part of so many main-course dishes. Gastronomically, the sauce has to play a double role. It must be good in itself, with fine flavor and the right consistency, and it must also enhance the food that it accompanies. As it has often been said, a well-prepared dish should be as harmonious as a happy marriage. The sauce must neither overpower nor be overpowered by the food it garnishes, but the two should pay each other charming compliments. We French believe that a well-chosen, well made sauce can turn even an uninteresting dish into quelque chose extraordinaire—something very unusual— and that a fine dish, expertly sauced, can be a true gustatory experience. This is why the saucier needs such intensive training and acquires such importance in establishments where gourmets dine.
But let me tell you of my own experience and what led me to my career. Most boys, I suppose, have a hero, someone whose footsteps they dream of following. My boyhood hero was Émile Malley, the son of my mother's best friend. He was about ten years my senior; by the time I was four or five years old, he had already left our small town to go to Moulins and learn to be a chef. His mother, a widow, ran a small épicerie, a food store, situated close by our home and we had long been good friends as well as neighbors. Madame kept us informed of Émile's progress. Whenever the postman brought a letter from him, she could hardly wait to close the shutters of the store for the night so that she might come and read it to us. I'm afraid my family listened more dutifully than eagerly to these letters, filled as they were with little else than the details of Émile's apprentissage. But I drank in every word. And looking back now, I think that perhaps Émile's ambition, confided in those letters, inspired a similar desire in me. A chacun son goût—my caste was to follow Émile and to become, like my hero, a great saucier.
In any event, I, too, at last reached the age to go to Moulins. And I, too, learned my trade at the Maison Calondre, just as Émile had done, and finally went on alone to Paris to seek my fortune, just as he had. Perhaps it was because I had been a kind of second son to Madame Malley after her Êmile left home that she enlisted his help in my behalf. And so the hero of my boyhood became the guiding spirit of my adolescence, It was Émile who put in the good word that got me into the Hotel Bristol kitchen. It was again Émile who saw that I did a good job there and suggested that I apply for a position to the chef des cuisines of the famous Paris Ritz. At that time, the Ritz had recently opened on the Place Vendôme and Émile held the coveted job of saucier there. Here, of course, was my golden opportunity.
I started my career at the Ritz as a potager, or soup chef. Soup, as you know, must cook for long, long hours, during which it requires little attention. An indifferent, lazy potager can keep out of sight and avoid other work —he has the perfect chance to be what your Army boys call a “gold brick.” But a young man who wants to get ahead makes a point of finding where he can be useful while his soup simmers undisturbed on the stove. He offers a hand to the busiest chefs and from them learns the most important lessons of our trade. Still following the trail blazed by Êmile, I usually gravitated toward the sauciers, who were particularly busy in the morning. During this part of the day they had to prepare all the sauces for the bains-marie waiting on the back of the range. By helping the saucier whenever possible, I eventually learned enough to advance from position of potager and become an assistant saucier. And Émile Malley still continued to watch over me and further my career. When César Ritz opened his London Ritz and hired Monsieur Malley as its executive chef, Êmile invited me to come as saucier, a very important post for one so young as I. There was no prouder young man in Paris the night I received that invitation.
There was possibly no more cautious young man in London the day I started my new job at the Ritz. For a young chef, sauce-making is an arduous affair —twelve or fourteen hours spent near a hot range can sometimes seem to stretch out forever. Moreover, to an assistant saucier, the head chef on his tasting rounds is formidable—a man whose wrath may descend on you at any moment. He can detect the least carelessness or lack of skill on your part and, if my own experience is a good example, undoubtedly has a Gallic temper, more easily lost than regained.
But for an eager amateur of cookery in his own kitchen, sauce-making can be pure pleasure. The home cook may approach his sauces in a leisurely way, mastering them one by one. No meal will require more than one or two sauces, and some sauces may be made in quantity and stored in the refrigerator for almost a week, to be reheated when the need for them arises. While learning to be a professional saucier certainly has its harrowing moments, the amateur saucier will be spared the pain of denunciation for his shortcomings and will have instead the delight of being praised by family and friends for his achievement and progress.
If you have been working at these cooking lessons, you have already become familiar with two simple, easily made sauces: the vinaigrette or French dressing, a cold sauce for salads, cold vegetables, and fish, and the sauces made in the pan in which meats have been sautéed. So your next step—and the subject of this lesson—is to learn the principles of making the basic white sauces and brown sauces so indispensable to French cuisine.
White sauces and brown sauces have two characteristics in common. Both are thickened with a roux of flour cooked in fat; to prepare either, after heating the sauce until it thickens, you reduce, or boil down, the liquid to improve flavor and texture. In other respects, these sauces fall into separate groups. White sauces are made with a roux blond, or white roux, and with milk or white stock. Brown sauces arc made with a roux brun, or brown roux, and with brown stock or tomatoes. In each of these groups, two basic sauces serve as the foundation for all the others. They arc béchamel and velouté sauce in the white-sauce group and basic brown and tomato sauce in the brownsauce group. When you learn how to make these four basic sauces and how to vary them skillfully, you are on the road to becoming a saucier.
All sauce-making requires the same utensils and tools. First and foremost, the saucepan must be of heavy metal, as sauces scotch easily in a thin, lightweight pan, even with constant stirring. Use a two-and-a-half quart saucepan, preferably with a rounded bottom, for making a quart or more of sauce and a one-quart pan for making one to two cups. Smaller pans than these are not convenient, and a sauce is less likely to scorch around the edges if (here are no sharp corners for it to hide in. You naturally need measuring cups and spoons. A French chef uses a wire whip to stir the liquid into the roux and to mix the sauce while it thickens; then he changes to a wooden spoon or wooden spatula—a tool with a fiat, squared off end—to continue stirring during the reduction.
As for the ingredients, I can't be too emphatic about the importance of quality. Even the best of chefs needs fresh, pure materials to produce a good sauce. By skillful manipulation he can manage with a poor range and inadequate utensils, but never with off-flavor butter, milk, or eggs, stale mushrooms, or tomatoes that have started to soften. If you make your own stock, use only fresh bones, meat, and poultry; if you buy canned consomme or bouillon cubes, select a reputable brand. To make the roux, nothing compares with butter, although in the interest of economy good beef or pork fat is acceptable for brown sauces. For white sauces only butter will do—good butter.
Properly cooked sauces are light and smooth, never heavy, gummy, or pasty. They are subtle in flavor and free of grease. If you follow these directions, you should be able to achieve the outstanding characteristics a good sauce must possess. First comes the roux. Equal amounts of butter and Hour in the proportion of two level tablespoons of each for each cup of sauce will make a produce that is moderately thick and has no excess fat floating on the surface. The butter should be melted but not sizzling when you add the flour and the roux must be cooked very slowly and stirred constantly. Quick cooking shrivels the grains of starch in the flour and impairs the quality of the final sauce. Use more liquid than the amount of sauce desired and cook the mixture down to the correct quantity. This reduction extracts and blends the flavors of the ingredients more thoroughly, while the long cooking of the starch gives the sauce a smoother, more velvety texture. Heat the liquid before adding it to the roux to obtain a quicker and more thorough liaison of fat and flour with liquid. Cook the sauce slowly and whip it briskly with a wire whip as you add the liquid, then continue to stir it while it thickens. While the sauce reduces, it needs to be stirred only often enough to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. A sauce made this way will have what the French call du corps, body, or à la nappe, the ability to coat food without running off.
Some sauces may be thickened and enriched by the addition of egg yolks. The yolks are usually mixed with a hit of cream and a little of the hot sauce, which warms the eggs and cream and prevents curdling. Once you have added the egg-yolk mixture to the sauce, it must be stirred constantly and, the moment it reaches the boiling point, removed from the heat and stirred briskly for a minute or two more. The peelings and stems of mushrooms (these are later strained out) may be added for flavor and for the quality they seem to possess of blending together all the other flavors. Sometimes a few drops of lemon juice arc added to a white sauce, particularly when it is to garnish fish. And when you make a cheese sauce such as Mornay, you should choose a dry, nonfatty cheese like Parmesan or Swiss in preference to a fatty one like Cheddar. A fatty Cheese may change the texture of the sauce instead of simply adding flavor. If the recipe calls for shallots and you Cannot obtain them. you may substitute a tablespoon of finely chopped onion for each shallot. Finally, take care in adding salt, because its flavor becomes more concentrated as the sauce reduces. It is better to salt the sauce lightly at the beginning and to correct the seasoning just before serving.
The genealogy of the basic sauces is easy to remember. In the white-sauce family, béchamel is made with a white roux and milk, and velouté with a white roux and chicken stock. Add cream to béchamel and you make cream sauce; add egg yolks and cheese to cream sauce and you make Mornay. Or, beginning with velouté, you add mushrooms and cream to make sauce suprême. By adding egg yolks and more cream to sauce suprême, you make allemande, the richest sauce of all. In the brown-sauce family, brown sauce is made with a brown roux and brown stock, and tomato sauce with a brown roux and tomatoes, and so it goes. You can make any sauce ahead of time and reheat it slowly over low heat, stirring constantly. Velouté, brown, and tomato sauces can be kept in jars in the refrigerator for about a week. Seal the jar by pouring a little melted fat into it, or float a little Sherry on the sauce. Sauces containing milk, cream, or eggs should not be stored for longer than one day.
Béchamel Sauce
In a saucepan sauté 1 tablespoon onion, finely chopped, in 2 tablespoons butter, until the onion is soft but not at all brown. Add 2 tablespoons flour, mix well, and cook the roux slowly, stirring constantly, until it just starts to turn golden. Add gradually 3 cups scalded milk, and cook, stirring vigorously with a wire whip, until the mixture is thick and smooth. Season the sauce with ¼ teaspoon salt, 3 white peppercorns, a sprig of parsley, and, if desired, a tiny pinch of grated nutmeg. Cook the sauce slowly, stirring frequently, for about 30 minutes, or until it is reduced to two thirds the original volume. Strain the béchamel through a fine sieve. Makes about 2 cups.
Mornay Sauce
To 2 cups hot béchamel add 3 egg yolks beaten lightly with a little cream and a little of the hot sauce. Cook, Stirring constantly, until the sauce reaches the boiling point, but do not let it boil. Finish with 2 tablespoons each of butter and grated Parmesan or Swiss cheese.
Cream Sauce
Heat 1 ½ cups béchamel with ½ cup heavy cream and correct the seasoning with salt. If the cream sauce is to be served with fish, add a few drops of lemon juice.
Caper Cream Sauce
To 2 cups hot cream sauce add 2 tablespoons capers and 2 teaspoons parsley.
Poulette Sauce
In a saucepan sauté 6 to 8 mushrooms, minced, in 1 tablespoon butter until they just start to brown. Add 2 shallots, finely chopped, and ½ cup cream. Cook the cream until it is reduced to half the original quantity and add ½ cup béchamel or cream sauce. bring the sauce to the boiling point, correct the seasoning with salt, and add 2 egg yolks mixed lightly with a little cream and a little of the hot sauce. Bring the sauce again to the boiling point, stirring constantly, but do not let it boil. Finish the sauce with the juice of ½ lemon and ½ teaspoon chopped parsley.
Sauce Velouté
To 2 tablespoons melted butter in a saucepan, add 2 tablespoons flour, mix well, and cook the rouxslowly, stirring constantly until it just starts to turn golden. Add 3 cups boiling chicken Stock, a cup at a time, stirring vigorously with a wire whip. Season the sauce with 3 white peppercorns, a little silt (unless the stuck is salty), and a sprig of parsley. If desired, add ½ cup mushroom peelings and stems. Simmer the sauce, stirring it frequently and skimming it from time to rime, for about 1 hour, or until it is reduced to two thirds its original volume. Strain the velouté through a fine sieve. If the sauce is to be stored fur later use, stir it with the whip from time to time as it cools.
Mushroom Cream Sauce
Sauce Peel ½ pound small mushrooms and sauté them in 2 tablespoons butter until they are lightly browned. Add I cup cream and cook over low heat for 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in ¼ cupvelouté or cream sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Sauce Suprême
Cook 2 cups chicken stock with 3 sliced mushrooms, or some mushroom steins and peelings, until the liquid is reduced to one third its original quantity. Add 1 cup velouté, bring the sauce to the boiling point, and cook it until it is reduced to about 1 cup. Gradually stir in 1 cup sweet cream, correct the seasoning with salt and a little cayenne pepper, and strain the sauce through a fine sieve.
Sauce Allemande
Combine 2 cups hot sauce suprême with 2 egg yolks lightly beaten with a little cream, and cook the sauce, stirring constantly, until it reaches the boiling point, but do not let it boil. Finish the sauce with 2 tablespoons heavy cream.
Sauce Blanche (White Sauce)
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan, add I tablespoon Hour, and mix the roux off the heat. Stir in I cup boiling water, ½ teaspoon salt, and a little white pepper. Add 2 beaten egg yolks that have been mixed with a little of the hot sauce and cook the sauce, stirring constantly with a wire whip, until it reaches the boiling point, but do not let it boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and swirl in 2 to 3 tablespoons butter.
Brown Sauce
Melt ½ cup fat (fresh unsalted beef, veal, or pork drippings; do not use chicken fat) in a heavy saucepan and cook in it 1 small carrot and 2 onions, coarsely chopped, until the onions begin to turn golden. Add ½ cup flour and cook the roux, stirring constantly, until the flour is hazelnut brown. Stir in 3 cups boiling beef stock and add 1 stalk of celery, 3 sprigs of parsley, 1 small bay leaf, 1 clove of garlic, and a pinch of thyme. Cook the sauce, Stirring frequently, until it thickens. Add 3 more cups stock and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally and skimming from time to time, for 1 to 1 ½ hours, or until the mixture is reduced to 3 cups. Add ¼ cup tomato sauce or ½ cup tomato purée. Cook the sauce for a few minutes longer and strain it through a fine sieve. Add 2 more cups stock and continue cooking the sauce slowly for about 1 hour, or until the sauce is reduced to 4 cups, skimming it from lime to time. Remove the pan from the fire and let the sauce cool, stirring it occasionally.
Store the sauce in a covered jar in the refrigerator. If it is not used within the week, heat the sauce, cool it, pour it into a fresh jar, and pour melted fat over the top to prevent it from drying. Store the sauce again in the refrigerator.
Tomato Sauce
To 3 tablespoons melted butter in a heavy saucepan add 1 small carrot and 1 small onion, both coarsely chopped, and cook them until the onion is soft but not brown. Add ¼ cup flour and cook the roux, stirring occasionally, until it starts to turn golden. Add 2 to 2 ½ cups canned tomatoes or an equal amount of chopped fresh tomatoes, 1 ½ cups beef stock or water, 2 cloves of garlic, crushed, a bouquet garni made by tying together 3 sprigs of parsley, 2 stalks of celery, and 1 small bay leaf, and a pinch of thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, and pepper to taste. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook it until it thickens, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat and continue to cook over low heat, stirring occasionally and skimming when necessary, for 1 to 1 ½ hours, or until the sauce is reduced to about 2 cups. Discard the bouquet garni and strain the sauce through a fine sieve. Bring the sauce again to a boil and cook it for 4 or 5 minutes longer, stirring constantly.
Store the sauce in a jar in (he refrigerator. If it is not used within the week, hear the sauce, cool it, and pour it into a fresh jar. Pour a little Sherry on top to keep the sauce from drying and return the jar to the refrigerator.
Sauce Chasseur
Peel and slice thinly the caps of 1 pound mushrooms. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a saucepan, add the mushrooms with ½ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste, and saute them, shaking the pan frequently, until they are golden brown. Add 2 shallots, chopped, and ½ cup dry white wine and cook the sauce until the liquid is reduced to about half the original quantity. Add 1 cup brown sauce, 2 tablespoons tomato sauce, and ½ teaspoon each of parsley and tarragon, both chopped.
Sauce Piquante
Lightly brown 1 onion, finely chopped, in 1 tablespoon butter. Add 2 tablespoons vinegar and cook until most of the vinegar evaporates. Add 1 cup brown sauce and 1 tablespoon tomato sauce or tomato purée and cook the sauce for 10 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons finely chopped sour pickles and 1 teaspoon chopped parsley. Correct the seasoning with salt.
Mushroom Madeira Sauce
Peel and slice thickly the caps of 1 pound mushrooms. Add the mushroom slices to 4 tablespoons melted butter in a saucepan and cook, shaking the pan frequently, until the mushrooms are golden brown. Add ½ teaspoon salt and a little pepper to taste, 1 shallot, finely chopped, 1/3 cup Madeira or dry Sherry, and 1 cup brown sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook for 5 minutes longer. Finish with ½ teaspoon chopped parsley.
Sauce Fines Herbes
To 1/5 cup boiling dry white wine add 1 teaspoon chopped chives, 3 sprigs of chopped parsley, and the chopped stems of 3 sprigs each of tarragon and chervil. Let this mixture infuse for about 10 minutes.
To 1 tablespoon melted butter in a saucepan add 1 teaspoon chopped shallot and the strained herb infusion. Cook until the liquid is reduced to half its original quantity, add 1 cup brown sauce, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes longer. Swirl 1 tablespoon butter into the sauce and add the juice of 1 lemon and the chopped leaves of 3 sprigs each of chervil and tarragon.
Sauce Diablo
Add 3 shallots, chopped, and 8 peppercorns, crushed, to 1/3 cup dry white wine or vinegar. Cook the mixture until it is reduced to a thick paste. Add 1 cup brown sauce and ½ teaspoon each of Worcestershire sauce and chopped parsley.
Mustard Sauce
To ½ cup sauce diable, add ¼ teaspoon each of dry English mustard and salt, 1 teaspoon each of Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice, 2 tablespoons heavy cream, and a little pepper. Cook the sauce over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.