Velouté and Stock Sauces
Cooking Skills: Sauces 1
Chapter 3 · Velouté and Stock Sauces
Skill goal
Make a lighter sauce by using stock instead of milk, and turn one base into several different sauces.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
A velouté (French for velvety) is white sauce made with stock instead of milk. The roux is cooked a little longer, for 2 to 3 minutes, until it turns pale gold; this is a blond roux, and it adds a nutty flavour. Then hot stock goes in a little at a time. The result is lighter and more savoury than white sauce, and works with chicken, fish, eggs and vegetables.
A velouté is also a base: add mushrooms, spices or leeks and you have a new sauce. Stock is the heart of it, so use a good one. Stock itself is the subject of the planned Soups and Stocks 1; until then, use ready-made low-salt stock and taste before salting. For white sauce itself, see Cooking Skills: Sauces 1, chapter 2.
The method
- Cook the roux for 2 to 3 minutes until pale gold and nutty, but not brown.
- Use hot stock, and add it a ladle at a time, whisking after each.
- Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring, so the flour cooks out.
- Strain for a silky finish if you want a smooth restaurant-style sauce.
- Finish with cream, lemon or mustard to give the sauce its character.
| Sauce | Liquid | Roux | Goes with |
|---|---|---|---|
| White sauce | Milk | White (1 to 2 minutes) | Vegetables, pasta, ham |
| Velouté | White stock | Blond (2 to 3 minutes) | Chicken, fish, eggs, vegetables |
| Mushroom sauce | Velouté and cream | Blond | Chicken, pies, pasta |
| Curry sauce | Velouté and spice | Blond | Rice, chicken, vegetables |
Hot sauce, stock and allergens
Hot sauce: a thickening sauce bubbles and spits, and hot sauce sticks to skin and burns worse than water. Stir with a long spoon, keep your face back and turn the handle of the pan inwards.Stock and salt: shop stock cubes and granules are very salty. Use low-salt stock, make it up weaker than the pack says, and taste before adding any salt, especially if you plan to reduce the sauce.
Lumps: lumps are flour that met liquid too fast. Add the liquid a little at a time while whisking, and if lumps still form, whisk hard off the heat or strain the sauce through a sieve.
Allergens: contains gluten (flour) and milk (butter, cream). Stock may contain celery. Mustard is an allergen. Use cornflour and plant cream for a gluten-free, dairy-free version.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
A chicken velouté
The base for everything else in this chapter. Cook the roux until it smells nutty, add hot stock gradually, and simmer. Taste before adding any salt, since the stock may already be salty.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 30 g butter
- 30 g plain flour
- 500 ml hot low-salt chicken stock
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 pinch white pepper
- Melt the butter over a medium-low heat, stir in the flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until pale gold and smelling nutty.
- Add the hot stock a ladle at a time, whisking after each addition until smooth.
- Simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring, until it coats a spoon. Add the lemon juice and pepper, taste, and add salt only if needed. Strain for extra smoothness.
Hot sauce and stock
Hot sauce: a thickening sauce bubbles and spits, and hot sauce sticks to skin and burns worse than water. Stir with a long spoon, keep your face back and turn the handle of the pan inwards.Stock and salt: shop stock cubes and granules are very salty. Use low-salt stock, make it up weaker than the pack says, and taste before adding any salt, especially if you plan to reduce the sauce.
Lumps: lumps are flour that met liquid too fast. Add the liquid a little at a time while whisking, and if lumps still form, whisk hard off the heat or strain the sauce through a sieve.
Level 2 · Mushroom
A mushroom sauce
Mushrooms are fried hard until golden before they go into the sauce, because that is where the flavour comes from. Serve with chicken, pies, pasta or baked potatoes.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 1 batch of chicken velouté (above)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 250 g mushrooms, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 100 ml double cream or whole milk
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Make the velouté as above and keep it warm.
- Melt the butter in a wide pan until foaming and fry the mushrooms over a high heat for 6 to 8 minutes until golden, adding the garlic and thyme for the last minute.
- Stir the velouté into the mushrooms, add the cream and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice, taste and season.
Hot pan and allergens
Hot pan and hot oil: searing and stir-frying use very high heat and spitting oil. Dry the beef first, keep everything ready before you start, use a long spoon and keep children away from the hob.Allergens: contains gluten, milk and cream; stock may contain celery.
Stock and salt: shop stock cubes and granules are very salty. Use low-salt stock, make it up weaker than the pack says, and taste before adding any salt, especially if you plan to reduce the sauce.
Level 2 · Spice
A curry sauce from a velouté base
A mild, smooth, British-style curry sauce. The curry powder is fried in the onion so it loses its raw taste. Serve with rice (see Cooking Skills: Rice 1), chicken or vegetables.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 1 batch of chicken velouté (above)
- 1 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tbsp mild curry powder
- 1 tsp tomato purée
- 1 tbsp mango chutney
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Make the velouté as above and keep it warm. Cook the onion in the oil for 8 minutes until soft and golden, adding the garlic and curry powder for the last 1 minute.
- Stir in the purée, then the velouté and chutney, and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Blend for a smooth sauce, or leave chunky. Add the lemon juice and taste for salt and sweetness.
Burning spices, hot sauce and blending
Hot sauce: a thickening sauce bubbles and spits, and hot sauce sticks to skin and burns worse than water. Stir with a long spoon, keep your face back and turn the handle of the pan inwards.Blending hot liquids: hot liquid expands in a sealed blender and can blow the lid off and scald you. Let it cool for a few minutes, fill the jug no more than half, hold a folded cloth over the lid, and start on low. A stick blender in a deep pan avoids the problem.
Burning spices: curry powder burns in seconds in a hot pan and tastes bitter. Lower the heat before adding it and stir constantly.
Level 3 · Creamy
A creamy leek and mustard sauce
Leeks cooked slowly in butter until very soft, with wholegrain mustard and cream. A good sauce for fish, chicken or eggs. Mustard goes in at the end so its heat stays bright.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 1 batch of chicken velouté (above)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 leeks, washed and finely sliced
- 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 3 tbsp double cream
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Make the velouté as above and keep it warm. Melt the butter and cook the leeks gently with a lid on for 8 to 10 minutes until completely soft but not browned.
- Add the velouté and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in the mustard and cream and heat gently without boiling.
- Add the lemon juice, taste and season. Serve straight away.
Hot sauce and allergens
Hot sauce: a thickening sauce bubbles and spits, and hot sauce sticks to skin and burns worse than water. Stir with a long spoon, keep your face back and turn the handle of the pan inwards.Allergens: contains mustard, milk and gluten.
Stock and salt: shop stock cubes and granules are very salty. Use low-salt stock, make it up weaker than the pack says, and taste before adding any salt, especially if you plan to reduce the sauce.
Experiments
Experiment
Stock cube or fresh stock
Salty and mild.
- Make two small veloutés, one with a stock cube and one with good ready-made liquid stock, and taste.
Look for: The cube version is often saltier and sharper; liquid stock is rounder. Use half a cube and taste before adding salt.
Experiment
Blond or brown roux
Pale and darker.
- Cook one roux for 2 minutes and one for 6, until brown, then make each into a sauce.
Look for: The brown roux gives a deeper, nuttier flavour but thickens less. Blond is a better all-rounder.
Experiment
Adding cream
With and without.
- Divide a batch of velouté and finish half with a few spoonfuls of cream.
Look for: The cream makes it softer, richer and rounder, while the plain one is lighter and more savoury.
Experiment
Straining
Silky and rustic.
- Strain half the velouté through a sieve and leave half as it is.
Look for: The strained sauce is silkier; the rest is slightly textured. For home cooking either is fine.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken velouté | ||||
| Mushroom sauce | ||||
| Curry sauce | ||||
| Leek and mustard sauce | ||||
| Stock cube or fresh stock | ||||
| Blond or brown roux | ||||
| Adding cream | ||||
| Straining |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Lumpy velouté | Cold stock or added too fast | Use hot stock, a ladle at a time, and strain if needed |
| Too salty | Salty stock or salt added too early | Add water, cream or a squeeze of lemon |
| Tastes of flour | Roux or sauce undercooked | Simmer for 10 minutes |
| Too thick | Too much roux or over-reduced | Whisk in a little stock |
| Mushroom sauce watery or grey | Mushrooms not browned or crowded | Fry them in a wide pan in batches until golden |
| Cream split | Boiled after adding | Add cream at the end, heat gently and don't boil |
Hot sauce, stock and leftovers
Hot sauce: a thickening sauce bubbles and spits, and hot sauce sticks to skin and burns worse than water. Stir with a long spoon, keep your face back and turn the handle of the pan inwards.Stock and salt: shop stock cubes and granules are very salty. Use low-salt stock, make it up weaker than the pack says, and taste before adding any salt, especially if you plan to reduce the sauce.
Keeping sauces: cool a sauce quickly in a shallow container within 1 to 2 hours, press cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming, chill and use within about 2 days. Reheat until steaming hot, stirring. Milk and cream sauces can split when frozen, so freeze other sauces instead.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can make a blond roux.
- I can make a velouté with hot stock.
- I can turn a velouté into a mushroom, curry or leek sauce.
- I can season a stock-based sauce without over-salting.
- I can strain a sauce to make it silky.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Sauces 1, chapter 4 is Gravy: turning pan juices into gravy for a roast.