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Classic French Sauces
II
How To Prepare
the Great Classic Sauces
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Sauce Demi-Glace Family -
Dark Brown Warm Sauces
The original Espagnole Sauce was the
ultimate basic brown sauce recipe, having been replaced with a
much easier version called 'Sauce Demi-Glaze. The mother
of all brown sauces, along with her offspring sauce families.
Sauce
Demi-Glace - Basic Brown Sauce
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1/8 lb. butter
2 onions
2 carrots
3 T. flour
3 c. stock
1 T. sugar
1 T. tomato paste |
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
2 cloves garlic minced
Bouquet garni
Brown food coloring
2 T. Cognac [or brandy]
2 T. Madeira |
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Saute the carrots and onions in the butter over low heat for
about 30 minutes, and stir in the sugar the last 10 minutes of
cooking time. Turn the heat up to caramalize the
vegetables, but do not burn them. This creates the rich brown
color of the sauce.
Stir in the flour, stirring constantly about 2 to 3 minutes
until the flour lightly browns, then add the stock, bouquet
garni, tomatoe paste, sugar, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir
until the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to low, and with
the lid ajar, simmer for about an hour. Add brown color
only if the sauce is not dark enough.
Strain the sauce into a clean pan, and finish with the Cognac
and Madeira. Use alone, in other other sauces, or let it
cool [sit mixture with the lid on into a large pan of cold
water] and you can then freeze the mixture. If you freeze
the mixture, do not add the Madeira or Cognac. Add them
when you have heated the sauce again for serving. This is
something to make in large quantities to freeze, so you have it
readily available to make any of the following offspring demi-glace
recipes. |
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Sauce Preparation
Tools
Basic needs simply include a good
sauce pan [saucier], a whisk, a wooden spoon or other long
handled spoon for stirring. The best saucepan of course is
a copper saucier, but there are numerous selections to choose
from, and use and keep this saucier only for making sauces.
The saucepans and tools need to be related to each other, so
that if you have a non-stick surface saucepan, then you need to
use wooden or plastic coated or synthetic materials for the
whisks and spoons. Also, whisks vary greatly depending
upon the need...you can view a wide range of whisks, and spoons
here. You can buy inexpensive wooden spoons and spatulas
at your local hardware or grocery store.
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2 Qt. Copper Saucepan
On Sale
now $149.95 |
The ultimate saucepan of course is a heavy duty copper
saucier. Twice as conductive as aluminum and ten times
more conductive than stainless steel, copper is second
to none for cooking, for precision and uniformity and
speed. Oven safe to 500°F. Hand wash.
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Bordelaise Sauce
- In a saucepan, add 1 c. red wine and 2 T. minced shallots and
reduce to 1/2 cup. Add demi-glace sauce and simmer for
about 30 minutes. Strain, then add 1 t. fresh lemon juice
and 1/4 c. cubed pached beef marrow, and adjust seasonings.
Finish with 2 T. Cognac, 1 T. Madeira and 2 T. Grand Mamier, a
chunk of butter. Serve with grilled steaks..
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Chateaubriand Sauce
- In a saucepan add 1 c. white wine, 8 chopped mushrooms, 3
shallots minced, 1 T. fresh lemon thyme, a bay leaf and bring to
boil and reduce to 1/4 cup. Add the demi-glace, and simmer
for about 30 minutes, strain and adjust seasonings. Add 1
T. fresh lemon juice, 2 T. Cognac, 1 T. Madeira, a chunk of
butter. After spooning sauce over grilled steaks, sprinkle
fresh chopped parsley over the sauce.
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Chasseur Sauce
- In a chunk of butter, sauté 1 c. sliced mushrooms, 2 minced
shallots for about 2 minutes. Add 1/4 c. white wine,
reduce liquid completely, and stir in demi-glace sauce.
Add 2 T. Cognac, 1 T. Madeira, a chunk of butter. After
spooning sauce over game or poultry, sprinkle fresh chopped
parsley over the sauce.
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Diane Sauce
- have at hand 1 chilled hardboiled egg, and 1 chopped truffle.
In a saucepan, add 1/4 c. vinegar, 10 crushed peppercorns, bring
to boil and reduce to 2 Tablespoons. Strain liquid into
demi-glace sauce, stir into demi-glace a mixture of 1/4 c. crème
fraîche with a few drops of hot sauce.
Cut the white of the boiled egg into crescent shapes and add to
demi-glace along with chopped truffle. Adjust seasonings, heat
and serve with broiled or gilled meats.
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Lyonnaise Sauce
- In a chunk of butter, sauté 1 c. minced onions.
Add 1/4 c. white wine, 1/4 c. vinegar and reduce liquid
completely, add to demi-glace sauce and simmer 20 minutes..
Add 2 T. Cognac, 1 T. Madeira, a chunk of butter, adjust
seasonings. Serve with grilled and sautéed meats.
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Madère
Sauce - Bring 1 c. Madeira wine to a
boil, reduce to 1/4 cup, stir into demi-glace sauce, and add 2
T. Cognac. If too thin, adjust with beurre manié.
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Perigueux
- to the Madère sauce
add 3 T. chopped black truffles. Serve with grilled
steaks, pork tenderloin.
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Robert Sauce
- In a chunk of butter, sauté 2 minced onions. Add 1/4 c.
white wine, 2 T. vinegar and reduce liquid completely, add
to demi-glace sauce and simmer 30 minutes. Combine 1 t.
confectioners sugar, 1 t. dry mustard, add 2 T. of demiglace to
dry mixture to dissolve then add back into demi-glace.
Adjust seasonings. Serve with grilled steaks or chops. |
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Vegetable and Herb Sauces
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Vegetable and herb sauces are a nice
accompaniment to fresh vegetables during the summer months.
Make a nice display of fresh vegetables on a large serving tray
with the cucumber or dill sauce. |
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Cold Dill Sauce
- mix
together 1/2 c. plain yogurt, 1/2 c. sour cream, 1 T. country
style Dijon mustard, 1 T. fresh lemon juice and 1 T. chopped
fresh dill weed. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
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Cucumber Radish Sauce
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mix together 1 c. plain yogurt, 1 medium size cucumber peeled,
seeded, grated and drained, 4 large radishes grated, 1 T. fresh
lemon juice, 2 cloves minced garlic, salt and white pepper
to taste. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
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Hot Dill Sauce
- saute 2
minced shallots, 4 cloves minced garlic in a 1 T. butter until
translucent, add 1 T. country style Dijon mustard, 1 T. chopped
fresh dill weed, and 1 c. heavy cream. Bring just to boil and
reduce until sauce is thickened. Serve warm over poached
or grilled salmon.
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Green Peppercorn Sauce
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saute 2 minced shallots in 1 T. butter until translucent, add 1
T. green peppercorns, 1 T. country style Dijon mustard, 1 c.
heavy whipping cream, 1 T. French Tarragon leaves, or subsitute
with Mexican Mint. Bring just to boil and reduce until
sauce is thickened. Season with salt to taste.
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Provençal Sauce
- In 1 T. olive oil, sauté the following ingredients at one
time: 1 large sweet onion sliced thinly, 6 cloves of fine
minced garlic, 1 each - small green, red and yellow sweet pepper
seeded and cut into julienne strips, for 3 to 4 minutes.
Do not over- cook, add 4 peeled and cubed tomatoes, 1/4 c. white
port, 1 T. Herbs de Provence and bring to a boil, reduce heat
and simmer for 2 minutes. Add fresh parsley and serve over
pasta, or vegetables.
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Red Peppercorn Sauce
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sauté 2 minced shallots in 1 T. butter until translucent, add 2
T. red peppercorns, 2 T. brandy, 1 T. white port, 1 c. heavy
whipping cream, and bring to a boil. Reduce until sauce
thickens. Add 1 T. chopped fresh sweet marjoram, season
lightly with salt. Serve over pork, poultry, or
vegetables. |
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Espagnole Sauce
is the grandmother of sauce makings in classic French
cooking. The most important basic brown sauce in French cuisine is
called sauce espagnole, or Spanish sauce, which in reality
has nothing to do with Spanish cuisine however. The sauce
purportedly acquired its name from the bride of Louix XIII's Spanish
cook, who altered a rich brown sauce by the addition of tomatoes.
Espagnole sauce in itself is rather powerful and somewhat distasteful,
but its sole purpose and intent was a basis for all the 'Sauce Demi-Glace Family'
of dark brown warm sauces. Because this sauce took so many hours
or days to prepare, it fell in disfavor somewhat and 'Fond de Cuisine' a
much simpler but excellent mother sauce has become the favorite in
French cooking today.
The hierarchy of sauces is called the 'Mother' sauce, which becomes the
base for a subsequent variations of French sauce families. Please
note the following 'Mother Sauces' :
Sauce Demi-Glace, Béchamel
Sauce, Velouté
Sauce, Hollandaise
Sauce and from there you have the offspring's. As the
mother sauce is the parent sauce, thus her offspring's in various
categories based upon the added ingredients to the addition of the
parent sauce. The other 'Mother Sauce' is the red or tomato sauce,
which information will be forthcoming. |
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