Hollandaise and Béarnaise sauces

Notoriously rich and difficult to keep from “breaking”, both Hollandaise and Béarnaise sauces are emulsion sauces; meaning that they consist of droplets of fat suspended in water which are (semi) stabilized by egg protein (lecithin). Hollandaise is considered by many to be one of the finest sauces of western cooking. Many European cooks consider Béarnaise sauce a mother sauce unto its own; but in the US, cooks start by making Hollandaise and finishing the sauce with tarragon, vinegar and shallots to make their Béarnaise. Hollandaise is good on egg dishes, vegetables and fish. Béarnaise, with its stronger flavor, is great on broiled meats, salmon and steaks. The following Hollandaise recipe is not too hard to complete and should be fairly fool-proof, you may want to use it immediately for this sauce is hard to hold to long (more than 2 hours) and will separate into an oily mess. But if it fails I will add instructions on how to fix a “turned” sauce.

Hollandaise Sauce

3 egg yolks
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, divided
1 1/4 stick melted unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Whisk the egg yolks in your saucepan for a minute or so until they become thicker and turn a pale yellow. Add lemon juice and whisk. Add 2 tablespoons of the cold butter before placing on heat. While this butter melts, it should help to keep the eggs from curdling. Set the pan over low heat and whisk. Keep an eye on your mixture. As the eggs thicken, you should be able to see more and more of the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and whisk in remaining cold butter a tablespoon at a time. This will stop the yolks from cooking any further.

Add the warm melted butter in slowly and by slow I mean drizzle! Whisk to make a thick sauce. Whisk in seasonings and a little more lemon juice if you feel it needs it.

For a sauce that refuses to thicken, is too thin or has curdled: Take a tablespoon of the turned sauce and place in a separate mixing bowl. Whisk it with a tablespoon of lemon juice until it thickens. Drizzle in bits the turned sauce into THIS mixture slowly and whisk… let each addition of turned sauce thicken before adding more.

Béarnaise Sauce

A reduction of:
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 dry vermouth
1 tablespoon shallot, minced fine
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 egg yolks
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, divided
1 1/4 stick melted unsalted butter

Combine vinegar, vermouth, shallots, tarragon, salt and pepper and boil down mixture until it reduces to about 2 tablespoons. Strain mixture into another saucepan. Substitute this reduction for the lemon juice in the previous recipe.

Technorati Tags: Creole, Food, French, recipe, sauce

Béchamel Sauce

Béchamel sauce is the other white sauce mère. It is made by mixing a white roux with milk, très simple. With a Béchamel, you can make a variety of dishes including staples like macaroni and cheese, chicken and dumplings and more complex dishes like moussaka and lasagne. The sauce for the Creole Tuna Noodle Casserole recipe on this blog starts with Béchamel (technically it’s a Mornay sauce since it incoporates cheese). Béchamel sauce’s “children” include Sauce Aurore, Chantilly sauce, Mornay sauce and about 50 other sauces.

Béchamel sauce - Quick and Dirty

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons AP flour
2 cups cold milk, preferably whole milk
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
optional: dash of nutmeg or cayenne pepper
optional: 1 bay leaf

Start by making a white roux: Use a heavy bottomed saucepan that distributes heat evenly. Put the pan over medium-low heat and add the butter and melt the butter. When the foam subsides take the pan off the heat. Using a flat whisk or wooden spatula, rapidly stir in the flour. Return the pot and stirring every couple of minutes, cook until the flour is a straw color. Whisk in the cold milk, salt, pepper and any optional spices. Turn heat to low and continuing to stir, cook for 20-45 minutes until thickened and smooth. The longer you cook it, the smoother and less grainy it will become.

Be sure to fish out your bay leaf at the end of cooking if you’ve added it to the sauce.

Béchamel sauce - The More Traditional Approach

1 small yellow onion, peeled and diced
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
1/3 celery rib, diced
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup AP flour
4 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
dash of nutmeg
bouquet garni

First, scald the milk. Remove from heat and set aside. Melt the butter in a small saucepan until the foam stops, then add the diced vegetables and sauté until the onions are translucent. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the flour. Put the pan back on the heat and cook about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly whisk in the scalded milk. Return to heat and bring up to a boil, stirring constantly. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the bouquet garni, lower heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes. Remove and strain the sauce, without pushing on the vegetables.

Technorati Tags: Creole, Food, French, recipe, sauce