Child's treatment of the classical mother sauces in Mastering the Art of French Cooking provides the most accessible documentation of velouté and its derivative sauces — the second tier of French classical sauce-making that professional kitchens use constantly but home cooks rarely understand systematically. Velouté is béchamel made with stock instead of milk: the same roux-thickened base, different flavour character.
A roux-thickened stock (chicken, veal, or fish) that serves as the base for a family of classical French sauces — allemande, suprême, poulette, normande, and others — each produced by enriching the velouté with different combinations of cream, egg yolk, butter, and aromatics.
- The roux must cook out completely — raw flour in a sauce produces a starchy, gluey texture. Cook the butter-flour mixture for 2 minutes over medium heat until it smells biscuity and the colour deepens slightly [VERIFY time] - Add stock gradually and hot — cold stock added all at once produces lumps. Add hot stock in three stages, whisking until smooth after each addition - The sauce must simmer for minimum 20 minutes after thickening — this cooks out remaining starch and develops the flavour [VERIFY time] - Skim throughout simmering — the roux releases impurities during the cook that must be removed for a clean, glossy sauce - The velouté derivative structure: velouté + cream + yolk liaison (allemande) — never bring to a boil after adding the egg liaison or the yolks curdle
ZUNI CAFÉ COOKBOOK + JULIA CHILD