Velouté Sauce
Sauce velouté, takes its name from the adjectival form of the French word velour, meaning velvet. In some older English cookbooks it is called velvet sauce. It is one of the five "Mother Sauces" of French cuisine.
Total Time
20 minutes
Servings
2 cups
¼ cup (4 tbsp) butter
¼ cup (60 g) flour
2 cups (480 ml) boiling white stock
Salt, to taste
White pepper, to taste
Make a white roux: melt the butter in a sauce pan over low heat until the foam subsides. Whisk in the flour and cook slowly, while stirring until the mixture froths up for about 2 minutes. The flour should lose its raw smell but not its color.
2 minutes
Remove from the heat. When the roux has stopped bubbling, add the boiling stock all at once, while whisking quickly but smoothly to create a smooth mixture.
Add the seasonings and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Simmer the sauce until it lightly coats the back of a spoon.
Taste and adjust seasonings.
- •If sauce is lumpy, force the sauce through a fine sieve or process it in a blender.
- •If sauce is too thick, thin it out with stock.
- •If sauce is too thin, bring the sauce to a boil. Then, off the heat, blend in a ½ tablespoon of beurre manié with a wire whisk. Boil for 1 minute, stirring.