BECHAMEL SAUCE (WHITE SAUCE)

 BECHAMEL SAUCE (WHITE SAUCE)

Béchamel Sauce Recipe 1

Béchamel is a standard white sauce and one of the five "leading sauces" of classical cuisine. It's the starting point for other classic sauces such as the Crème sauce and the Mornay sauce.

Béchamel is a simple, versatile sauce that you'll find yourself making again and again.

Also see these 7 Béchamel Sauce Variations.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 5 cups whole milk
• 6 Tbsp clarified butter (or ¾ stick unsalted butter)
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ onion, peeled
• 1 whole clove
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Ground white pepper, to taste
• Pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)

Preparation:

1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer over a medium heat, stirring occasionally and taking care not to let it boil.
2. Meanwhile, in a separate heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the clarified butter over a medium heat until it becomes frothy. Don't let it turn brown, though — that'll affect the flavor.
3. With a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the melted butter a little bit at a time, until it is fully incorporated into the butter, giving you a pale-yellow-colored paste. This paste is called a roux. Heat the roux for another minute or so to cook off the taste of raw flour.
4. Using a wire whisk, slowly add the hot milk to the roux, whisking vigorously to make sure it's free of lumps.
5. Now stick the pointy end of the clove into the onion and drop them into the sauce. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the total volume has reduced by about 20 percent, stirring frequently to make sure the sauce doesn't scorch at the bottom of the pan.
6. The resulting sauce should be smooth and velvety. If it's too thick, whisk in a bit more milk until it's just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
7. Remove the sauce from the heat. You can retrieve the clove-stuck onion and discard it now. For an extra smooth consistency, carefully pour the sauce through a wire mesh strainer lined with a piece of cheesecloth.
8. Season the sauce very lightly with salt and white pepper. Be particularly careful with the white pepper — and the nutmeg, if you're using it. A little bit goes a long way! Keep the béchamel covered until you're ready to use it.

Makes about 1 quart of béchamel sauce.

Béchamel Sauce Recipe 2

Ingredients

• 15fl oz/425ml milk
• a few parsley stalks
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 blade of mace or a pinch of powdered mace (optional)
• 10 whole black peppercorns
• 1 slice onion, 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick
• 1½oz/40g butter
• ¾oz/20g plain flour
• salt and freshly milled black pepper

Preparation method

1. First place the milk in a small saucepan and add the parsley stalks, bay leaf, mace (if using), peppercorns and onion. Then place it over a low heat and let it come very slowly up to simmering point, which will take approximately 5 minutes. Then remove the saucepan from the heat and strain the milk into a jug, discarding the flavourings.
   
2. All this can be done ahead of time, but when you want to make the sauce, use the same washed pan and place it over a gentle heat. Begin by melting the butter gently - don't over-heat it or let it brown, as this will affect the colour and flavour of the sauce. As soon as the butter melts, add the flour and, over a medium heat and using a small pointed wooden spoon, stir quite vigorously to make a smooth, glossy paste. Now begin adding the infused milk a little at a time - about 1fl oz/25ml first of all and stir again vigorously. Then, when this milk is incorporated, add the next amount and continue incorporating each bit of liquid before you add the next. When about half the milk is in, switch to a balloon whisk and start adding large amounts of milk, but always whisking briskly. Your reward will be a smooth, glossy, creamy sauce.
   
3. Now turn the heat down to its lowest setting and let the sauce cook for 5 minutes, whisking from time to time. While that's happening, taste and season with salt and freshly milled black pepper. If you wish to keep the sauce warm, all you do is pour it into a warmed jug and cover the surface with clingfilm to stop a skin from forming, then place the jug in a pan of barely simmering water.
   
   
   
   
   White sauce and variations
   
   White sauce and variations, including Mornay, mustard sauce, herb sauce, and more.

   Ingredients:

4. 2 tablespoons butter
5. 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6. 1 cup heated milk
7. salt
8. white pepper
9. freshly ground nutmeg (optional) 

Preparation:

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir until mixture is well blended. Gradually stir in hot milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce begins to boil and thickens. Simmer, stirring frequently, over very low heat for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add a little nutmeg, if desire. Makes about 1 cup of medium thick sauce. 

Mornay Sauce
Add 1/2 cup grated cheese to 1 cup of hot sauce; stir over low heat until cheese is melted. Season with a little mustard or Worcestershire sauce to taste.

Velouté Sauce
Substitute chicken, beef, fish, or vegetable broth for the milk.

Herb Sauce
Add 1 teaspoon of freshly chopped herbs or 1/2 teaspoon dried herbs to 1 cup of hot sauce. Cook for a minute or two longer to get more flavor from the herbs.

Sauce
Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of heavy cream to the finished sauce. For an onion flavor, add an onion slice to the milk when heating; remove onion slice before adding milk to flour and butter mixture.

Mustard Sauce
Combine 1 teaspoon dry mustard to flour used in sauce. This sauce is especially good with fish and chicken.

Béchamel Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 small onion studded with 2 Or 3 cloves, optional
• 1 small bay leaf
• dash dried leaf thyme, crumbled
• salt and white pepper to taste
• nutmeg, to taste

Instructions:
In a medium heavy saucepan, melt butter over low heat. When butter starts to foam, add the flour all at once, mixing well with a wooden spoon. Cook over low heat 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly to incorporate and cook flour. Remove pan from heat and let stand, up to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, scald milk (heating it until just below boiling point).
Return saucepan with roux to medium-low heat. Add all of the scalded milk at once (to avoid the formation of lumps). Simmer, stirring gently with a wire whisk or wooden spoon. Add studded onion, bay leaf and thyme sprig. Cook, stirring, over low heat, 15 to 20 minutes, until smooth and thickened. Strain sauce through fine-mesh strainer. Add salt, white pepper and nutmeg to taste. Makes about 2 cups.
From "Nancy Enright's Canadian Herb Cookbook" by Nancy Enright.
Posted by Cathy H.