This recipe is one in a series covering the basic or leading sauces in French Cuisine. Also known as Mother Sauces, these include Tomato Sauce, Bechamel Sauce, Espagnole Sauce, Veloute Sauce, and Hollandaise Sauce. With these five basic sauces, many variations or derivatives can be created that are suitable for almost any dish or recipe. The trick is knowing how to make these basic culinary staples at home.
What Is A Veloute?
Velouté much like Bechamel Sauce, is a creamy white sauce which is thickened with a roux.
While both sauces are smooth, creamy and generally white or cream colored, the biggest difference between them is that veloute is made with a white stock or broth, (most commonly chicken stock or fish stock), and Bechamel is made using milk.
Since veloute is broth based it provides a prefect example to show how anyone can thicken sauces or soups using starch as a thickening agent.
As this classic French sauce is made without milk, it makes an ideal alternative to cream sauces for those intolerant to lactose or with a dairy allergy,
Derivatives Of Veloute Sauce
In French, Veloute comes from the term velour which means velvet, and the sauce is just that. Velvety, full of flavor, veloute is great for making sauce derivatives( sauces made using veloute).
Some classical variations of veloute include:
- Bercy Sauce - made by adding white wine, shallots, and garlic.( ideal for garnishing fish such as this Whole Baked Haddock )
- Poulette Sauce - made by adding freshly sliced mushrooms, parsley, and lemon to a chicken veloute.
- Allmande Sauce - made from veloute sauce with the addition of mushrooms, peppercorn, lemon juice and thickened with a liaison instead of a roux.
- Supreme Sauce - made by adding heavy cream to a chicken veloute.
Before you start modifying the original sauce though, let's learn how to make the base veloute recipe properly!
So How Do You Make A Basic Veloute Sauce?
To make a simple veloute at home you will only need a few simple ingredients and follow 3 easy steps.
The Ingredients:
- 1L of good quality white chicken stock or fish stock, (other stocks may be used but these two are traditional). The stock used will depend on what the sauce is to be served with, ie:. fish veloute with seafood dishes.
- 100 grams Blonde Roux (50 grams flour/50 grams butter). If you've never made roux before, make sure to learn how to make roux first so you understand the steps and reason roux is used!
The Method:
On to the three steps you'll need to follow to make your own veloute sauce from scratch.
- Begin by melting the butter over a medium-high heat, and then add in your flour and cook it out until you have a blonde roux. It is best to use a wooden spoon and a stainless steel pot or pan, (as opposed to an aluminium pot) to prevent the roux and eventual veloute sauce from taking on a greyish colour.
- Warm 1 litre of white chicken stock in a separate pot, and add the warm liquid stock to the roux while using a whisk to stir in the liquid as you pour to prevent any lumps from forming. White stock simply refers to stock which has not had its bones roasted, and while white stock is traditional, brown chicken stock or broth can be used just as easily.
- Gently bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for about twenty minutes to half an hour. This reduces the stock somewhat and also gives the flour in the roux a chance to properly absorb all liquid and thicken. Once the veloute has been simmered, it should be the proper consistency and only need seasoning with a little salt and pepper.
At this stage you could add any other flavorings that you want or turn the Veloute into one of its various derivative sauces, (such as Bercy, or Supreme Sauce). If you don't plan on using the sauce right away you can cool it for future use, just be sure to follow basic safe food practices to avoid food poisoning!
Stay tuned next week for the last installment in this collection of Basic (or Leading) Sauces! In case you missed the other recipes in this series make sure to read up on Hollandaise, Bechamel, Espagnole, and Tomato Sauce!
Tried the recipe? Rate the Recipe below, and take a picture and tag me on Facebook & Instagram: @earthfoodandfire . For more from scratch recipes follow me on Instagram & Pinterest
Recipe
How To Make Veloute Sauce In Three Easy Steps
Ingredients
- 1 litre good quality white stock
- 100 grams Blonde Roux 50 grams flour/50 grams butter
- salt
- pepper
- appropriate seasonings for veloute sauce variations
Instructions
- 1.Begin by melting the butter over a medium-high heat, and then add in your flour and cook it out until you have a blonde roux.
- 2.Warm 1 litre of white chicken stock in a separate pot, and add the warm liquid stock to the roux while using a whisk to stir in the liquid as you pour to prevent any lumps from forming.
- 3.Gently bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for about twenty minutes to half an hour.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Some of the links in this post lead to affiliate sites through which Earth, Food, and Fire may earn a small commission (at no increased cost to you) should you make a purchase. This allows us to stay online and keep creating awesome content! For more info check the Affiliate Disclaimer. All advice, and opinions are based on observations in my own garden.
Karen wray
Hi chef. What would you serve Palouse and Choron sauce with. Thanks
Karen
Chef Markus Mueller
Hi Karen, choron sauce is great served on on eggs, steak, or even roasted vegetables. Paloise sauce is best served with lamb or other dishes that pair well with mint.
Roger Longfellow
You can follow this same great recipe using the strained cooking liquid from any braised meat, chicken or fish dish for added flavor. I made a veloute sauce today using the liquid from a beef blade roast braised in red wine and beef stock with aromatics and herbs. Perhaps not a textbook veloute but delicious plus you get to use that wonderful liquid you worked hard to make.
Chef Markus Mueller
You're totally correct Roger. In fact I do this all the time to thicken various pan gravies. It's an easy way to make a delicious sauce!
Anamit Sen
Very interesting recipe and thank you for posting it as well as the other recipes. I am a CKD patient and therefore am not allowed butter. Would it be possible to make the Blonde Roux with olive oil instead?
Anamit
Chef Markus Mueller
Hey, Apologies for the delayed response. Yes you can use oil as a butter substitute when making roux. You can use any fat really. The ratio stays the same (equal parts by weight) or you can measure out 1 cuo of oil and 1 3/4 cup of flour. this will make alot of roux, though it can be frozen or refrigerated for later use. Hope this helps!
marco
what 3 kinds of sauce you can make from bernaise sauce ..chef ????aside from choron sauce what is the other 2...
Chef Markus Mueller
Bearnaise sauce is itself a derivative sauce of Hollandaise, which just like Veloute is one of the five mother sauces. Since Bearnaise is already a derivative, there are basically just variations of Bearnaise, which have various ingredients added or removed from it.
Choron Sauce sauce as you mentioned is a Bearnaise without tarragon, but has tomato puree added to it.
Valais Sauce (also called Foyot) is a Bearnaise which has had veal glace added to it.
Paloise Sauce is the same as Bearnaise, except that the tarragon is substituted for mint.
Finally Sauce Colbert, is a variation of Valais Sauce and has a reduction of wine added to it.
Hope this helps!
Chef Markus
Terri
Very interesting! I have never heard of this sauce and have learned something new! Thanks????
Markus Mueller
Yay! Glad you learned something new!
Diane
Live instructive posts like this. Now I can’t wait to make haddock with sauce! A bit of effort but I bet it’s worth it. Thx for sharing your tips.
Markus Mueller
It is a bit of effort, but once you've made it a handfull of times it gets easier and can be put together quite quickly!
maria
Really appreciate all the details in this post Markus. I especially appreciated the link on how to make a roux.
I definitively prefer a veloute to a bechamel sauce... although I can appreciate that both have an important role in cooking. Thanks so much for sharing.
Dana
Oh gosh. This sounds *so* good. I've never made a veloute, but it's great to know that it's similar to a bechamel, since I have made that one aplenty. I'm definitely going to have to make a veloute for a fish dish sometime. It even *looks* velour-y!
Markus Mueller
It's a great alternative to milk based sauces! I actually just used some the other night to make a sauce for some fried sausages and vegetables! Not traditional but it was delicious none the less!
Loreto Nardelli
This sauce sounds so good. It is giving me lots of fish inspired dishes, and a few vegetarian too. Leave it to the French to make such wonderful sauces and tre shick recipes. I remember watching the old school chefs in black and white, like Julia Child, and just drooling over such elegant cuisone. Great pist on sauceshave a great weekend!
Cheers Loreto
Markus Mueller
Thanks Loreto! Let me know if you end up making any Veloute! I'd love to see what you end up creating!