Easy Basic Sauce Making Techniques

Successful saucemaking relies on one or more of the following professional techniques, according to the type of sauce you want to prepare. The techniques are not difficult and they will ensure that you achieve superb results. Equipment such as whisks, spatulas, skimmers, and fine strainers will prove invaluable to the process. I have found it vitally important to use the right piece and size of equipment for the job or task in hand—it certainly makes cooking, and in particular sauce making, much easier.

1. Whisking

Rapid whisking will emulsify and blend ingredients, aerate and add lightness to sauces containing egg yolks or cream, and make white sauces smooth and glossy. You can either use a supple, slim balloon whisk or a flat coil whisk. To incorporate the maximum air, whisk from the bottom of the bowl or pan up, working around the sides and across the middle. Cooked sauces that contain egg yolks are usually whisked in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water to prevent them from curdling.

2. Skimming

One of the most important and often overlooked steps in saucemaking, skimming removes fat, foam, and other impurities, which would otherwise spoil the flavor and appearance of a sauce. Skim regularly during the cooking process, using a shallow perforated skimmer to remove any foam or other impurities as they rise to the surface of the sauce. Brown sauces made in advance can be chilled and any excess fat that solidifies on the surface can be skimmed off with a spoon.

3. Straining & seiving

Straining removes solid ingredients and sieving helps emulsify liquids to make elegantly smooth sauces. To sieve, hold a fine-mesh strainer over a pan or bowl and pour in the sauce. Using the back of a ladle, press the sauce through the strainer. Discard solids left in the strainer. Reducing a sauce will decrease its volume through evaporation and thus intensify its flavor. To reduce, cook in an uncovered pan over high heat, stirring occasionally.

4. Deglazing

Pan sauces and gravies are made from the deglazed caramelized juices released from roasted or fried meat, poultry, and vegetables. To make a pan sauce, remove the food from the pan and spoon off excess fat, then deglaze the caramelized juices by adding stock, water, or wine and stirring to loosen the particles and incorporate them into the liquid. Reduce and finish as required. Making a sauce like this gives a richness and depth of flavor that cannot be achieved just by simmering ingredients.

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