There is no good cooking possible without good sauces. Many excellent
pieces of meat, etc., are spoiled by being served with a poor sauce.
Let every one bear in mind that water is no substitute for broth; that
vinegar or water is no substitute for wine, etc.
There is no place where the old proverb can be better applied than in
the kitchen, "Waste not, spare not."
The _French_, _Italians_, _Spaniards_, and _Germans_, use broth and wine
in their cooking, and do not spend as much as the _Americans_ for their
food; they could not afford it; but they waste not, neither do they lose
any thing good through carelessness or prejudice.
Good sauces are not as difficult to make as is generally believed.
This general belief comes from the fact that many, after having partaken
of a certain dish somewhere, and liking it much, ask of their own cook
to prepare the same.
The cook, most probably, has never heard of it, but nevertheless
prepares a dish which is hardly eatable, and is to the other what a
crab-apple is to a raspberry.
The most important thing in making a sauce is for the cook to put his or
her whole attention and care to it.
Most sauces must be stirred continually while on the fire, and
especially white sauces, such as _Bechamel_, _Bechamel_ with cream or
cream sauce, and white sauce.
It is necessary to stir all sauces now and then, to prevent the forming
of a kind of skin on the surface.
The onions, shallots, garlics, and vinegar, used in sharp sauces, may be
prepared as described for _piquante_ sauce.
Sauces can always be made to suit the taste. A thousand can be made as
well as a hundred, by merely adding or subtracting one or more of the
compounds, or by proceeding differently. An idea of what can be done in
that line can be formed by reading our directions for Supreme Sauce.
HOW TO MAKE A SAUCE THICKER WHEN IT IS TOO THIN, AND THINNER WHEN TOO
THICK.
Take two fresh eggs, break them gently, and separate the white part from
the yolk; be careful to have the yolk free from any white (there is in
every yolk a little white spot, which you cannot detach without using a
fork, knife, or spoon); mix well the two yolks with two or three
tablespoonfuls of the sauce that is too thin, and a piece of butter the
size of a pigeon's egg; then take the sauce from the fire, pour the
mixture in it, little by little, stirring all the time; when the whole
is in, put back on the fire for three or four minutes, but do not allow
it to boil; take away and use. When too thick, add broth.
_Allemande._--Chop fine and fry in butter four or five mushrooms; then
add a little flour, and four or five tablespoonfuls of broth; reduce it
to a sauce; put a piece of butter the size of an egg in it, also a sprig
of white parsley chopped fine, one of thyme, a clove, a bay-leaf, a
clove of garlic, a little nutmeg grated fine, the juice of a quarter of
a lemon, and three well-beaten yolks of eggs, boil two or three minutes,
and use. If found too thick, add a little broth.
_Anchovy Butter._--Strain essence of anchovy through a fine sieve, and
knead it with fresh butter, or salt butter that you have kneaded in cold
water previously, and it is ready for use.
_Anchovy Sauce._--Use butter without salt; if salty, work it in cold
water. Set three ounces of butter in a saucepan on the fire, and melt it
slowly; then add about two teaspoonfuls of essence of anchovy; stir a
few seconds, and it is done. More anchovy may be used if liked. It is
served in a boat.
_Apple._--Peel, quarter, and core four or six apples, and set them on
the fire in a small saucepan, with two tablespoonfuls of water; stir now
and then till done; when done, mash through a fine colander; add a
little sugar, and it is ready for use.
If found too thin, keep on the fire for some time. If too thick, add a
little water.
_Cranberry._--Put a quart of cranberries in a saucepan and set it on a
rather slow fire; stir occasionally till done; mash gently through a
fine colander, or through a strainer; add a little sugar, and use.
_Currant._--Proceed as for a cranberry-sauce in every particular, except
that it must be mashed through a strainer or through a towel.
_Peach._--Stone about a quart of peaches, and proceed as for apple-sauce
for the rest.
_Raspberry._--Made the same as currant-sauce.
The five sauces above are served with roasted game.
_Bechamel._--Mix cold, and well together, in a tin saucepan, two ounces
of butter and a tablespoonful of flour; then add a pint of milk, and
set on the fire; stir continually, and when turning rather thick, take
off; beat a yolk of egg in a cup with a teaspoonful of water; turn it
into the sauce, and mix well again; salt and white pepper to taste, and
it is ready for use.
_Blonde._--Proceed exactly as for white sauce, using broth instead of
water.
_Bread._--Take the soft part of half a ten-cent loaf of bread; break it
in pieces, which put in a saucepan with a quart of good fresh milk, six
pepper-corns chopped fine, and a little salt; set on the fire and boil
five or six minutes, stirring the while; take off, mash through a
strainer or a sieve, and it is ready for use.
A bread-sauce is really a very poor sauce. Its insipidity is concealed
by the great amount of pepper that it contains.
_Brown Butter, or Beurre Noir._--This is butter set on the fire in a
frying-pan and left till it turns perfectly brown, then a few sprigs of
parsley are dropped in it, fried half a minute, and it is ready for use.
It is sometimes used with vinegar, but in that case it is described in
the receipts.
_Caper._--Mix well together, cold, in a small saucepan, two ounces of
butter and a tablespoonful of flour; then add a pint of broth, set on
the fire, stir, and when thickening, add capers to taste, whole or
chopped; give another boil, take from the fire, add salt, the yolk of an
egg beaten with a teaspoonful of water, mix and serve.
_Celery._--Proceed as for a caper-sauce in every particular except that
you add three or four stalks of celery chopped fine, and then boil ten
or twelve minutes, and strain it before using.
_Colbert._--Set half a pint of meat gravy on the fire, in a small
saucepan with half a dozen mushrooms and one or two truffles chopped
fine (the latter, if handy), boil gently five minutes, add one ounce of
butter, stir, and when the butter is melted and mixed with the rest, it
is ready for use.
_Coulis of Fish_, _or Fish Gravy_, is one and the same thing.
Boil hard four eggs, and put the yolks in a mortar. Take a pike weighing
about two pounds, clean, prepare, and broil it as directed; split it
open, take all the bones and skin off, put the flesh in the mortar with
the yolks, and pound the whole, and knead it with a little butter. Place
a little butter, of the size of a walnut, in a stewpan, and set it on a
good fire; when melted, fry in it till of a golden color, two carrots
and two onions cut in slices; after that add also a piece of bay-leaf,
two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a little isinglass, the eggs and
fish, and cover with water; simmer gently about one hour and a half, and
strain.
If found too thin after it is strained, set it back on the fire, add a
little more isinglass, and simmer fifteen minutes longer.
_Coulis of Veal._--Place in a stewpan about one pound of veal, fillet or
knuckle, with four ounces of bacon, not smoked, and cut fine; also a
carrot cut fine, a little pepper, and grated nutmeg; set on a slow fire,
cover well; half an hour after augment the fire, and as soon as you see
the meat sticking to the pan, subdue it, leave it so ten minutes, then
take from the fire, put the bacon, veal, and carrot on a dish; put
butter about the size of an egg in the pan; when melted, sprinkle in it
a teaspoonful of flour, stir with a wooden spoon, then put the meat back
into it. Cover with warm broth and set on a slow fire for about two
hours; take off, throw in it a few drops of cold water, skim off the
fat, strain, and use.
_Cream._--A cream-sauce is a _Bechamel_ made with cream instead of milk.
It is often called _a la creme_, its French name.
_Cucumber._--Proceed as for caper-sauce, using pickled cucumbers,
chopped fine, instead of capers.
_Egg._--Proceed as for caper-sauce in every particular, except that you
use two hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine, instead of capers.
_Diplomat._--Make a cream-sauce with one pint of cream. When made, put
in it nearly half a pound of lobster butter, stir, and when the whole is
well mixed, add also about a tablespoonful of essence of anchovy and mix
again; pepper to taste, and use.
It is a rich sauce, used with boiled fish and baked or roasted meat.
_Espagnole._--This sauce is very seldom made in the kitchen of a family,
except of a large and wealthy family, being a rather expensive one. In
the kitchen of a family, gravy or even broth is used in its stead; but,
when preparing an extra dinner, it should be made, and a little of it
used in all the brown sauces, either for meat, fish, or vegetables.
Spread about half a pound of butter in the bottom of a stewpan, lay in
it lean ham and veal, partridge, wild rabbit, pheasant, or fowl of any
kind, about four ounces of each, a small carrot cut in dice, one onion
with a clove stuck in it, half a turnip, and a sprig of thyme; cover the
pan and set it on the fire; let it simmer till reduced to a jelly, then
mix in it two tablespoonfuls of flour, a wine-glass of white wine, cover
with broth, add salt, pepper, a clove of garlic, a sprig of parsley, one
clove, a bay-leaf, and two mushrooms cut in pieces; simmer from three
to four hours, skim off the scum as soon as it comes on the surface;
when done, take it from the fire, throw a few drops of cold water in,
and skim off the fat, then strain and use.
It will keep for some time if kept air-tight in a pot or bottle, and in
a cool, dry place.
_Essence of Spinage, or Spinach._--Soak in water, drain, dry, and pound
well two or three handfuls of spinach, put them in a coarse towel and
press the juice out, put it in a pan on a moderate fire, and when nearly
boiling, take it off, strain, and add to it a little fine-crushed sugar,
stir a little, and bottle when cold; it may be kept for months; use it
where directed.
_Sauce for every kind of Fish, boiled, baked, or roasted_.--Boil hard
two eggs, take the yolks and pound them well, and place them in a bowl.
Have boiling water on the fire, and put in it cives, burnet, chervil,
tarragon, and parsley, four or five sprigs of each; boil five minutes,
take off, drain and pound them well, then strain them on the eggs, add
two tablespoonfuls of cider vinegar, two of French mustard, salt,
pepper, and four tablespoonfuls of sweet-oil, which you pour in, little
by little, at the same time mixing the whole well with a boxwood spoon,
and it is ready for use.
_Fines Herbes._--Chop very fine a small handful of parsley, shallots,
and chives; and proceed as for making a caper-sauce, except that you use
the chopped spices instead of capers.
_Genoise._--Put two ounces of butter in a small saucepan, set it on the
fire, and when melted, mix in it a tablespoonful of flour; stir for one
minute, add one-fourth of a carrot, sliced, stir now and then, and when
nearly fried, add also a pint of broth, half a pint of claret wine, a
small onion, and a clove of garlic, chopped; two cloves, a bay-leaf, two
stalks of parsley, one of thyme, salt, and pepper; boil gently about one
hour and forty minutes, and strain. If it boils away, add a little
broth. Put it back on the fire with about half an ounce of butter, boil
gently for about ten minutes, and it is ready for use.
This sauce is excellent with any kind of boiled fish, but especially
with trout, pike, and pickerel.
A trout served with a _genoise_ sauce is considered a _recherche_ dish.
_Hollandaise._--Set one ounce of butter on the fire in a saucepan, and
when melted, add half a tablespoonful of flour, stir, and when turning
rather yellow, add half a pint of broth, stir for one minute; add also
four sprigs of parsley and four mushrooms chopped fine (one truffle
sliced, if handy, would be excellent), a liquor-glass of Madeira, Port,
or Sherry wine; boil gently ten minutes, stirring the while, and serve.
_Indian._--This sauce may be used with fish, in summer and in southern
places.
Have a stewpan on a moderate fire, with two ounces of butter in it; when
melted, add a teaspoonful of pimento, salt, a pinch of saffron, and one
of grated nutmeg, also one and a half tablespoonfuls of flour--the
latter you sprinkle in, little by little, stirring the while; cover with
broth, boil twelve minutes and strain; afterward add two ounces of
butter, stir a little, and use.
_Italian._--Tie together two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, and a
bay-leaf; put them in a stewpan with two or three mushrooms cut fine,
one shallot, a small onion with a clove stuck in it, a piece of butter
the size of a walnut, and half a pint of white wine; set on a gentle
fire, and reduce it half; then add about one tablespoonful of olive-oil
and half a pint of broth, simmer forty minutes, strain, and use.
_Lobster._--Chop very fine or pound some of the flesh of a boiled
lobster. Take a white or blonde sauce, and instead of taking it from the
fire when done, turn the chopped flesh into it with a little piece of
butter; stir, give one boil, and it is ready for use.
_Craw-fish, prawn, shrimp,_ and _crab_ sauces are made the same as
_lobster_ sauce.
_Madeira._--Mix cold in a saucepan two ounces of butter with a
tablespoonful of flour, set on the fire and stir till it turns rather
brown; when add nearly a pint of gravy, stir till it is becoming thick;
then add half a pint of Madeira wine, little by little, stirring the
while, give one boil only, salt to taste, and then strain and use.
_Champagne_ sauce is made in the same way, except that it must be poured
in faster and used immediately.
All wine sauces may be made in the same way. We mean wine sauces for
meat or fish.
_Maitre d'Hotel._--This sauce is sometimes called _butter_ _maitre
d'hotel_. Mix and knead well together in a bowl, two ounces of butter, a
tablespoonful of chopped parsley and the juice of a half lemon; salt to
taste and use.
Pepper, grated nutmeg, and chopped chives, may be added if liked. Using
vinegar instead of lemon-juice makes an inferior sauce.
_Mayonnaise._--In warm weather it is necessary to put the bowl on ice
while making it. Put one or two yolks of fresh eggs in a bowl with a
small pinch of salt; commence stirring with a box-wood spoon, or, what
is still better, a stone or marble pestle. Stir without interruption,
always in the same way and describing a circle. It is more easily done
if the bowl is held steady. After having stirred about half a minute,
commence pouring the oil in, drop by drop, and as soon as you see that
it is thickening pretty well, add also a few drops of vinegar and same
of lemon-juice; then continue with the oil in the same way. Every time
that it becomes too thick, add a little vinegar, but continue stirring.
You put as much oil as you please; two bottles of oil might be used and
it would still be thick. Spread it on chicken salad, etc.
_Tartar._--Chop some capers and shallots very fine, mix them well with a
_mayonnaise_ when made, and you have a Tartar sauce.
_Mushroom._--Proceed exactly as for caper-sauce, using chopped mushrooms
instead of capers.
_Piquante._--Take a small saucepan and set it on the fire with two
ounces of butter in it, and when melted add a small onion chopped; stir,
and when nearly fried add a tablespoonful of flour, stir, and when
turning rather brown, add half a pint of broth, salt, pepper, a pickled
cucumber chopped, four stalks of parsley, also chopped, and mustard;
boil gently about ten minutes, add a teaspoonful of vinegar; give one
boil, and serve.
_Another way._--Set the chopped onion on the fire with one gill of
vinegar, and boil gently till the vinegar is entirely absorbed, or
boiled away. Make the same sauce as above in another pan, omitting the
onion and vinegar, and when done mix the two together, and it is ready
for use.
_Another._--Add three shallots, chopped fine, to the chopped onion, and
proceed as above for the rest.
_Parisienne._--Make a bunch of seasonings with six sprigs of parsley,
one of thyme, a bay-leaf, and two cloves; put it in a saucepan with half
a pint of chopped truffles, and about a pint of white wine; set on the
fire and boil gently till about half reduced, strain, put back on the
fire, turn into it, little by little, stirring the while, nearly a pint
of gravy or _consomme_; continue stirring now and then till it begins to
turn rather thick, add pepper to taste, strain, and use with fish and
game.
_Poivrade._--Put a piece of butter the size of an egg in a stewpan, and
set it on the fire; when melted, sprinkle in it, little by little, about
a tablespoonful of flour, stirring the while; when of a proper
thickness, and of a brownish color, take from the fire, add a
tablespoonful of vinegar, a wine-glass of claret wine, a glass of broth,
a shallot cut in two, a middling-sized onion, also cut in two, with a
clove stuck in each piece, a sprig of thyme, one of parsley, a bay-leaf,
a clove of garlic, a little salt, and two pepper-corns; boil about
twenty minutes, strain and use.
The vinegar, shallot, and onion may be boiled separately as for a
_piquante_ sauce.
_Polonaise._--Put four ounces of butter in a saucepan on the fire, and
when melted add two or three tablespoonfuls of the soft part of bread,
bruised in a coarse towel; stir for about one minute, salt to taste, and
use.
Like the _Parisienne_, it is used with game.
_Poulette._--Set a stewpan on the fire with a piece of butter the size
of an egg in it; when melted, sprinkle in it a tablespoonful of flour,
stirring the while; pour gently in it also, and little by little, a
glass of warm water, and a wine-glass of white wine, or broth instead of
both, salt, pepper, a sprig of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, a
chopped shallot, a little nutmeg, four small white onions, and two or
three mushrooms (the latter cut fine and fried in butter before using
them); simmer till the whole is well cooked, strain and use.
In case it should be found too light, add when done, and before taking
from the fire, two or three yolks of eggs, and the juice of a lemon.
_Princesse._--Make a cream-sauce with one pint of cream and set it on a
moderate fire; immediately turn into it, stirring the while, about half
a pint of reduced, good meat gravy; when thoroughly mixed, add two or
three ounces of butter, stir for a couple of minutes longer, strain and
use immediately.
It is a very rich sauce, used with boiled fish and roasted or baked
meat.
_Provencale._--Chop fine two or three mushrooms, and two shallots; put
the whole in a stewpan with a clove of garlic, and two tablespoonfuls of
olive-oil; set on a moderate fire, and leave till half fried; then
sprinkle in it half a teaspoonful of flour, stirring the while; add also
half a pint of white wine, and as much broth, and two small onions, two
sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, half a bay-leaf, salt, and pepper;
simmer about half an hour, take from the fire, and a few minutes after
skim off the fat; take out the garlic, onions, parsley, thyme, and
bay-leaf, and it is then ready for immediate use.
_Ravigote._--Chop fine, and in equal proportion, two tablespoonfuls of
chervil, tarragon, and pepper-grass, also, in equal proportion, one
teaspoonful of burnet and table celery; place the whole in a stewpan
with salt and pepper, cover with broth, set on the fire, and boil twenty
minutes; after which take from the fire, and strain. Mix two ounces of
butter with flour enough to make a paste, put it with the sauce on the
fire, add a tablespoonful of cider vinegar; simmer till of a proper
thickness, and use.
_Robert._--Put about four ounces of butter in a stewpan, set it on a
moderate fire; when melted, sprinkle in it about a tablespoonful of
flour, stirring the while; when of a brownish color, add three small
onions chopped fine, salt, and pepper; stir, and leave on the fire till
the whole is turning brown, then add a glass of broth, boil about thirty
minutes, and strain; mix well in a cup one teaspoonful of vinegar, one
of sugar, and one of mustard, which mix again with the sauce, and it is
ready to be used.
_Remolade._--Chop very fine a small handful of chervil, tarragon, and
burnet, in equal proportion, and put them in a saucer or boat; add salt,
pepper, nutmeg grated, and mustard, to taste; also one or two
hard-boiled eggs cut in dice; mix the whole gently and well; then add
the vinegar, and lastly the oil. The two latter ones are put in little
by little, stirring gently the while. Serve as it is.
_Another._--Proceed as for the above, except that you chop fine with the
chervil, etc., some parsley, shallot, and garlic; the five spices in
equal proportion.
When finished, add also a pinch of sugar.
_Roux._--Set a small saucepan on a moderate fire, with two ounces of
butter in it; sprinkle into it, when melted, a tablespoonful of flour;
stir, and when turning brown, use.
_Shallot._--Chop the shallots, and proceed as for caper-sauce, using
them instead of capers.
_Soubise._--Put about half a pint of good meat gravy in a saucepan; set
it on the fire, and when boiling add half a gill of Madeira wine; when
well mixed, add also two or three tablespoonfuls of _puree_ of white
onions, salt, and pepper; boil five minutes, stirring now and then, and
it is made.
A _soubise_ is an excellent sauce for baked or boiled fish, also for
roasted meat.
_Supreme._--This sauce is made in several ways. We will give here the
three principal ones:
1. Make an _Allemande_ sauce; and when done, add to it two ounces of
butter and half a gill of _consomme_; stir and mix, and place on a brisk
fire to start it boiling at once; take it from the fire as soon as it
becomes thick; then add a few drops of lemon-juice, and use.
2. Make a _roux_; add to it about half a pint of chicken gravy; stir or
boil five or six minutes; then add two ounces of butter, the juice of a
lemon, a pinch of parsley chopped fine; give one boil, and use.
3. This is made like No. 2, except that you use an _Allemande_ sauce
instead of a _roux_, and besides the pint of chicken gravy, etc., you
add also half a gill of white wine.
It is used especially with roasted chicken and game.
_Tomato._--If you use fresh tomatoes, blanch them first; if preserved,
use them as they are in the can. Put one pint of tomatoes in a saucepan
with a small onion and a clove of garlic sliced; also two stalks of
parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, one clove, six pepper-corns, and
salt; boil gently till reduced about one-third, when mash gently through
a strainer or sieve; all the tomato-seed and seasonings must remain in
the strainer; put back on the fire, with a little piece of butter; give
one boil, and it is done.
_Truffle._--This sauce is made like a caper-sauce, using chopped or
sliced truffles instead of capers.
_Veloute._--This and gravy is nearly the same thing. It is gravy made as
directed for gravy, with the addition of a dozen mushrooms chopped fine;
and is used for sauces, like gravy, to make sauces richer than with
broth.
_Vinaigrette._--Put salt and pepper in a saucer (and mustard, if it is
to be used with butcher's meat; but with fish, chicken, or birds, it is
really too strong; it neutralizes the delicate flavor of the object),
and pour vinegar over, little by little, beating with a fork at the
same time; then pour the oil, also little by little, and while beating;
a little chopped parsley is also added; and serve with cold meat, fish,
or vegetables.
It is quickly made, is good, and makes an excellent dish for breakfast,
served as we said above.
_White._--Put two ounces of butter in a small saucepan and set it on the
fire, stir a little, and as soon as melted, remove on a rather slow
fire; add a tablespoonful of flour, stir continually till thoroughly
mixed (two or three minutes); then add again about a pint of boiling
water, pouring gently, and stirring the while, take off when it begins
to turn thick; add a yolk of egg beaten with a teaspoonful of cold
water, mix it well with the rest, and it is ready for use; after having
mixed, also salt and white pepper to taste.
_Oyster._--Add to a white sauce some oysters blanched; then stir and mix
with the whole the juice of half a lemon.
_Muscle._--Boil the muscles about one minute and make as oyster-sauce.