One of our most popular—and important—classes that we teach at The Culinary Studio is the basics on homemade stock and sauces. More and more folks are trying to watch their sodium intake, as well as the use of processed foods. Although cooking from scratch can take up more time, it is well worth the effort for stock that is made with local meat and produce. Make lots, and freeze it – it is so handy to have for many dishes.
We have three rules when it comes to stock making: don’t stir it, don’t cover it and don’t boil it. By abiding by these rules, your stock will remain clear and golden. Cooking it for more than two hours will result in a darker, grey-ish stock.
The sauce velouté (pronounce vel-oohh-the), is one of the classic French mother sauces. It is a roux-thickened stock. The roux (equal parts flour and butter) is cooked briefly before adding the hot stock.
Veloute can be used as a sauce over chicken, or as a base for a cream soup.
Place bones in a large pot and cover with cold water;
Bring just to a boil, then immediately turn down to a simmer (medium heat);
Skim all of the grey-ish foam that rises to the top;
Add remaining ingredients and then simmer, uncovered and without stirring for 1-2 hours;
Strain into a large bowl or container;
Cool down before ladling into freezable containers. Refrigerate overnight – this will allow any fat to
harden at the surface. Freeze if necessary;
Use stock to make soups and sauces;
Notice that we do not add salt to this broth, as it can be used for various things which we will season at the end.
Melt butter in a saucepan; add the flour and using a wooden spoon stir constantly so that the roux does not colour unevenly or become lumpy;
Cook for 5 minutes, or until mixture begins to froth;
Turn off heat and cool slightly;
Add stock and whisk constantly over a medium heat;
Bring to a simmer and cook 20-30 minutes, stirring and skimming often;
To turn the velouté into a sauce suprême, we can finish by adding a touch of cream and swirling in some butter.
Basic Chicken Stock
- 2 lbs chicken bones
- Cold water to cover
- 2 onions, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 celery, roughly chopped
- Fresh or dried herbs such as thyme, rosemary and parsley
- 1 tbsp whole peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
Velouté
- 50g butter
- 50g flour
- 1 L chicken stock or broth, hot
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 35% cream, to finish (optional)
- 1-2 tbsp cold butter (optional)
