Cooking Louisiana  -  Velouté Sauce
Velouté Sauce (white or blond) - A Mother Sauce

Very simply, Velouté is a white stock thickened with a white roux. The stock can be made from chicken, veal, or fish. As with the other Mother Sauces this is the base from which other sauces are made.

The following is a sample recipe to give you an idea of what it consists of:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken, fish or veal stock
Salt
White pepper

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook over medium, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly, about 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly stir in stock. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.
Makes about 2 cups.

Some of the variations (or children) of Velouté follow:

Allemande sauce (a.k.a. Parisienne sauce) - Veal Velouté with egg yolk and cream liaison. (used to top cold asparagus, also used with poultry and some fish dishes)

Berchoux sauce - Allemande with cream and herb butter (used with poultry)

Supreme sauce - Chicken Velouté reduced with heavy cream. (used with baked and broiled chicken and chicken/vegetable dishes. Also some beef and fish dishes)

Vin blanc sauce - Fish Velouté with shallots, butter, wine and fines herbs. (used with fish, shellfish and a few chicken dishes.)

Bercy sauce - Fish Velouté with wine, shallots and parsley. (used with fish, shellfish and a few beef dishes.)

Curry sauce - Chicken or Fish Velouté with curry powder, garlic, thyme bay leaf and parsley stems thickened with cream. (used with fish, shellfish and a few chicken dishes.)

Hungarian sauce - Chicken Velouté with onion, paprika and wine. (use with fish, chicken or veal)

Most of these sauces are strained before using some are not. When looking these recipes up you'll notice that some have been modified once more.

You'll also find "make-do", or "quick-n-easy" recipes for these sauces. Keep in mind that the stock means everything!

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