Stocks (Beef, Chicken, Fish) and 5 Mother Sauces.

When I started my college training to become a chef, one of the first things we where taught was how to make stocks and sauces, along with a few other things these are the basis of a good kitchen and with this knowledge many thousands of dishes can be made. I think it is important to put this info in this section as we are having a drive here on the recipes section of GC.

Firstly a couple of "terms" described.

Mirepoix - is the French name for a mix of veg roughly chopped. Carrot, Onion and Celery is traditional 2 parts onion and one each of carrot and celery. During my career as a chef in the UK it was anglicised to equal portions of Carrot, Onion, Celery and Leek. The veg is peeled or just washed and barely cut up, so onions and carrots in half etc. You want enough to roughly fill the gaps in your stock pot between the bones.

Bouquet Garni - another french term means Parsley stalks, Bayleaaf and a few springs of thyme tied together - Masses of flavour from this!

Standard Stocks​

Standard stocks made in most professional kitchens are Beef, Chicken and Fish, others can and will be made, but these are the standards.

Beef Stock (Brown Stock)

Beef or Veal Bones
Mirepoix
Cold water
Bouquet Garni
Peppercorns

Thats the ingredients, lets get on with it. You can order bones from your local butchers and you want knuckle joints, marrow bones or both, ask him to either crack the knuckles or cut them all up small ( some butchers have a bandsaw for this) and you want to buy enough to fill your stock pot to the very top.

Spread the bones and Mirepoix on some roasting trays and roast in a fairly hot over to colour them, turning them regularly for even colour all over. Dark brown (Not black) is what your looking for.

When this is done transfer the bones and mirepoix into your stock pot, cover with cold water, add a bouquet garni and a few peppercorn and start to heat.

Bring your stockpot to the boil then remove from the heat and immediately put in a pint of cold water, this stops the "boil" and helps send the fat to the surface, which you can skim off using a ladle or large spoon. Return the pot to the heat and a gentle rolling boil, put a lid on and cook for a good eight hours - good things take time! Top up the liquid with cold water to keep the bones covered every couple of hours and skim at the same time.

After 8 hours your stock is done, you need to get it out carefully, use tongs to remove a few bones then put a conical strainer in, use a ladle to collect the stock from inside the strainer, remove a few more bones with the tongs and repeat. The aim is for a stock that is clear, if it has "bits" in, they can decompose and ruin your stock, cloudy stock is just very fine bits. So dont agitate your pot.

Congraatulations, you have just made a stock that will rival any available in any professional kitchen!

Professional kitchens will sometimes go a stage further and as they are working in the kitchen all day it is easy for them to do. The stock will be put into a clean pan and further cooked, the purpose is to reduce the liqiud until only about half a teacup remains, constantly skimmed and watched it becomes an intense flavour This is called a "Glace", it will be stored in a jar in the fridge. When needed a very small ammount Tip of a knife (size of a pea) can be added to soups stews or dishes for a flavour boost.

Chicken Stock (White Stock)

Chicken carcasses
Mirepoix
Cold water
Bouquet Garni
Peppercorns

This is the same for Beef stock (Brown Stock) except you do not roast the bones or mirepoix. Its a white stock so does not require the colour roasting gives.

Fish Stock.

Fish bones from non oily fish (No heads). Use white fish only.
Cold water
Onion
White of a leek
Sprig parsley
Bayleaf
Peppercorns

Peel and finely slice the veg, then wash it and all the ingedients well in cold water. Place in a pan and cover with cold water, heat on high till almost boiling DO NOT ALLOW TO BOIL then turn down to a simmer, skim and cook for 20 mins. Decant carefully and pass through a chinois or fine strainer.

Court Bouillon

Not a stock, it's a cooking liquor that is discarded after use but I have been in situations in some kitchens where using a good court bouilon is favourable to using water to thin sauces down with, the same way you would use pasta cooking water to thin pasta sauces for example or cabbage water with gravy.

Water
Mirepoix
Bouquet Garni
White wine vinegar or Lemon Juice (cut up lemons) or Wine
Bay laef
Peppercorns

The above is boiled up then reduced to a simmer to poach fish in or to pre cook lobsters/crabs or whole fish for cold dressing later. The acid (vinegar,lemon juice) helps to bring out the flavours of the veg but as it is discarded will not be in the final stock or sauce.

 

The Five Mother Sauces.​

The five sauces below have traditionally been the 5 mother sauces since Escoffier, if memory serves me right it was initially 4 but Escoffier added the fifth, they are.

Bechamel
Veloute
Espagnole
Tomato
Hollandaise

They are Mother sauces because from these very basic recipes, many thousands of derivatives and variations can be made. The first 3 are roux based sauces and all are similar, just different ingredients and timing are used.

A roux sauce starts with a roux. A roux is a mixture of equal quantities of fat and flour (by weight), the fat is melted/heated in a pan, the flour is added and mixed with a wooden spoon (do NOT use a whisk!) to form a rough - ish paste with a sandy texture, liquid is then added to make the sauce.

Bechamel (1st Mother Sauce)

1Pt Milk
2oz Butter
2oz Flour
Half an onion
2 cloves
Bayleaf (optional)

Take two cloves and push each into an onion half, like you would with a drawing pin The culinary term for this is "Cloute" onion, if using the optional bayleaf, use the cloves to stud the bayleaf to the onion, this is now a "Pique" onion. Place either of the studded onions in a pan with the milk and heat gently to infuse.

In another clean pan melt the butter and stir in the flour with a wooden spoon over a medium heat it will resemble bubbling sand, keep it moving about slowly so it does not catch for 4 or 5 mins, your cooking the flour here without colour at all.

Turn the heat up and using a ladle, start adding the infused milk a little at a time stirring continuously, start in the middle of the pan in a circular fashion gradually moving outwards to finish incorporating at the edges, when that milk is incorporated add the next bit of milk stirring constantly once again in the circular fashion from the middle outwards. If at any stage you have a large lump of sauce and milk in the pan, remove from the heat and stir..it will come back together. Continue untill all the milk is used up, turn down the heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally for 20 mins. When decanting the sauce be gentle and do not scrape the bottom of the pan out in case that part caught and burnt.

Two reasons not to use a whisk for this 1. A whisk could scrape the bottom of the pan, if it caught whilst cooking it would ruin the sauce 2. Using a whisk agitates the flour too much and turns it glutinous, changing it from a sauce to a stretchy lump at it's worst. Strain then correct the seasoning.

Veloute (2nd Mother Sauce)

Veloute comes from the French Velour, meaning velvety

1Pt stock (Fish or Chicken)
2oz Butter
2oz Flour

Your stock is already well flavoured so no need for other enhancements as such.

Make a roux from the fat and flour and cook out as for bechamel only this time cook out for a little longer to get to the "blond" stage, this is when the roux starts to change colour slightly to a straw golden brown, remove pan from the heat and start adding your warmed stock as per bechamel, return to the heat, when all is combined simmer as per bechamel but for longer, 35-40 mins is about right and will results in a delicious velvety sauce. Strain then correct the seasoning.

Espagnole (3rd Mother Sauce)

1Pt Beef stock (Brown Stock)
2oz Butter
2oz Flour

Your stock is already well flavoured so no need for other enhancements as such. This is the same process as for Bechamel and Veloute, with a couple of small changes.

Cook your roux out to the blond stage as for veloute, continue to cook out but be ready to remove from the heat and start adding stock when the roux turns brown, it can go from brown to burnt very very quickly. combine al your stock with the roux as previously then gently simmer for 1 hour. Strain then correct the seasoning.

Important derivative: From sauce Espagnole you can make sauce "Demi Glace". Add equal amounts of Sauce Espagnole and Beef Stock (Brown stock) then heat to a rolling boil, reduce by half. I have put this here mainly because this is a well flavoured and I do mean well flavoured if you got your stock right in the first place. A note of caution here, if using supermarket bought stocks or stock cubes, be careful of reducing too much as most contain salt, so cook..taste etc.

Tomato sauce (4th Mother Sauce)

1 Pint stock (Chicken or Beef)
1/2 pint of mirepoix cut into quarter/half inch dice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 oz Oil/Butter mixed (Adding oil prevents the butter burning)
1 oz flour
1 oz Bacon trimmings
1 oz tomato puree
Bouquet Garni

Heat the oil/butter mix and add the mirepoix/bacon then brown, add the flour to form a roux cook out till brown add the garlic and tom puree then gradually incorporate the boiling stock. When combined add the bouquet garni and simmer for 1 hour. Strain then correct the seasoning.

Hollandaise Sauce (5th Mother Sauce)

Hollandaise is an emulsification sauce.

8 oz butter
2 egg yolks
6 crushed Peppercorns
1 Tablespn white wine vinegar

This can be difficult for the home cook to master but is a useful part of your culinary armoury.

Place the butter into a pan and heat slowly on the lowest temperature that you can. The aim is to just melt it, the pure butter will sit on top and any residual milk solids will settle on the bottom of the pan. It's the clear butter that you want. This is clarified butter. Very Gently decant this clear butter into a jug.

Put the crushed peppercorns and vinegar into a small sauteuse and completely reduce, add a Tablespoon of water and allow to cool.

(STOP: A career chef would be used to making this and continue to use the sauteuse to whisk the egg yolks in by constantly placing the pan back and forth over the heat source. For ease add the water from the pan into a heat proof bowl stood on a pan with barely simmering water in. This is more gentle, will take a little longer but give the home cook better results)

Into this bowl with the crushed peppercorn reduction and water, whisk in the egg yolks and continue whisking in the bowl over the heat until it become thicker (Sabayon or ribbon stage), you are cooking the eggs slowly and this stage is done when the passage of the whisk leaves a mark in the sauce. Now still whisking, dribble in the warmed clarified butter and continue until all the butter is combined, it can be arm aching to make this sauce because if you stop whisking it can curdle or split. If it does split, get another bowl and add a tablespoon of water, and whisking like mad gradually add the split sauce, if that does not work..another bowl with egg yolk and water this time whisk like mad and add the split sauce. It should come back to you.

Once made, keep the sauce just barely warm and serve in a slightly warmed sauceboat or jug.

Adjusting consistency and texture. (Does not apply to Hollandaise!)

Thinning down a sauce that has become too thick is easy enough, you just add a little more of the liquid that made it. But thickening is a little different as you already did that step with the roux. Here are a couple of helpers.

Buerre Manie (Kneaded butter) Take equal amounts of butter and flour and knead it in your hands to incorporate, roughly shape it so it sits across the palm of your hand and onto your forefinger. Now whilst whisking your sauce or soup or whatever with one hand continuously gently push your thumb of your other hand against the Buerre Manie to push it off the lamp in small dollops into the sauce. Done right it wont form lumps, it will thicken the sauce and add a luxurious texture too. The butter in the buerre manie also adds a wonderful shine to the sauce.

Cornflour or Arrowroot Most people will have used cornflour, you mix with cold water and add to your hot liquid as a thickener, but I prefer arrowroot. Same as cornflour but much finer and less detectable on the pallete.

Liason: One egg yolk and a couple spoons of cream, whisked together, gradually add some of your hot liquid whisking as you do so, then return this whole lot to the pan. Do no boil after this! This adds a touch of luxury to your sauce/soup, it enriches your sauce that will now line your mouth with a velvety texture.

Montee au Buerre (Mounted with Butter)

This is useful to quickly thicken and enrich a cooking Jus (Jus-Lie), for example when pan frying a steak.

Fry your steak and remove it to rest it, deglace the pan with a liquid of your choosing (swirl a small amount of liquid around the pan to lift the flavour where the steak cooked into your sauce). When that is done, slightly lift your pan so the liquid gathers at the far edge and add a couple of knobs of butter, as it melts into your sauce, agitate the pan so that the butter emulsifies with the liquid. Serve your rested steak, drizzled with the enriched sauce and beccome a legend to the person you served it to. Can be used anytime a small amount of cooking liquor remains to bolster and enrich.


Steve...

 

have the joy of being able to get turkey backs from my butcher, so after 5 hours of a good simmer, and then a chill down to raise the fat, I came away with 8 lovely cups of turkey bone broth for the freezer. wonderful for risotto, or soup .

Recently I also made a wonderful lobster bisque, after 4 hours of lobster shells simmering then reduction, the next day adding some yummy ingredients and with my immersion blender all was wonderful, then the added chucks of lobster. I got a "yummy" from husband. reduction in this venture is the key.

 

Actually I have discovered Rice Flour, so much easier to toss it into a rolling boil of broth to become a nice gravy, and it does not lump at all. Just hand sprinkle a tablespoon or two (depending on liquid) and stir to thicken. and the rice flour is best when saute yummy oysters in butter and oil, with some seasoning, yummy.

 

Went back to read your entries, @Steve R , the fish stock. have not made any in years. Last made it was when I went deep sea fishing, was able to bring home some fish heads etc. simmering for 5 hours, and lifted fat, froze. In the winter, made a really good fish soup. too many years ago to recall all the stuff I put in it. but did consult 4 cook books to come up with a combo I liked. was so good.

 

Thank you, I hope folk will find it useful.

No longer, I'm a carer now.

Steve...

 

Thanks Steve, we sometimes get an abundance of beef & lamb bones from our friendly butcher (he also makes dog mince for us), I've often thought about making my own stocks, too lazy but perhaps I'll now give it a go.... I make my own bechamel, I infuse the milk with onion and a bay leaf or two (from our garden) add copious amounts of cheese and voila, best cauliflower cheese. Topped with smoked paprika and more cheese, got to be cheddar.

 

Love this one, for smoked paprika. was just totally impressed.

 

Hi Vince, good thing is you can freeze bones to collect as available, then defrost and make your stock on a day off or when you have collected enough to fill your biggest pan.

I love the use of the word "copious" when referring to cheese in a cheese sauce, and I agree. If your going to make a cheese sauce, then make it cheesy.

Steve...

 

With 8 dogs, there's never a day off but we do have a freezer full of bones. I'll have a late night (or two), get the stock pots out and freeze the resulting MESS!:giggle:

 

@Steve R thank you for the tips - all clever stuff

@Vince , you remind me of an old mate of mine who used to keep a special freezer in an outhouse for fox food... he had a very tame family of those, and had a night camera all fixed up to watch them. The fox food was all begged left overs donated by local shops and friends dinner plates. His place was burgled, and the thief emptied the fox freezer.... old Johnnie couldn`t stop laughing as he imagined their dismay at what they had stolen.