Velouté is one of the five mother sauces of classical cuisine. It can be made with any white stock, but this version, the fish velouté, is made with fish stock. There's also a veal velouté and a chicken velouté.
Fish velouté is the basis for the traditional White Wine Sauce, as well as the classic Bercy sauce, the Normandy sauce, and many others.
Note that the velouté is not itself a finished sauce—that is to say, it isn't typically served as is. You could, however, simply season it with salt and pepper and use it much as you would a basic gravy.
Gather the ingredients.
Heat the fish stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan, then lower the heat so that the stock just stays hot.
Meanwhile, in a separate heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the clarified butter over medium heat until it becomes frothy. Don't let it turn brown, though—that'll affect the flavor.
With a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the melted butter a little bit at a time, until it is fully incorporated into the butter, giving you a pale-yellow-colored paste. This paste is called a roux. Heat the roux for another minute or so to cook off the taste of raw flour.
Using a wire whisk, slowly add the hot fish stock to the roux, whisking vigorously to make sure it's free of lumps.
Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the total volume has reduced by about one-third, stirring frequently to make sure the sauce doesn't scorch at the bottom of the pan. Use a ladle to skim off any impurities that rise to the surface.
The resulting sauce should be smooth and velvety. If it's too thick, whisk in a bit more hot stock until it's just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Remove the sauce from the heat. For an extra smooth consistency, carefully pour the sauce through a wire mesh strainer lined with a piece of cheesecloth.
Keep the velouté covered until you're ready to use it.
Enjoy!
| Nutrition Facts (per serving) |
|---|
| 58 | Calories |
| 4g | Fat |
| 3g | Carbs |
| 2g | Protein |
Show Full Nutrition Label
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| Nutrition Facts |
|---|
| Servings: 16 |
|---|
| Amount per serving |
| Calories | 58 |
| % Daily Value* |
| Total Fat 4g | 5% |
| Saturated Fat 2g | 12% |
| Cholesterol 10mg | 3% |
| Sodium 136mg | 6% |
| Total Carbohydrate 3g | 1% |
| Dietary Fiber 0g | 0% |
| Total Sugars 0g |
| Protein 2g |
| Vitamin C 0mg | 0% |
| Calcium 3mg | 0% |
| Iron 0mg | 1% |
| Potassium 130mg | 3% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
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FAQs
A velouté sauce features a white stock thickened with a blond roux, resulting in a velvety, smooth texture. While the most common type of velouté uses chicken stock as a base, you can make it with fish stock or veal stock, depending on the protein in your final dish.
Are there 5 or 7 mother sauces? ›
The five French mother sauces are béchamel, velouté, espagnole, hollandaise, and tomato. Developed in the 19th century by French chef Auguste Escoffier, mother sauces serve as a starting point for a variety of delicious sauces used to complement countless dishes, including veggies, fish, meat, casseroles, and pastas.
What are the three types of velouté? ›
Like béchamel, velouté is considered a white sauce, and both are thickened with roux. But whereas béchamel has milk as its base, velouté is made with stock. And since there are three types of white stock — chicken, veal and fish — there are likewise three types of velouté. But chicken is the most common.
Is velouté just gravy? ›
Is Velouté the same as like Gravy? Both sauces are made with roux and stock, but they're different. Gravies are made with meat stock. Velouté is a French word meaning velvet, and it's the name for a sauce made with chicken or fish stock.
What is considered the 6th mother sauce? ›
(Mayonnaise, one of his essential cold sauces, is now considered the sixth mother.)
What are the 3 modern mother sauces? ›
There are three sauces we make VERY frequently when catering and running events: Veloute, Bechamel, and Hollandaise. All culinary students must become very comfortable with these three mother sauces.
What is Chinese mother sauce? ›
While Doubanjiang can be considered the "mother sauce" of Sichuan cuisine, there are some prominent flavors in modern Sichuan cooking that are often referenced as sauces but are composed of other ingredients and sauces during cooking. These include: Yuxiang (魚香)
What is a sister sauce? ›
A sauce made by adding flavoring to a basic mother sauce is a “sister” sauce.
Is mayonnaise a mother sauce? ›
Sauces considered mother sauces. In order (left to right, top to bottom): béchamel, espagnole, tomato, velouté, hollandaise, and mayonnaise.
Why is it called mother sauce? ›
In the culinary arts, the term "mother sauce" refers to any one of five basic sauces, which are the starting points for making various secondary sauces or "small sauces." They're called mother sauces because each one is like the head of its own unique family.
Hollandaise offers the rich flavor of buttered cream laced with lemon and is the most well-known mother sauce. While some mother sauces are less famous than their derivatives, hollandaise is the star of its sauce family tree.
What is hollandaise sauce called? ›
In English, the name "Dutch sauce" was common through the 19th century, but was largely displaced by hollandaise in the 20th.
What is another name for velouté sauce? ›
Velouté is very similar to a béchamel sauce, also known as a white sauce or cream sauce. It's hard to mess up when you pay attention to a few little details.
What is the difference between a velouté and a roux? ›
Like Béchamel, Velouté starts with a roux – equal parts fat and flour. The difference between the two sauces is that Velouté requires a clear or white stock – hence the 'blonde' color – whereas Béchamel uses milk.
What sauce is velouté similar to? ›
Velouté is very similar to a béchamel sauce, also known as a white sauce or cream sauce. It's hard to mess up when you pay attention to a few little details. Be sure to keep the flour from browning when making the roux.
What is the difference between a velouté and brown sauce? ›
The Espagnole sauce, also sometimes called Brown Sauce, is a slightly more complex mother sauce. Espagnole is made by thickening brown stock with a roux. So in that sense, it's similar to a velouté. The difference is that Espagnole is made with tomato purée and mirepoix for deeper color and flavor.
What is the difference between a velouté and a stock? ›
A velouté is very similar, with one main difference. Rather than thickened milk, a velouté is a thickened white stock. Let's break that down a bit. A stock is just water flavoured with meat bones and vegetables.
