Meal Plan Monday Mother Sauces

I have missed this community but I have been consumed a bit over here with life.

One thing about cooking is education. I love to learn and recently I began my education into learning more about the Mother Sauces. From these sauces the recipies are litterally ENDLESS.

Each week I will share the knowledge with you on a sauce.

This week I will use a white sauce on egg noodles with a cubed beef in sauce...sound familar?

BEEF TIPS AND NOODLES

2 lbs. of beef tips, cut into 1" cubes 1 pkg. onion soup mix (or dried onion and a bit of Kitchen Bouquet, a seasoning and browning sauce) 1 cup of white sauce 1 pt. fresh mushrooms, rinsed 1/2 c. red wine 1 pkg. egg noodles, cooked & drained 1 tbsp. vegetable oil Brown beef tips in vegetable oil, until cooked through. Add white sauce,onion soup mix, fresh mushrooms and wine. Simmer on low heat for several hours. Serve over egg noodles.Note: The longer the beef tips simmer, the more tender they will be. Mother Sauces There are five Mother Sauces This is a culinary lesson. *Béchamel * Espagnole * Hollandaise * Mayonnaise * Tomato sauce * Velouté Sauce Bechamel Is a French Sauce Base: Milk (Usually Whole Milk) Thickening Agent:"How To Make and Use a Roux" White Roux Classical Flavorings: White Onion, Clove, Bay Leaf, Salt, White Pepper, Nutmeg Common Secondary Sauces: Cream Sauce, Mornay, Cheddar Cheese Sauce, Mustard Sauce, Nantua  Classically Served With: Eggs, Fish, Steamed Poultry, Steamed Vegetables, Pastas, Veal  Technique and Recipe: Guidelines for Roux Don’t use margarine or shortening. Yes they’re cheap, but margarine tastes horrible and shortening adds no flavor; not to mention it can give you a bit of a fuzzy mouth feel. "How To Make Clarified Butter" Melt over double boiler and once melted skim off all of the whey off of the top of it. Store for use. Use only clarified butter oil or animal fat Don’t use whole butter. Whole butter is about 15% water and will give you a less consistent product than a roux made with pure fat.  skim off whey and discard  Keep this in the refrigerator for use in sauces A good roux is paste like and is not runny or pourable. A roux that has too much fat and is too runny is called a slack roux. Excessive fat in your roux will be released into your sauce, making it greasy and forcing you to spend extra time skimming and de-fating your sauce. Cake flour has about 20% more thickening power than bread or AP (All Purpose) flour. However, since bread and AP flower are more common than cake flour, most recipes that call for a roux assume that you will be using AP flour. Making Roux The process for making roux is extremely simple. Just place equal parts of flour and fat, together and cook over low heat until thickened.  How long do you cook it for? Well that depends on what kind of roux you wish to make. There are basically three types of roux which are differentiated by the degree to which the roux is cooked. White Roux White roux is really more of a yellow roux that you basically cook for just a few minutes until the fat and flour are evenly mixed together and start to froth. You want to cook out the raw taste of the flour, but stop cooking the roux before it starts to turn color. White rouxs are used for white sauces that are cream and milk based such as bechamel and Alfredo. Blond Roux Blond roux is cooked a little longer than your white roux, just until it starts to slightly turn color. Blond roux is used for white sauces that are stock based, such as veloutes. Brown Roux Brown roux is traditionally used for brown sauces, which are sauces based upon brown roasted stocks such as the mother sauce Espagnole. The key to a good brown roux is to cook it over low heat so that it browns evenly without scorching. Some chefs will even dry roast their flower in the oven first before making it into roux. A good brown roux will have a rich and nutty aroma, and is great for thickening brown sauces and gravies. Just remember that a dark brown roux will have about a third of the thickening power of a blond or white roux. Incorporating Roux Into a Sauce or Soup Roux can be added to a sauce either warm or cold, but never hot. A sizzling hot roux will separate and break when it hits a cold sauce, causing lumps and the loss of the roux’s thickening power. Once the roux is added into the liquid you wish to thicken, whisk vigorously to incorporate and bring sauce to a simmer. Most roux thickened sauces are simmered for at least 20 minutes to cook out any starchy taste created by the flour. During this simmering, it is a perfect time to skim off any scum or fat that rises to the top. Now what kind of ratio and proportions should you use when thickening with a roux? It’s as the rhyme of 3,4,5,6. 3 ounces of roux per quart of liquid will thicken a sauce to a thin or light consistency. 4 ounces of roux per quart = medium body sauce. 5 ounces of roux per quart = thick sauce. 6 ounces of roux per quart = heavy gravy. Sauce Béchamel  This recipe is for about one cup. Multiply by the number of cups of sauce you need. 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour 1 cup milk pinch of nutmeg, salt, and pepper Melt the butter in a saucepan over low to medium heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and mix well. Continuing stirring over low heat for two minutes. Using a whisk, and continually whisking, add the milk in small quantities - about two tablespoons at a time. Make sure that you fully incorporate the liquid before adding more - this way you will get a smooth sauce. After you've added about half the milk, pour in the rest and give the mixture a good whisking. Continue to heat the sauce on low to medium heat, whisking often. Cook just to below boiling until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and whisk in nutmeg, salt and pepper. This can be made a day ahead or kept made in the refrigerator for the menu