How to Classic French Sauces at Home
Have you ever dined out, tasted an incredible French sauce, and wished you could recreate it at home? I often feel the same way. Sometimes, I ask the chef for tips about the ingredients and techniques behind their creation.
This section of The Reluctant Gourmet focuses on sauces—how to make them and what to pair them with. It’s a growing resource, evolving as I learn more about the art of sauce-making.
Excellent cookbooks like James Peterson’s Sauces or Raymond Sokolov’s The Saucier’s Apprentice are dedicated to sauces. If you want to go beyond the basics, experiment with these. Once you understand the techniques, you can swap your favorite ingredients to create signature sauces.
Growing up, my mom served broiled chicken, pork chops, steak, and fish—always plain, always sauce-free. A simple pan sauce, made by deglazing the pan with butter and oil, could have transformed those meals. Although, as kids, we probably would have refused to eat it.
If your kids resist sauces, don’t let that stop you. Enjoy a flavorful chicken breast with shallots and garlic while they stick to the basics. Who knows? They might surprise you and give it a try.
You choose how far to go from quick raw sauces like pesto to elaborate stock reductions like Sauce au Poivre. Even more straightforward sauces can elevate your meals. Let’s start with a cold sauce and then make a classic pan sauce.
Hollandaise Sauce
Hollandaise sauce is a classic French emulsion made with egg yolks, melted butter, and lemon juice. Cooks create it by whisking the ingredients together over a gentle heat until the mixture becomes thick and creamy. The sauce has a smooth, velvety texture and a rich, buttery flavor balanced by the tang of lemon juice.
Chefs often season Hollandaise with a pinch of salt and a dash of cayenne pepper to enhance its taste. This luxurious sauce pairs perfectly with dishes like eggs Benedict, steamed asparagus, and poached fish, adding elegance and depth. Hollandaise demands precision and patience, as overheating can cause the emulsion to break, but mastering it rewards you with a versatile and sophisticated addition to your cooking repertoire.
A classic cream sauce typically served on vegetables, fish, and its most famous partner, Eggs Benedict.
Pistou
Many of us have tasted pesto at some time in our lives. I remember several years ago, it was all the rage back in New York, and every restaurant you went to would serve something on the menu with pesto. The traditional Genoese version consisted of basil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan cheese, and oil, all crushed into a paste with a food processor or mortar and pestle (pesto in Italian). But did you know there was a French version of pesto called pistou (pees-TOO) that is very similar but doesn’t use pine nuts or parsley?
I learned about pistou when my wife made Soupe au Pistou from our friend Jane Sigal’s Backroad Bistros, Farmhouse Fare – A French Country Cookbook. This very popular vegetable soup from the south of France is the Italian version of minestrone. I stored some leftover pistou in a jar in the refrigerator. The next day, I served it on some pasta, and it was delicious. Then I tried it on chicken breasts and told my wife this stuff should be commercially made and sold as a condiment. So, if you are a pesto fan, try this. It’s easy to make and will last several days in the fridge. Here is Jane’s recipe for Pistou.
Making Incredible Sauces at Home
If you can grill a steak, roast a chicken, or fry up some fish, you might as well take your cooking to the next level and learn how to prepare incredible sauces at home. Click here to learn more!
Making Incredible Pan Sauces at Home
If you want to elevate your cooking skills to a new level and add much more to your repertoire, learn how to make a simple pan sauce here.
Many of the sauces I make in my house start with stock reduction and demi-glace. Because they are time-consuming to make and take up a lot of room in my freezer, I take a shortcut by using some commercial products.
5 Responses
I love to lean and you can help
Please let me know how to make a bernaise sauce
Hi Mrs. Cleaves, I’ll work on one and post it later this week.
I so appreciate your helping us to prepare delicious recipes, but ya gotta stop using the auto correct and have someone read the column before you publish. I know your sauces are not “delouses”. Thanks again for the education!
Thanks so much Virginia for catching this typo and bringing it to my attention.