The Focus

Level: Beginner

Objective: To leave the class with a piece of Dev

Reading Time: 8 Minutes

Chapter 1 | Finding the Focus

The term sauce is a broad one. There are pan sauces, dipping sauces, basting sauces, and even apple sauces. Hey, did you know that in professional kitchens there is often a cook that has the sole job of making sauces? The official title of this type of cook is respectively named saucier.

It’s hard to imagine many, if not all, dishes without some sort of complimenting concoction; the melding liquid that brings all of a dish’s contrasting components together. However, to keep the focus in this week’s lesson, I want to talk mainly about 1 sauce that is versatile, flavorful, and has a bit of a personal anecdote behind it. We’ll get to that in a bit, but for now let’s take a step back in time and see where this all began.

The History of Sauces

There are 5 mother sauces of French cuisine that every professional cook (who takes their work seriously) must be familiar with. 

There is the Bechamel — often seen as a base for cheese sauces (aka a Mornay sauce) or the “glue” that holds lasagna together. It’s a pretty simple combination of milk, flour, butter, salt, and oddly enough, a pinch of nutmeg.

There is the Espagnole — or “ brown sauce” . It is a slightly more meticulous, yet delicious take on what we may know in the South as brown gravy. Espagnole sauce is most often seen being transformed into a demi glace for steaks.

There is the Tomato sauce — This one speaks for itself. Most often associated with Italian cooking, the tomato sauce is a staple that goes far beyond the coasts of Rome.

The Velouté — or “white sauce” is kin to the espagnole. Instead, the roux is cooked shorter and the broth is made with unroasted bones. This results in a smooth white sauce with less defined flavor, but more versatile potential.

Finally, the Hollandaise — Mostly seen elegantly drizzled over the brunch favorite, Eggs Benedict. Hollandaise is an emulsion of egg yolks, melted butter, a little acid (Typically lemon juice), and salt.

I used to have a strange relationship with the notion that these sauces are a MUST KNOW because: 1. I’m not French, nor do I cook French food and 2. I’m mostly concerned with teaching home cooks. Like any arrogant kid, I thought, what’s the point? But I’ve grown to learn that when you understand the different components that these 5 sauces possess, their techniques and flavors begin to pop up in every single one of your sauce-making endeavors.

These sauces aren’t called the mother sauces for no reason. Their intimate lessons stay with you no matter what. So with this next recipe, I’m going to show you how, and get you on track to finishing this class strong!

Chapter 2 | The Construction of a Sauce

All sauces are not created equal, but there are 3 main qualities I look for in sauce that makes me decide if I want to give it the time of day. Those three qualities are:

1. Proper consistency

2. Balance of flavors

3. Appropriate use/application

Have you ever had a tomato sauce that was too thin or watery? How about a steak sauce that was too pungent and took over the flavor of the meat? Sauces were never meant to be the star of the show, so don’t let a bad one be the reason your meal falls flat.

Alabama White BBQ Sauce

Sure, I could have easily picked the most common American sauce and taught you how to make a homemade version of it. But something told me that you all would not be interested in taking 2 hours to make the world’s fanciest ketchup. So I chose a sauce that was a bit more practical, yet still near and dear to my heart.

Alabama is a place where almost all of my family resides, and has grown up in. I went to college there, I spent summers there, and I’ve had some of the most amazing food there. So I figured we could all benefit by taking a look at the state’s most famous condiment.

Alabama white sauce is a mayonnaise based mixture. Because of this, It is an uncooked sauce. If direct heat were to be applied, the sauce would separate or “break”

• Pro tip: A broken sauce happens when the sauce either gets too hot, the sauce gets too cold, or the fat was added too quickly.

It is also important to note that a sauce (generally) cannot become more dense than it’s base unless it is cooked down. Since this sauce cannot be cooked, it will only become thinner with the more ingredients you add.

The flavor of this sauce is unique, but not wild. It has a hint of creminess, tanginess, spice, and salty undertones. This is the balance of flavors we were talking about earlier. But when making other sauces, don’t stress yourself out trying to get everything to fit. Nothing has to taste like everything, regardless of any rules you may hear.

The appropriate application of this sauce is mostly as a finishing baste on any type of barbecued meat, such as grilled chicken, smoked pork, or even BBQ brisket. It’s important that the meat has cooled down a bit from it’s cooking temperature to ensure the sauce doesn’t become unpleasantly oily on the surface of the meat. I also don’t mind using Alabama white sauce as a dip for french fries either. Maybe that’ll be a lesson for next semester!

Chapter 3 | What's Next??

So you’ve made it! 9 weeks of culinary fundamentals that are guaranteed to take your cooking game to the next level. But I wouldn’t leave my class totally empty-handed. Next week there will be a test! Not just any test, The Big Test. A comprehensive exam that covers everything we’ve been studying for the past semester.

The 3 students with the highest grade will get a pretty cool prize sent to them, so the stakes are high! There will be more details coming out next week — my best advice is to review, cook, and repeat. See you soon class ;)