Allemande Sauce

 

Happy Friday everybody!

This quarter at school finally came to a close yesterday after I took my last final!  Hooray two weeks of freedom!  I've already started my "school-vacation" by redoing the bathroom - mainly just buying a new shower curtain, MAJOR dusting, some new rugs, and a few other odds and ends.  I'll have to post before and after pictures because it's definitely going to be "brighter"!

Anyway, I've got a sauce for ya today.  It's one that you don't see very often, and I have no idea why!  It's one of my favorites and it can go on practically any protein, although it's mostly used on meat and chicken.

This is actually a two for one post today - an Allemande is a small sauce to a mother sauce - Veloute.  So we've got to learn how to make a Veloute before we can make an Allemande.  But most of you probably already know how to make a Veloute.  Oh you don't think so?  Well... have you ever made a basic gravy?  Why yes?!  Well, my friends.  You've made a veloute - basically just a fancy way of saying gravy.  Who knew?! 

Well, let's get to it!

Ingredients:

Veloute:

1 oz. butter
1 oz. flour
2 & 1/2 cups chicken, beef, or fish stock
salt and pepper (white, if you have it), to taste


Allemande:

2 cups veloute sauce
1 eggs yolks
3 oz. heavy cream
1/8 oz. lemon juice
salt and pepper (white), to taste

Let's start by making our veloute.  In a large saucepan, heat up the butter under medium high heat.  Add the flour and stir.  This is a roux!  We'll want to cook it just until it's blonde in color.

Gradually add in your stock of choice (I used beef since this is going with a steak dish).  You'll want to be whisking constantly in order to prevent any lumps from forming.  Once the stock is incorporated, bring the mixture to a boil. 

 

Then reduce to a simmer and let reduce for about 30 minutes (about 2 cups).

Strain the mixture to remove any leftover lumps.  Voila, veloute.  This you can jar up and keep for a few days, no problem.  But we're taking it a couple steps further.

So for our allemande, place the veloute in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer.  I have an abundance of rosemary at the moment, so I threw in a sprig of that to add a little more dimension to the sauce. 

Meanwhile, in a stainless steel bowl, whip the egg yolks with the heavy cream.  This will create what's called a "liaison."  Ladle about 1/3 of the veloute in with the yolks, whisking constantly.  This, of course, is the process of "tempering." 

Gradually add the tempered liaison to the saucepan with the rest of the veloute, whisking constantly.

Do not let the mixture come to a boil, this will curdle the eggs - and you don't want that.

Add the lemon juice and season mixture with salt and pepper, to taste.

Strain mixture for any leftover lumps and serve right away.

We ended up topping a nice grilled NY Strip with the sauce, but the possibilities are endless!  You can even mold the Allemande with different flavor possibilities too - fresh herbs, tomato paste, horseradish, mushrooms - whatever pairs well with the meal you're serving! 

Enjoy guys - and have a great weekend!  And stay tuned to see what awesome dish that this sauce lands on =)