Chef Thomas Keller’s Sauce Suprême Recipe
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Jul 26, 2024 • 2 min read
In both roux and beurre manié, which form the foundation of suprême sauce and other mother sauces, the butter acts as a vehicle to get the hydrocolloid to incorporate evenly into a liquid without any lumps.
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What Is Suprême Sauce?
Suprême sauce (or sauce suprême) is a classic sauce in French cuisine. Suprême sauce derives from velouté sauce, a “mother sauce” traditionally made from roux (a mixture of butter and flour) and meat stock—in this case, chicken stock or chicken broth. The sauce is reduced with heavy cream or crème fraîche, strained through a fine sieve or strainer, and often finished with lemon juice.
How to Make Sauces With a Roux Base
A classic roux consists of equal parts butter and flour, which are mixed into a paste, heated in a saucepot until evenly combined, and covered and baked in the oven. Roux can be made ahead of time in large batches, refrigerated, chopped into small pieces, and frozen for prolonged storage.
You can also use beurre manié to thicken your sauce. Like roux, a beurre manié uses equal parts butter and flour, but is cooked in the sauce instead of in the oven. This method requires a longer cooking time to remove the raw flour flavor and is not shelf-stable, but it can easily be made in the perfect amount required for a single sauce.
How to Make Sauce Suprême and Other Mother Sauces
To take velouté to sauce suprême, add cream—or crème fraîche, if you prefer a touch of acid. Add tomato purée to your sauce suprême to make sauce aurora. Sauce allemande (or sauce parisienne) is a delicate sauce enriched with an egg yolk, and sauce albufera is enriched with crème fraîche and veal stock. Each variation might require you to reduce the sauce further, or adjust the acid and salt for balance, so be sure to taste as you go.
Chef Thomas Keller’s Sauce Suprême Recipe
makes
prep time
5 mintotal time
55 mincook time
50 minIngredients
For the beurre manié:
For the sauce velouté:
For the sauce suprême:
Equipment:
- 1
Make the beurre manié. Mix together equal parts butter and flour until thoroughly incorporated and smooth. Set aside.
- 2
Make the sauce velouté. Bring the stock to a simmer over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to medium and whisk in enough of the beurre manié (about half) to thicken the sauce. Be sure to keep whisking as you incorporate the thickener into the stock to help achieve a velvety texture. As the mixture begins to combine with the stock, the color will darken slightly. Offset the pot from the flame to allow any impurities from the flour to be driven to one side. Using a ladle, skim off any impurities that rise to the top. (Chef Keller demonstrates how to skim impurities when making a stock in his second MasterClass.) Use a spoon to check the texture of the velouté as it comes together—the desired consistency is reached when a clean line is left behind when you run your finger through the sauce on the back of a spoon. Continue whisking while seasoning to taste.
- 3
Make the sauce suprême. Warm the velouté sauce in a saucepot set over medium heat, whisking occasionally for even heating. When the sauce reaches a small simmer, lower the heat. Whisk in the cream and crème fraîche. Season with salt.
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