How to Make Sauces Quickly

Knowing how to make sauces is a necessary kitchen skill. The best sauce can make up for a dry piece of chicken, but the worst sauce will certainly ruin any dish. There are three basic ways to thicken liquids, but they all have to do with gelatinization of starches, the point at which starch molecules absorb liquids and swell. This is what thickens sauces. The quickest and easiest way to thicken a flavorful liquid is something that Grandma has been doing for years. She makes a quick and easy gravy from turkey drippings with a cornstarch slurry. A cornstarch slurry simply means dissolving some cornstarch in liquid. This can be the same liquid that’s the basis for your gravy, or a different flavor entirely. This is especially useful in Asian stir-fry. Once you’re done cutting vegetables and you’ve cooked all your proteins and vegetables, and added some chicken or vegetable broth, a slurry with soy sauce is the perfect thickener that also adds flavor. The quickest way how to make sauces is with this method, but cornstarch leaves a glassy taste, and every sauce is reminiscent of Asian cuisine. The most flavorful thickening agent for sauces is a roux. This is the turkey gravy thickener that Grandma ignored. Roux is the combination of starch and fat. While it’s most often butter and flour, it can be any kind of fat and starch. It’s very easy to make a roux, and after just a few tries you’ll be a pro. It’s simply melting butter in a sauce pan and whisking in flour until it resembles a thick paste. Then, cook the roux until it begins to bubble, turns whiter, and gives off a nutty smell. Now you’ve cooked all the proteins out of the flour so you don’t get a pasty taste. This cooked roux can be used to thicken any liquid. This is my favorite way to make Macaroni and Cheese. Milk is added to roux until it’s the desired thickness before my favorite cheese is added. If you can make a smooth roux consistently, you know how to make sauces of all different varieties. The only thing that changes is the liquid you’ve chosen to thicken. Any gravy or sauce is now at your finger tips. But, what about in an emergency? What about those times that your sauce is still just too thin and won’t stick to your food? What did you do wrong, how can you fix it? The third method for thickening liquids quickly and easily is called “Beurre Manie” in French culinary terms. It’s an un-cooked roux. Simply by squeezing flour into a pat or raw butter, you can make a raw roux to be added to hot liquids. This is not the preferred method, because the uncooked flour may leave a pasty taste. When you concentrate on these three methods of thickening liquids; cornstarch slurry, roux, and beurre manie, you’ll know how to make sauces like the professional chefs do, without a recipe. See Chef Todd’s live cooking demonstration video on How To Make Sauces.