White Wine Sauce

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6 to 8-quart heavy saucepan for Method 1
• •Large stainless-steel or copper saucier
• •Large heatproof bowl and saucepan for the bain-marie
• •Large balloon whisk
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Instant-read thermometer, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose one road

   Choose one complete ingredient set. Do not combine the three methods. Use Method 1 when the sauce must stand beneath a brief broiler glaze or wait a few minutes for the fish. Choose Method 2 for the fullest fumet flavor in a yolk-and-butter emulsion. Choose Method 3 when you want the fumet introduced gradually, giving you finer control over consistency.

   Set out every measured ingredient before beginning Methods 2 or 3. Once the yolks thicken, the sauce needs one hand on the whisk and the other on the butter.
2. 2

   Reduce Method One

   For Method 1, combine the hot thickened Velouté and fumet in a wide, heavy saucepan. Bring them to a controlled simmer and reduce by half, from just under 12 cups to approximately 6 cups, stirring frequently and scraping the corners where a thickened sauce catches first. The sauce is ready when it falls heavily from the spoon and leaves a clear trail across the pan floor for a moment. Reduction is the concentration here; a hard boil only scorches the roux before the fumet has time to deepen.

3. 3

   Mount Method One

   Take the pan completely off the heat. Monter au beurre means whisking in butter away from direct heat to give the sauce body and gloss. Add the cold butter a few cubes at a time, whisking each addition nearly smooth before adding the next. If oily beads appear, stop adding butter. Ça se rattrape: whisk in 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) of cold fumet to draw the emulsion together, then continue more slowly with the pan off the heat. The finished sauce should coat the back of a spoon in a smooth ivory layer.

4. 4

   Reduce Method Two

   For Method 2, put the fumet in a wide saucepan and boil it down until only about ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) remains. It should look syrupy and smell distinctly of fish without smelling scorched. Transfer the reduction to a large heatproof bowl and let it cool until warm rather than fiercely hot; yolks added to a boiling reduction become scrambled eggs, and no amount of butter can persuade them otherwise.

5. 5

   Emulsify Method Two

   Whisk the yolks into the reduced fumet, then set the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making certain the bowl does not touch the water. Following the Hollandaise Sauce (No. 30) procedure, whisk continuously until the yolks become pale, creamy, and thick enough to hold the whisk's trace. Lift the bowl from the heat and add the warm melted butter in a thin stream, whisking without pause. If the sauce turns greasy or curdled, stop. Ça se rattrape: place 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) cold fumet in a clean warm bowl, whisk in one spoonful of the broken sauce until smooth, then incorporate the remainder gradually. Never return a finished emulsion to direct heat.

6. 6

   Build Method Three

   For Method 3, whisk the yolks with the cold fish stock in a large heatproof bowl. Set it over a bain-marie and whisk until the yolks thicken into a pale cream. Following the Hollandaise Sauce (No. 30) procedure, begin adding the warm melted butter gradually, alternating it with the fumet in small spoonfuls. Let each addition disappear before the next. This gradual fumet addition replaces the water used to regulate Hollandaise and keeps the sauce supple. If it tightens until the whisk leaves ridges, add another spoonful of fumet. If it begins to split, rebuild it in a clean bowl with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) cold fumet and spoonfuls of the broken sauce. Ça se rattrape.

7. 7

   Strain and serve

   Taste the chosen sauce against the fish it will accompany, since the fumet and Velouté may already carry all the seasoning required. Pass it through a warm fine-mesh sieve only if you see bits of cooked yolk or roux; the brigade's tammy was useful scaffolding, not a ritual. Hold the sauce for no more than 30 minutes over warm water, never simmering. If it thickens, whisk in fumet 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) at a time. For glazed fish, spoon Method 1 over cooked fish and place it briefly under the broiler, the home salamander, just until the surface gleams and takes the faintest gold. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Method 1 is the calmest road for a dinner party. Reduce the Velouté and fumet ahead, then mount with butter shortly before serving. Methods 2 and 3 demand last-minute whisking and should be chosen when the sauce itself is the centerpiece.
• •Fumet is concentrated fish essence, not salty boxed broth. Use a clean, gelatinous homemade or carefully prepared fish fumet; reduction magnifies every flavor, including bitterness and excess salt.
• •The source formula adds no separate pour of white wine. Do not add one from habit. Extra wine would introduce raw acidity and change the proportions governing the reduction and emulsion.
• •Butter, not margarine or a spread. These methods depend on butter's balance of fat, water, and milk solids, and the sauce should taste unapologetically of it.
• •For guests who are pregnant, elderly, immunocompromised, or very young, use pasteurized egg yolks in Methods 2 and 3.
• •Method 1 accompanies poached, baked, or glazed sole, turbot, brill, or another firm white fish. The yolk-bound methods suit gently poached fish that will be sauced and served immediately, without a broiler.

Advance Preparation

• •The fumet and thickened Velouté can be prepared up to 2 days ahead, chilled promptly, and reheated gently before the sauce is begun.
• •For Method 1, the Velouté and fumet may be reduced up to 4 hours ahead. Press parchment directly onto the surface, reheat gently, and mount with cold butter only when service approaches.
• •Methods 2 and 3 are last-minute sauces. They may stand for about 30 minutes over barely warm water, but they should not be chilled and reheated after the butter has been incorporated.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 60g)