Chef Juliette
Oriental Sauce
Sauce Orientale concentrates lobster-rich American Sauce with curry, then folds in cream away from the fire: a glossy, gently spiced derivative made for lobster, crayfish, and firm fish.
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Anchovy Sauce
Created by Chef Juliette
Sauce aux Anchois teaches the quiet discipline of finishing off heat: ivory Normande sauce, anchovy butter, and tender pieces of washed fillet held in a glossy emulsion that flatters poached or baked fish.
Sauces & Condiments
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
15 min
Active Time
10 min cook•25 min total
YieldAbout 2 quarts
Sauce aux Anchois (anchovy sauce) teaches one quiet law of finishing: once the anchovy butter enters, the fire is over. The Normande foundation should remain ivory and glossy, with its anchovy salinity carried through the cream rather than beaten into an oily slick. Keep the pan off heat, and the sauce holds.
The original formula assumed a saucier on staff, a fish stock never off the fire, and unbuttered Normande Sauce (No. 99) held ready for finishing throughout service. Your home equivalent is a measured batch prepared ahead, warmed gently once, and finished in one pan. The rolling stockpot and repeated service are brigade scaffolding and can go; the off-fire emulsion, the washed fillets, and the original ratio are the dish, so they stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The anchovy pieces give small, tender flashes of salt against the smooth sauce, not a coarse paste and not a fishy blow. Have the butter cool and pliable, reserve two spoonfuls of the base, then lift the pan completely from the burner before you whisk. That off-fire mounting is the step that matters most.
Sauce aux Anchois belongs to the classical small-sauce repertoire: it is a derivative of Normande Sauce (No. 99), whose cream-rich fish foundation carries the larder of maritime Normandy. Its Norman identity comes from the base, not from the anchovies, a preserved seasoning used far beyond the Mediterranean coast. It should not be confused with Provençal anchoïade, where anchovy leads a garlic-and-olive-oil condiment rather than finishing a northern cream sauce.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
unbuttered Normande Sauce
Quantity
6 cups (1.42 L / 1.45 kg) Normande Sauce (No. 99)
prepared anchovy butter
Quantity
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (270 ml / 255 g)
cool and pliable
anchovy fillets
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 85 g)
washed, thoroughly blotted, and cut into small pieces
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| unbuttered Normande Sauce | 6 cups (1.42 L / 1.45 kg) Normande Sauce (No. 99) |
| prepared anchovy buttercool and pliable | 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (270 ml / 255 g) |
| anchovy filletswashed, thoroughly blotted, and cut into small pieces | ½ cup (120 ml / 85 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •3-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan
- •Balloon whisk
- •Flexible silicone spatula
- •Heatproof bowl for the bain-marie
- •Instant-read thermometer, optional
Instructions
- 1
Ready the finish
Let the anchovy butter soften only until it yields beneath a finger while remaining cool. Rinse the anchovy fillets briefly under cold water, press them thoroughly between clean towels, and cut them into pieces about 5 mm across. Blotting matters: the sauce should receive the anchovy, not its packing oil or surface brine.
- 2
Warm the Normande
Reserve 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of the measured Normande Sauce (No. 99) in a cool bowl. Put the remainder in a heavy saucepan and warm it slowly over low heat, stirring across the base and corners, until fluid and glossy, about 60 to 65°C. Do not let it bubble or reduce. This prepared foundation needs warming, not another cooking.
- 3
Mount off heat
Remove the saucepan completely from the burner and set it on a folded towel. Whisk in the anchovy butter a few pieces at a time, letting each addition disappear before adding more. The sauce should grow silkier while keeping a clean gloss. If an oily ring appears, stop adding butter. Ça se rattrape: whisk the reserved cool Normande Sauce (No. 99) in a clean bowl, then add the broken sauce to it one ladleful at a time until the emulsion reforms. Resume with the remaining butter only after the gloss returns. If the pan cools too much, rest it over a bowl of warm water for ten seconds, then lift it away again.
- 4
Fold in fillets
Fold in the washed anchovy pieces with a flexible spatula, keeping the pan off the heat. Do not strain the sauce after this point; those small pieces belong in the finished texture. Taste before reaching for salt, since the anchovy butter and fillets usually provide all the seasoning required. The finished sauce should coat a spoon generously while still pouring in a broad ribbon.
- 5
Serve without delay
Transfer the sauce to a warmed sauceboat or spoon it directly over poached sole, turbot, or baked white fish. If it must wait, hold it for no more than twenty minutes in a bain-marie, a warm-water bath, stirring occasionally and never returning it to direct heat. The surface should remain ivory, glossy, and free of pooled butter. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Use Normande Sauce (No. 99) prepared as directed but with its final plain butter withheld; keep its cream finish. Starting with a fully buttered base and then adding the anchovy butter makes the sauce greasy and moves away from the entry.
- •The ratio is exact: for every 2 cups (475 ml / about 485 g) of unbuttered Normande Sauce (No. 99), use 6 tablespoons (90 ml / 85 g) anchovy butter and about 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons (40 ml / 28 g) anchovy fillet. Scale only by that unit.
- •Beurre d'anchois must be smooth and made with real butter. It carries the emulsion, while the separately washed fillet pieces provide texture. We don't apologize for butter.
- •Salt-packed anchovies give the cleanest flavor once rinsed and blotted. Oil-packed fillets will work, but drain, wash, and dry them carefully so their packing oil doesn't disturb the butter emulsion.
- •With poached sole or turbot, pour a dry brut cider from Normandy. Its apple acidity cuts cleanly through the cream without bullying the anchovy.
Advance Preparation
- •Prepare the unbuttered Normande Sauce (No. 99) up to two days ahead, cool it promptly, and refrigerate it covered. Warm it gently before finishing this sauce.
- •The anchovy butter can be weighed and portioned, and the fillets washed, blotted, and cut, up to four hours ahead. Keep both chilled, then let the butter become pliable before use.
- •Finish the sauce as close to serving as possible. It can wait for twenty minutes in a gentle bain-marie, but it should never simmer. Refrigerate leftovers promptly and use within one day, reheating over warm water rather than direct heat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 55g)
Calories
105 calories
Total Fat
10 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
60 mg
Sodium
420 mg
Total Carbohydrates
2 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
3 g
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