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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Shrimp Sauce
Created by Chef Juliette
Sauce aux Crevettes teaches the discipline of the finish: fish velouté and fumet reduced to satin, then Shrimp Butter (No. 145) whisked in off the fire so its coral colour and sweetness stay vivid.
Sauces & Condiments
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
15 min
Active Time
35 min cook•50 min total
YieldAbout 2 quarts (1.9 L; 16 to 20 generous sauce portions)
Sauce aux Crevettes (shrimp sauce) teaches one true thing about derivative sauces: the last minute can matter more than the first half hour. Fish velouté, cream, and fumet, a clear, concentrated fish essence, provide body and depth, but Shrimp Butter (No. 145) carries the colour and taste. Boil that butter and its clean shellfish sweetness becomes a greasy whisper.
The original entry assumed a saucier on staff, fish velouté within reach, and a stockpot never off the fire for very clear fumet. It had no use for a salamander, and neither do you. A wide heavy saucepan replaces the sauce station, while the tammy work remains where the book placed it, inside the separate butter preparation rather than being repeated here.
The printed formula makes one pint. For this generous dinner-party batch, every measure is multiplied evenly to produce about two quarts, with its ratios and sequence untouched. Ready components are brigade scaffolding and can be prepared ahead; reducing to the starting velouté volume and mounting the butter off the fire are the dish itself. One cook, one stove, one evening. Remove the pan from the heat before the first piece of butter goes in, because that is the step that decides the sauce.
Sauce aux Crevettes belongs to the fish-sauce repertory of Parisian grande cuisine, where one well-made velouté became many distinct sauces through reduction and a carefully chosen finish. Its compact method also suited the bourgeois dinner table: prepared fish foundations were enriched with cream, then given a final identity just before service. Despite the name, the shrimp tails provide texture and generosity, while the pounded shell butter supplies the sauce's defining colour and taste.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
prepared fish velouté, or prepared Béchamel sauce if fish velouté is unavailable
Quantity
8 cups (1.9 L / about 2 kg)
heavy cream, preferably 35% fat
Quantity
2 cups (475 ml / 475 g)
very clear fish fumet
Quantity
2 cups (475 ml / 475 g), plus up to ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) for rescue only
Shrimp Butter
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 227 g) Shrimp Butter (No. 145)
chilled and cut into small pieces
cooked shelled small shrimp tails
Quantity
about 1½ cups (360 ml / 227 g)
drained dry and allowed to lose their refrigerator chill
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| prepared fish velouté, or prepared Béchamel sauce if fish velouté is unavailable | 8 cups (1.9 L / about 2 kg) |
| heavy cream, preferably 35% fat | 2 cups (475 ml / 475 g) |
| very clear fish fumet | 2 cups (475 ml / 475 g), plus up to ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) for rescue only |
| Shrimp Butterchilled and cut into small pieces | 1 cup (240 ml / 227 g) Shrimp Butter (No. 145) |
| cooked shelled small shrimp tailsdrained dry and allowed to lose their refrigerator chill | about 1½ cups (360 ml / 227 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •5-quart (4.7 L) wide heavy saucepan
- •Balloon whisk
- •Heatproof spatula
- •Clean wooden skewer for marking the reduction level
- •Warmed sauceboat
Instructions
- 1
Mark the target volume
Pour the fish velouté, or the Béchamel fallback, into a wide heavy saucepan. Stand a clean wooden skewer vertically against the bottom and mark the sauce level; after the cream and fumet are added, this original depth is the reduction target. It is a simple home measure and more reliable than judging thickness alone.
- 2
Boil the base
Set the saucepan over medium heat and bring the velouté to a decisive boil, whisking across the bottom and into the corners. Add the cream and the 2 cups of fumet in a steady stream, whisking until completely smooth, then bring the mixture back to a lively simmer. If the base begins catching, stop scraping immediately and pour the unburnt sauce into a clean pan; dragging the scorched film upward spreads bitterness through the whole batch.
- 3
Reduce to the mark
Reduce at a steady, uncovered simmer, stirring frequently with a heatproof spatula, until the sauce returns to the skewer mark, about 20 to 30 minutes. It should fall from a spoon in a broad glossy ribbon without sitting like paste. The reduction to the original velouté volume is part of the dish, not brigade scaffolding. If it slips below the mark or tightens too far, whisk in the reserved fumet a tablespoon at a time until the ribbon returns.
- 4
Mount off the fire
Remove the pan completely from the heat and wait until vigorous bubbling stops. Monter au beurre, mounting the sauce with butter, means whisking in the cold Shrimp Butter (No. 145) piece by piece until each addition disappears before the next goes in. The sauce should become coral-ivory, glossy, and distinctly sweet with shellfish. Never boil it now. If it separates into oily streaks, ça se rattrape: put 2 tablespoons of cold reserved fumet in a clean bowl and whisk in the broken sauce gradually, one spoonful at a time, until the emulsion gathers again.
- 5
Fold in the tails
Fold in the shelled shrimp tails away from the heat and let them warm in the sauce for 2 minutes. They are already cooked, so further simmering only toughens them and risks splitting the butter finish. Pour the Sauce aux Crevettes into a warmed sauceboat and serve at once with poached, baked, or gently braised fish. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Fish velouté is the first choice because it gives the sauce a marine foundation before the shrimp finish arrives. Béchamel is the source's honest fallback, but the fumet must then carry more of the fish character; the difference is real, and there is no dignity in pretending otherwise.
- •Use a very clear fumet. Cloudiness won't destroy the flavour, but it muddies the pale coral colour and makes the finish look heavy. Strain the fumet before measuring if sediment has settled in it.
- •Keep the Shrimp Butter (No. 145) cold until the pan leaves the heat. Cold butter enters gradually and builds an emulsion; soft butter melts too quickly and is more likely to leave an oily rim.
- •Small cooked cold-water shrimp or rock shrimp suit the finish. Drain them thoroughly and blot them dry, since rinse water thins the sauce precisely when it should be gaining gloss.
- •Serve with poached turbot, sole, brill, pike quenelles, or a plainly baked white fish. A dry white Burgundy or a mineral Muscadet has enough freshness for the cream without bullying the shrimp.
Advance Preparation
- •The fish velouté and fumet can be prepared up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Prepare the Shrimp Butter (No. 145) according to its own entry and keep it cold until finishing.
- •For dinner-party service, complete the sauce through the reduction step up to 1 day ahead. Cool and refrigerate it promptly, then return it to a gentle simmer, remove it fully from the heat, and mount with the butter before folding in the shrimp tails.
- •Once mounted and filled with shrimp tails, the sauce is best served immediately. If it must wait briefly, hold it in a warm water bath for no more than 20 minutes and never let it simmer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 110g)
Calories
275 calories
Total Fat
23 g
Saturated Fat
14 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
8 g
Cholesterol
95 mg
Sodium
450 mg
Total Carbohydrates
8 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
9 g
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