Veloute Sauce

The veloute like the espagnole is also a leading sauce used for making secondary sauces. Melt three-fourths of a pound of butter in a small saucepan; stir into it three-fourths of a pound of good flour, and let the roux cook for a few minutes, then set the saucepan on a slower fire without letting it color; in order to obtain a well thickened sauce, the flour must be well cooked. When the roux is sufficiently done dilute it gradually with four quarts of good stock (No. 423). In case there be no special stock prepared for this sauce then use some good clear chicken stock (No. 195). Stir the liquid over the fire until it comes to a boil, then move it aside to let it cook on one side only; despumate the sauce for one hour, skimming off all the white particles arising to the surface; remove all the fat, and strain the veloute through a sieve into a vessel and let it get cool while lifting off the scum that forms on the top.