I took the plunge and made Ruhlmans veal stock from the Elements of
Cooking. Ths stock came out great, rich brown color, deep aroma and
highly gelatinous. I froze it in 1 cup bags.
Last night, I made a mushroom shallot sauce for some beef fillets.
The sauce was delicious (diced mushrooms, shallots, wine and a little
butter). My question is the consistency.
It never did develop the creamy thick posture of a sauce I see
drizzled on a plate at a high end restaurant. As the sauce thickened,
it only seemed to carmelize itself into the mushrooms and shallots.
Is there a chefs trick or method (arrowroot perhaps) to increase its
viscosity and maintain creaminess? If it involves a thickener, when
to use it and how to incorporate it into the finished product?
Thanks fer all your help. Rick

On Oct 8, 12:35*pm, Rick > wrote:
> I took the plunge and made Ruhlmans veal stock from the Elements of
> Cooking. *Ths stock came out great, rich brown color, deep aroma and
> highly gelatinous. *I froze it in 1 cup bags.
> Last night, I made a mushroom shallot sauce for some beef fillets.
> The sauce was delicious (diced mushrooms, shallots, wine and a little
> butter). *My question is the consistency.
> It never did develop the creamy thick posture of a sauce I see
> drizzled on a plate at a high end restaurant. *As the sauce thickened,
> it only seemed to carmelize itself into the mushrooms and shallots.
> Is there a chefs trick or method (arrowroot perhaps) to increase its
> viscosity and maintain creaminess? *If it involves a thickener, when
> to use it and how to incorporate it into the finished product?
> Thanks fer all your help. *Rick

Butter whisked in at the end...lots of it!

On Oct 8, 12:35*pm, Rick > wrote:
> I took the plunge and made Ruhlmans veal stock from the Elements of
> Cooking. *Ths stock came out great, rich brown color, deep aroma and
> highly gelatinous. *I froze it in 1 cup bags.
> Last night, I made a mushroom shallot sauce for some beef fillets.
> The sauce was delicious (diced mushrooms, shallots, wine and a little
> butter). *My question is the consistency.
> It never did develop the creamy thick posture of a sauce I see
> drizzled on a plate at a high end restaurant. *As the sauce thickened,
> it only seemed to carmelize itself into the mushrooms and shallots.
> Is there a chefs trick or method (arrowroot perhaps) to increase its
> viscosity and maintain creaminess? *If it involves a thickener, when
> to use it and how to incorporate it into the finished product?
> Thanks fer all your help. *Rick

The most common finish for that kind of sauce is a generous blob of
butter stirred in right at the end. It makes a big difference. -
aem

On Wed, 8 Oct 2008 12:35:20 -0700 (PDT), Rick >
wrote:

>I took the plunge and made Ruhlmans veal stock from the Elements of
>Cooking. Ths stock came out great, rich brown color, deep aroma and
>highly gelatinous. I froze it in 1 cup bags.
>Last night, I made a mushroom shallot sauce for some beef fillets.
>The sauce was delicious (diced mushrooms, shallots, wine and a little
>butter). My question is the consistency.
>It never did develop the creamy thick posture of a sauce I see
>drizzled on a plate at a high end restaurant. As the sauce thickened,
>it only seemed to carmelize itself into the mushrooms and shallots.
>Is there a chefs trick or method (arrowroot perhaps) to increase its
>viscosity and maintain creaminess? If it involves a thickener, when
>to use it and how to incorporate it into the finished product?
>Thanks fer all your help. Rick

Try using a beurre manié. Make it by mixing together equal amounts of
butter and flour. Whisk it into the sauce at the end and let it cook
for just a few minutes, no more.

koko

There is no love more sincere than the love of food
George Bernard Shaw
www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 10/4

"Rick" > wrote in message
...
>I took the plunge and made Ruhlmans veal stock from the Elements of
> Cooking. Ths stock came out great, rich brown color, deep aroma and
> highly gelatinous. I froze it in 1 cup bags.
> Last night, I made a mushroom shallot sauce for some beef fillets.
> The sauce was delicious (diced mushrooms, shallots, wine and a little
> butter). My question is the consistency.
> It never did develop the creamy thick posture of a sauce I see
> drizzled on a plate at a high end restaurant. As the sauce thickened,
> it only seemed to carmelize itself into the mushrooms and shallots.
> Is there a chefs trick or method (arrowroot perhaps) to increase its
> viscosity and maintain creaminess? If it involves a thickener, when
> to use it and how to incorporate it into the finished product?
> Thanks fer all your help. Rick
>
>
You have to thicken it. You can use: 1. arrowroot or any other starch 2.
beurre manié, which I've never liked, or 3. roux, made with flour and butter
or any other oil, cooked to some degree. I make roux with olive oil in a
microwave to cook the flour. Add a small amount of roux to your veal stock
to bring it to the degree of thickness you want. Less is generally better
than more. It's the veal richness that makes it all work, though, as your
example points out, you usually have to thicken in some fashion to get just
what you want.

Lg