Velouté enriched with cream and reduced to velvet — the quietly perfect sauce for poached chicken, and proof that four ingredients can taste like a restaurant.
What you need
Ingredients
Servings
4
Before you start
Mise en place
Yield: About 500 ml
Equipment
Small saucepan
Whisk
Prep checklist
Lemon — juice
Mushrooms — sliced (optional, traditional)
3 steps
Method
1
Make a velouté: blond roux, hot stock whisked in, simmered 15 minutes with the mushrooms if using.
18 min — timer available in cooking mode
2
Add the cream and reduce gently 5–8 minutes until the sauce coats a spoon and holds a line when you swipe it.
6 min — timer available in cooking mode
3
Strain for perfect smoothness, then finish with lemon and a knob of cold butter swirled in off the heat.
From the pass
Chef's notes
Taste before serving and adjust salt and acid — the last 30 seconds of seasoning matter more than any single ingredient.
Afterwards
Keep, reheat & pair
Storage
Airtight jar in the fridge, 3–5 days. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of starch-thickened sauces to stop a skin forming.
Freezing
Most sauces freeze 2–3 months; freeze in ice-cube trays for single portions. Emulsified butter/egg sauces don't freeze — they break on thawing.
Reheating
Reheat gently over low heat, whisking; butter- and egg-based sauces split when boiled. Loosen with a spoonful of warm water or stock.
Make ahead
Most sauces keep 3–5 days refrigerated and freeze in ice-cube trays for instant single portions. Emulsified butter sauces are best made within the hour.