French Sauce Supreme Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Chef's Note: This sauce (gravy) is so good you'll want to suck it up with a straw. Kidding aside, this sauce is absolutely wonderful.
• 2. Gather your ingredients. Isn't it amazing what you can do with a few simple ingredients.
• 3. Add three of the four tablespoons of butter to a saucepan over medium heat.
• 4. Melt the butter, and wait until the foaming subsides.
• 5. Add the flour, and begin to whisk until thoroughly combined.
• 6. Chef's Note: We're making a blond roux, so make sure that the mixture does not brown.
• 7. Chef's Tip: Most roux's are made with 50% flour and 50% fat.
• 8. Add the cold chicken stock to the roux, and whisk as the mixture begins to thicken.
• 9. Chef's Tip: You might want to have a bit of additional chicken stock on hand just in case you need it. We're not looking for thick gravy. But something silky smooth.
• 10. Chef's Note: When you add cold chicken stock to a hot roux, you are working with different temperatures, and this is essential to avoiding any lumps.
• 11. Continue to whisk, as the mixture begins to thicken.
• 12. Bring to a lite boil, and continue to whisk for an additional 15 minutes.
• 13. Add the crème fraîche, and whisk and allow it to reduce for another 15 minutes.
• 14. Remove from heat and pass through a chinois, or fine sieve.
• 15. Chef's Tip: Use a rubber spatula to push the sauce through the sieve.
• 16. Chef's Note: Do you really need to pass the sauce through a fine sieve? Well, if you followed the advice of adding a cold stock to a hot roux... probably not. However, I do like to complicate things.
• 17. Season to taste, and then return the mixture to the pan, and bring to a lite boil.
• 18. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter, and whisk until combined.
• 19. Chef's Note: The addition of the remaining butter at this point will help to give the sauce its silky consistency.
• 20. Remove from the heat, add the sherry, and whisk to combine.
• 21. Chef's Note: The traditional thing to do here is add Madeira wine, but I like the sherry better.
• 22. Pour the sauce over a mound of garlic mash potatoes, some baked chicken, or use in a stew or potpie. Enjoy.
• 23. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

Steps:

• Set the chicken in a large, deep pot. Add the chicken stock, then add enough water to cover the chicken completely. Heat over high until the temperature of the cooking liquid reaches 160 degrees and is hot enough to steam. Cook the chicken until the inner thighs reach a temperature of 145 degrees, 30 to 40 minutes, monitoring the temperature and reducing the heat as needed throughout the cooking process to make sure the liquid stays under a simmer. Remove chicken from liquid and let rest until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes.
• While chicken rests, start the sauce: In a medium saucepan, whisk the butter and flour over low heat until the mixture melts into a thick, pale roux, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly add 3 cups of the hot chicken stock to the roux, whisking constantly over low heat, until roux and the liquid are emulsified. Bring to a simmer and cook, whisking occasionally, until the mixture is reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes. (Let the remaining stock cool, then refrigerate or freeze for future use.)
• Meanwhile, remove the legs (they will not be fully cooked) and set them aside for another use (see Note). Carefully remove the skin from the chicken breasts, then, starting with the pointed end of each breast, separate the breasts from the breastbone, with your thumb if possible (or your knife if necessary), gently moving your thumb down the center bone that separates the two breasts on each side. Using a knife, ensure that you remove the rest of the breast meat (including the filets) from the bone without tearing; remove and discard any membranes from the surface of each breast. (The meat nearest the bone might still be slightly uncooked, but it will cook through in Step 6.)
• Whisk the cream into the sauce in the saucepan, and continue to cook at a simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and has reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, another 15 to 20 minutes.
• Whisk in the mustard, then lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then add the port, if using.
• Add the breasts to the sauce to reheat, basting them until fully cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer each breast to a warmed plate and slice thickly, if desired. Gently spoon the sauce over the breast to serve.