Classic Béchamel
A proper Béchamel acts as the foundation for gratins, lasagna, and creamed vegetables. If you can manage a roux and a steady hand with a whisk, you will never need a jarred sauce again.
Temperature matters for the milk
Keep your milk at room temperature or warm it slightly in the microwave. Adding cold milk to a hot roux creates stubborn lumps that are difficult to whisk out later.
- heavy-bottomed saucepan
- balloon whisk
- rubber spatula
What goes in.
- 2 tbspunsalted butter
- 2 tbspall-purpose flour
- 2 cupswhole milk, warmed
- 1/4 tspfine sea salt
- 1 pinchfreshly grated nutmeg
Control the viscosity
Add the milk only a quarter-cup at a time, whisking vigorously until the mixture is completely smooth before adding more. This ensures the flour hydrates evenly without forming clumps.
The method.
Melt the butter
Place your saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the butter and let it melt completely until it begins to foam.
Make the roux
Sprinkle the flour over the butter. Use your whisk to stir constantly for two minutes. It should smell like toasted grain but remain pale yellow.
Add milk
Pour in the first splash of warm milk. Whisk intensely until the roux absorbs the liquid and turns into a thick paste. Repeat this process until all milk is incorporated.
Simmer to thicken
Increase heat slightly to medium. Keep whisking until the sauce bubbles and coats the back of your spoon—a line drawn through the sauce with your finger should hold its shape.
Season
Remove from heat immediately. Stir in the salt and nutmeg. If it looks a bit thick, whisk in an extra tablespoon of warm milk to adjust the consistency.
Other turns to take.
Mornay Sauce
Stir in a half-cup of grated Gruyère or sharp cheddar once the sauce is finished.
Soubise
Fold in a half-cup of finely minced, slowly caramelized yellow onions.
When it doesn't go to plan.
If you find lumps, do not panic. Simply strain the finished sauce through a fine-mesh sieve.
Never let the roux brown. If it starts turning brown, you have made a brown roux, which will change the final flavor and color of your sauce.
Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the sauce while it cools to prevent a skin from forming.
The ones that keep coming up.
Can I use low-fat milk?
You can, but the sauce will be thinner and lack the velvety mouthfeel that whole milk provides.
Why did my sauce turn out grainy?
Usually because the flour was not cooked long enough into the butter or the milk was added too quickly.
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