Serious Efforts: Boring Bechamel
Tonight I made a bechamel for some American-style curry. It was hot enough, but somehow tasted like flour. Bland, stodgy and thick. Adding the shrimp helped, but I was disappointed.
I used 1 cup water, 1 cup milk, a clove of garlic, 4 tsp. flour, half a stick (4 oz) butter. Furthermore, I cooked the roux until it was golden in color. Why did it still taste like flour? I should be able to do this in my sleep.
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18 Comments:
How long did you cook the bechamel after you added the liquid? I find that if it's getting cooked only on the stove top (as opposed to going into a baking dish and into the oven for, say, mac and cheese) I need to simmer the sauce for a good 30 to 45 minutes to really get rid of the flour-y taste you describe. I'm also a big, big fan of grating a little bit of nutmeg into the bechamel toward the end of cooking. It really works with just about any recipe and isn't identifiable as nutmeg, it just sort of wakes up the sauce a bit in a way that feels similar to a squeeze of lemon juice does in many cases.
Last question; is that 4 teaspoons or 4 tablespoons of flour? If it's 4 tablespoons, then the amount of liquid seems low by about half (ie, I'd double both the milk and water for that amount of flour and butter).
ccbweb at 5:19AM on 02/14/09
@ccbweb: Tablespoons - for two cups of liquid, for a thickish sauce.
I was taught as a girl to use 1 T. flour per cup of liquid for a thin sauce, 2 T. for medium, 3 or 4 for thick sauce.
I meant to refer to How to Cook Everything, but I've made bechamel so many times I didn't bother.
Mark Bittman's recipe is supposed to take about 20 minutes.
gentlyferal at 6:10AM on 02/14/09
a little acid or spice at the end should brighten up the sauce. it could be lemon juice, franks hot sauce, etc. always a few shavings of nutmeg, s & p, 1/8 teaspoon of cayanne, or even a few drops of sherry (depending on what the sauce is being used for). I personally don't like water...I use low fat milk or broth.
Judyep at 8:57AM on 02/14/09
The recipe my husband goes by when he makes bechamel sauce is:
4 cups milk
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp allspice berries
8 Tsp butter
1 cup flour
3 Tsp parmesan
1/2 tsp nutmeg
It isn't bursting with flavor, but isn't bland by any means, and the texture is, as you mention, of medium viscosity.
Cassaendra at 8:58AM on 02/14/09
when i make bechamel, i usually simmer the milk with either an onion or a few garlic cloves..... or a shortcut is to saute some finely chopped onion with the butter before you add the flour. if i don't do this the sauce just tastes flat to me. i do like a mixture of milk and chicken stock, though.... like a pot pie base (veloute)....
you have to cook that flour-ry taste out.... however long it takes. just keep stirring or put a heat diffuser under the pot so it doesn't scorch. also, another method is to put it in a heavy, shallow pan and put it in the oven....i've never done this but i'm sure it's a great method.
bechamel is one of those sauces that can be a pain in the butt ... it's like it knows it's not my favorite -- so it plays little tricks on me!
pooch at 9:23AM on 02/14/09
I use a blonde roux and milk, sometimes adding garlic or some shallot. I liven that up with cayenne, sherry vin, a little nutmeg and s+p, of course. Then strain thru a fine mesh to smooth.
sailordave at 11:00AM on 02/14/09
I sweat mirepoix (seasoned with salt and pepper) in butter over low - medium low heat, add flour and make a blond roux (cook for 3-5 minutes to get the raw taste out of the flour). I add milk (always whole, have tried skim and it never comes out quite right), a pinch of nutmeg, and a couple of bay leaves and simmer for 10-15 minutes (never boil). Then I strain the sauce twice, once to get rid of the mirepoix and big lumps (press on the solids to get out as much of the sauce as possible) and the second just to make sure it's smooth. I adjust seasoning at this point.
renoles at 11:44AM on 02/14/09
I know it's cheating, but to make my bechamel flavorful I add Campbell's concentrated chicken stock :-P
hmw0029 at 12:52PM on 02/14/09
This is not a sarcastic answer: Truly, when things taste bland, salt will help. In my experience, many complaints of poor, "bland" recipes turn out to be rooted in underseasoning. There's not much flavor in milk or unsalted butter, so bechamel takes a lot of seasoning.
Otherwise, 4 tbs of flour seems like a lot for 1 cup of milk. I completely agree with your formula of 1 tbs flour for 1 cup of milk for a thin sauce, but I don't think you really need more than 2 tbs for a thickish sauce.
Michele Humes at 3:00PM on 02/14/09
Michele, I was going to post the same thing. In my experience, bechamel positively swallows salt, so it always takes more than I think it will.
BangieB at 5:03PM on 02/14/09
Here's how I make mine.
I use 2Tbsp. each flour and butter for each cup of liquid, and I let the flour and butter bubble (hehe, butter bubble) until it's golden brown, so the flour doesn't taste like paste. That ratio of flour & fat to liquid yields a perfect consistency every time--not too thick, not too thin.
I also use half chicken stock and half milk, season with salt, pepper, and sometimes a little chicken boullion, and a little nutmeg. A little spicy brown mustard will liven things up a bit, too, if you like.
buffy at 7:15PM on 02/14/09
I don't really measure things as I cook, but I make a really good bechamel. For the most part I'd say I use equal amounts of flour and butter and I let those cook for about a minute so it doesn't have that raw flour taste. Then I add cold milk, which I've made myself believe gives the flour more time to cook out- though really I'm just too lazy to heat up milk in yet another pan. I add about a cup of milk for every tablespoon of flour/butter. This is also where I add the smallest bit of Dijon mustard.
I whisk the mixture constantly and when it's close to the thickness I want, I turn the heat down and add freshly grated nutmeg, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and just a bit of freshly grated Parm. It's pretty tasty and I use it in EVERYTHING.
PumpkinBear at 9:12PM on 02/14/09
I do the dash of mutmeg thingy, also some tabasco sauce, maybe some cheese, and of course sherry.
pjracz10 at 9:23PM on 02/14/09
the roux should be pretty dark. even if you're doing a blonde roux, you want to cook the flour well. & the first french chef i apprenticed under would throw an onion studded with cloves in with the milk (never water). and i always add dijon and cayenne or nutmeg.
dmarina at 1:05AM on 02/15/09
I skip the flour and use double cream, butter and lots of parmesan for cream sauce. I generally add slowly sauteed mushrooms as well (you want to keep the liquid, not cook it off).
For a curry, I'd recommend slowly cooked butter (unless you can get ghee) with coconut milk. Add most of the spices early, add the salt at the end.
As a cheat, I'll throw a stock cube into the simmering cream.
NotAmerican at 6:30AM on 02/15/09
Michele Humes:
There was also 1 cup of water, to which I meant (and forgot) to add Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base. So it worked out to 2 T flour per cup of liquid.
I supposed the BTB might have solved my problem. <facepalm> Next time I'll toast or fry the spices, too, as almost every actual Indian recipe calls for.
PumpkinBear:
Ha! I actually bestirred myself to heat the milk, to prevent lumps. I never do that, and my bechamel generally tastes better than this batch.
NotAmerican:
I like your style :)
gentlyferal at 6:24PM on 02/15/09
The way I learned was to pin a bay leaf to the flat face of a half onion with two cloves, then float that in the milk as it simmers before adding it to the roux. It tastes good! Also, I second the comment about making sure it's seasoned properly. Salt is your friend!
minstrel at 5:31PM on 02/17/09
minstrel:
I know! But my doctor is trying to break us up!Anyhow, I solved the problem. Velouté every time from now on!
gentlyferal at 9:53PM on 04/26/09