Edge: Thickening Methods for Soups and Sauces

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Thickening Methods for Soups and Sauces

By: David Voelz, CEC, CWPC, CCA, WCEC, CDM, CFPP, FMP, FSWC

AS THE WEATHER TURNS COLDER, what we serve and how we cook changes. Our diners are often looking for heartier, stick-to-your-ribs meals. Something that gives them that warm all-over feeling while they are eating. A trick to achieving that is to make sure that our soups, chowders, sauces, and stews all go out with just the right thickness, or viscosity, that delivers on the sensation our diners are craving.

There are several methods to achieve thickness. The challenge is to match the proper method to the proper dish. Since there are exceptions to every rule, this list is meant as a guide to lead you in a general direction, not necessarily as an absolute to follow at all times. Also, there is certainly more than one option to use in many applications. So, pick the one that suits you and your client the best.

SLURRY

Simply defined, a slurry is a mixture of cool liquid and a starch. Don’t miss an opportunity to add or reinforce your flavors, instead of just using water as your liquid. Chicken stock or beef broth are good choices if you need a quick thicken. Have you considered using orange juice or another fruit juice? If you are making an Asian-inspired sauce, use orange juice and cornstarch to get the job done. Although you are never limited to cornstarch, it is an excellent go-to when you need a gluten-free option for thickening.

Using the right process is key to ensuring a good final product when using a slurry. Make sure the liquid in your batch is up to a boil. I like to move the solids to the edge and leave the liquid in the middle, or at least over the hottest part of the cooking vessel. Give one last pass with a whisk and make sure the starch is fully dissolved in the slurry. Constantly whisking the liquid in your dish, start a slow stream of slurry. If the “pocket” of liquid gets too thick, redistribute everything and start again until just before the desired thickness is achieved. As the dish cooks, it will thicken a little more. Finally, turn your dish down to a simmer and let it cook about 20 minutes. This will allow the starch to “cook out.” That means the chalky taste of the starch will go away.

ROUX

Roux is the king of thickening for hearty dishes. Roux is equal parts fat and starch, by weight. The fat, which does not always have to be butter, is the key ingredient that gives us that feeling of satiety. Think about the fats that we have in the kitchen that are things we may usually discard. Bacon grease, for those who serve breakfast, is something that is usually disposed of. If you serve prime rib, there will be fat available for roux. Chicken skin can be rendered down to produce good fat that could be used to make roux.

There are four basic kinds of roux: white, blond, brown, and noir. White is reserved mostly for cream sauces since we are looking to maintain a white, or nearly white, sauce. White roux should be made under extremely low heat to no heat. Also, be careful if you are using an aluminum pan. Using a metal whisk on an aluminum pan will cause your roux to turn gray or possibly green. Try to use stainless steel when possible. Brown and roux noir are usually reserved for the Cajun dishes that everyone loves so much like gumbo or étouffée. The roux that we use the most for our winter dishes will be a blond roux. Sometimes we may push it closer to brown, but it’s unlikely we will spend as much time as it takes to make a true brown roux.

There are two ways to deploy roux. If we have a recipe and exact measurements, then we build our roux in the vessel we’re cooking in. When the roux is developed, that is the time to add our cold liquid. The key here is to stir thoroughly to ensure the roux is completely incorporated. Bring your dish up to a boil and then immediately return it to a simmer. Use the same timeframe as you did for the slurry to “cook out” the starch, about 20 minutes.

Other times we don’t have exact measurements or a recipe to go by. In this case, make the roux separately from the dish you’re preparing. The preferred method to incorporate roux in this way is called tempering. Place the amount of roux you think you’ll need in a stainless-steel bowl. Slowly add liquid from the batch to the roux, constantly stirring with a whisk. Once you have achieved a fairly loose mixture, slowly add the mixture into the boiling batch, stirring constantly. Again, turn the batch down to a simmer. Wait about 20 minutes to ensure that the starch is cooked off and the batch is the desired consistency. If it’s still too thin, repeat the process. If you were a little heavy-handed, add more of the liquid used in the batch.

LIAISON

This is a lesser-known method of thickening, but it has its place. The challenge will be to find new and interesting applications for it. To use this method, begin with a hot liquid. Depending on your desired outcome, you may want the liquid to be partially thickened. In a bowl, determine by volume of liquid, the number of egg yolks necessary to thicken your sauce. Slowly begin to drizzle your liquid into the egg yolks, stirring constantly yet not whipping the yolks. Think about how you make custards and use the same method here. The goal is to slowly bring the temperature of the liquid combined with egg yolks to the temperature of the batch liquid. Test the temperature by touching the outside of the bowl to know when the goal temperature has been reached. Once the egg yolk mixture is the same temperature as the batch liquid, slowly pour the egg yolk mixture into the batch. I like to continue to whisk, just to make sure nothing lumps.

From here there are two options. First, you can continue to cook your sauce and let it thicken. The second is a popular method for thickening the bechamel on top of the Greek dish moussaka. If this is the direction you are going, you can pour the sauce on top of your dish and it will thicken as it cooks in the oven.

BEURRE MANIÉ

This product is used mostly in an à la carte setting. Translated, it means “kneaded butter.” Start with room temperature butter cut into cubes. Coat with flour and begin to work the butter in. Beurre manié is used in small quantities, so a few pounds is plenty to get through a relatively busy service period. As such, this is best done by hand instead of a machine to avoid whipping the butter. Continue to add flour until you are close to a 50/50 mixture. Leave this batch out on your station during service.

Beurre manié is a product with two purposes. The flour part will thicken, and the butter will add richness and a sheen. Imagine you are making chicken marsala on the sauté station. The sauce you made in the pan is likely to be a little thin due to using chicken stock and you lack the time to reduce it until it thickens. Add a spoonful of beurre manié to the boiling sauce. Continue swirling the product in until it is completely dissolved. You can continue to add until the sheen and thickness you desire is reached. Unlike the methods above, you don’t have to cook this for 20 minutes, as you have only used a small amount of flour in a small amount of sauce. The starchy or chalky taste will cook out very quickly under high heat.

SOUP’S ON!

Serving soups and sauces at the proper level of thickness is crucial to creating a quality meal. Experiment with these methods in your dishes to find which ones bring the best results for your clientele.

About the Author

David Voelz, CEC, CWPC, CCA, WCEC, CDM, CFPP, FMP, FSWC

David Voelz is the Senior Dining Director for Glenaire CCRC in Cary, N.C., managed by Compass Community Living, a Morrison Company. He is a Past Chair of the American Culinary Federation’s National Certification Commission, and a Charter Member of the ACF Sandhills Chef’s Association.