Béchamel Sauce
The first thing you've got to know about béchamel is that it's what's known as a "mother sauce." A mother sauce is one of the building blocks of classic French cuisine—a sauce used to make other sauces. In its purest form, béchamel is comprised of butter and flour that have been cooked together (a mixture that's also known as a roux) and milk, with just a bit of seasoning. The result is a silky cream sauce that can be used either on its own or as the base for countless other sauces.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1-½ cups whole milk
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black or white pepper, to taste
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, optional
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, over medium-low heat. melt butter
- Add flour; whisk until smooth and cook until flour is no longer raw; about 1 minute; be sure to whisk all around the edges of the pan to prevent scorching.
- Whisking constantly, slowly add ¼ cup of the milk, in a thin stream, and whisk until liquid is absorbed; this happens very quickly; the mixture will seize up, but it will loosen as more milk is added.
- Slowly add another ¼ cup of the milk, in a thin stream, and whisk until mixture is smooth; repeat with remaining ¼ cup portions of the milk, whisking constantly until mixture is smooth before adding the next batch of milk.
- Once all of the milk is incorporated, continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until it starts to simmer and the sauce thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon; about 8 minutes.
- Remove from heat and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, if using.
- If not using immediately, transfer to a heatproof bowl and press the top with a piece of plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.
- Béchamel can be refrigerated for 3 days; re-heat gently over low-heat, adding a splash of milk or water if too thick.