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Chaudfroid Sauce

A cold sauce made from butter, flour, stock, gelatin, and optional egg yolks, used to coat chilled meats.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Mary Ronald · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Chaudfroid Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

  1. Put two tablespoonfuls of butter into a saucepan.

  2. When it bubbles add two tablespoonfuls of flour.

  3. Let it cook well, but not brown; stir all the time.

  4. Add two cupfuls of chicken or veal stock, and stir until well thickened.

  5. Season with salt and pepper.

  6. Add a half box or one ounce of gelatin that has soaked an hour in a half cupful of cold water. Stir until the gelatin has dissolved.

  7. Strain the sauce.

  8. Add yolks of three eggs just before removing from the fire to give yellow color.

Test and adjust

  1. Let it just begin to stiffen before using it.

  2. Put a little on ice to test firmness.

  3. If it is too stiff add a little more stock; if not hard enough add a little more gelatin.

  4. Ensure the sauce is firm enough to hold its place without running.

Vary and apply

  1. For brown chaudfroid, brown the roux and dilute with beef stock.

  2. Add a few drops of kitchen bouquet for deeper color.

  3. Pour sauce over boned chicken or other meats to give a smooth surface.

  4. Decorate with truffles for ornamental cold dishes.

  5. Before covering a galantine with chaudfroid, fill irregularities with sauce set on ice.

  6. Ensure the surface is even before turning over the galantine.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

806Calories
51 gProtein
22 gFat
97 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Chicken100g cooked165
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Mary Ronald. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Butter + chickentop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together13,902 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

  3. Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106,462 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,958 recipes

    Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

  5. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Butter
Enriches the roux with fat and flavor, giving the sauce a smooth, rich body.
Flour
Thickens the sauce as its starch gelatinises in the butter and stock.
Chicken or veal stock
Forms the liquid base of the sauce and adds savory flavor.
Gelatin (in the method)
Sets the cooled sauce so it clings to meat and holds its shape.
Eggs
Yolks add richness and a yellow color to the sauce.

The step that matters

Let it just begin to stiffen before using it. Gelatin sets as the sauce cools, so if it is too cold or too stiff it becomes lumpy and will not coat smoothly, while if it is too warm it runs off the meat. Testing a little on ice shows when it is ready.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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