3 Reasons Your Amazing Sauce is Turning Out Lumpy
We’ve all been there. Aching for an amazing Mac’n’Cheese, a fantastic fettuccine alfredo, or a gratifying gravy to drape over our leftover roast. We buckle down, get all our ingredients together, and get to work. Suddenly, things don’t seem as homogenous as they should…
The dreaded lumps have ruined the party. “Why? Why my beautiful sauce?” you cry to the heavens, only to be answered with the silent thickness of a lumpy sauce.
I may not be of the heavens, but I’m here to answer that question.
It’s as early as the mince
Often, the really rich and deep flavours that build the backbone of our sauces are the vegetables and herbs that we start with. When we simmer them, before creating our roux, we release their natural oils and flavours (which, in turn, develops the finer aspects of their flavours).
If we don't start the sauce with finely chopped ingredients, they will not blend into the sauce naturally. This can result in chunks of loose vegetables (looking at you, carrot-celery-onions) ruining the silky smooth texture that we’re looking for.
The solution? It’s as simple as ensuring we mince up our ingredients very finely, before beginning to saute them.
It started with the roux
Probably the most common culprit, an improperly solved roux will lead to obnoxious clumps of flour in the sauce. This most often occurs when the flour isn’t properly saturated into the butter (or other fat) that you’re using to saute.
To prevent this, ensure that you add the flour in small, steady increments, mixing all the while. That way, as you add more flour in, the previously added flour has already binded with the fats. Adding all of the flour at once can cause it to clump up, and become difficult to adhere to the mixture.
Not enough whisking
When you add in your liquid, treat it the same way that you add the flour in (when you made the roux). Add it slowly, and ensure it’s all soaked up by the roux, before you add any more in. Doing so, will ensure that it properly solves together, and creates a thickened liquid, instead of causing the roux to break apart into clumps. This is especially important if you’re using a cold liquid (as it will cause the fats in the roux to cool down, and thicken further).
Furthermore, as you bring your sauce to a boil, then reduce it to simmer, ensure that you keep whisking it. Despite the fact that the roux has “solved” into the liquid, the heavier solids will still settle at the bottom of your pot/pan. This can cause them to stick, and eventually burn. If you continue to give it a good and thorough whisking every few minutes, you can completely avoid this separation. The end result? A smooth and silky sauce, and a much easier pot to clean!
These are the three most common reasons why your delectable sauce has become a chunky mess. If you’ve already made your sauce, and are wondering how to get rid of the chunks, check out this article on how to remove lumps from your sauce!