My wife sometimes refers to me as The Sauce King because I am adept at whipping up a good sauce. But I think one key to my success has been that I manage to get it to the right thickness. As Chef Jerry Pellegrino points out, there are any number of ways to make that thin little broth thick and luxurious.
The simplest and most basic technique for thickening a sauce is reduction. This is just a fancy way of saying “boiling it down”. Once you have built a sauce, and it is thin, you simply turn the heat up until it boils, and just let it go. Provided there are not ingredients (like dairy products) in the sauce, boiling quickly will reduce the amount of water in the liquid, making it thicker.
One treasured technique of thickening is to incorporate a roux. This is simply a cooked combination of fat and flour. The most common technique is to melt butter and stir in some flour. A paste develops that at first is pale and blond. As it cooks, it gets darker and its flavors change. It will go from blond to dark brown with corresponding deepening of flavor. To use it, add your liquid to the roux a little at a time and whisk vigorously. Having made a “slurry” you can then add that back into your liquid and watch it thicken up quickly.
Using corn starch as a thickener is a favorite technique. You put a little corn starch into a bowl and slowly add your liquid. Stir it, adding more liquid until you have a runny slurry. Pour that back into the pot and stir some more over heat. Your sauce will thicken right up. You can use the same technique with flour.
Other agents can also thicken. Arrowroot is a starchy powder that works well, provided you don’t overdo it: it does have a bitter flavor that can throw off your recipe. Agar, derived from seaweed, is tasteless and is popular in making jams. Gelatin, which comes from animal collagen, is used to thicken desserts such as panna cotta.
Here are some recipes Jerry came up with that involve thickening:
TURKEY GRAVY
Ingredients:
drippings from roasted turkey
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or turkey or vegetable broth)
salt and pepper, to taste
giblets and neck of uncooked turkey, optional
Instructions:
Place the neck, heart, liver, and gizzards of the turkey inside a medium size sauce pan. Cover the giblets completely with water and bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is cooked through.
1. Next, use a slotted spoon to remove the giblets from the water and set them aside. At this point you can decide to discard the liquid from the giblet water or save a little of it to use at the very end of making your gravy if you need to make the gravy thinner. Otherwise, you don't need this liquid). Once the giblets have cooled, remove the livers and discard them (they add a really strong taste and flavor not many people like). Use your fingers to remove any meat from the turkey neck. Add the meat to the rest of the giblets and discard what's left of the neck. Then dice the giblets into small pieces and reserve them for the gravy.
2. When you have taken your turkey out of the oven, pour the drippings (what’s left in the roasting pan after cooking the turkey. This includes fat that has melted and any bits of meat that have fallen off) from your turkey roasting pan into a large bowl. (Tip the pan away from your body and be careful not to burn yourself)!
3. Now let the drippings sit for a minute, allowing the fat to naturally separate from the rest of the drippings. You will notice that the fat will rise to the top, leaving the drippings and liquid on the bottom. Use a large spoon or ladle to skim (remove) most of the fat from the top of the drippings.
4. To make the gravy, use a large saucepan and add 1 cup of drippings to the pan.
5. Add 1/2 cup flour to the pan and whisk together until it makes a smooth paste. (At this point, you'll need to use a little of your own judgement. You want a pasty consistency. If yours seems a little greasy, add more flour).
6. When you have found the right consistency, whisk the mixture slowly over the heat as it begins to brown. You are creating a roux.
7. Once you get a nice golden-brown color, add 4 cups of chicken broth and 1 additional cup of drippings.
8. Allow the gravy to cook, whisking constantly for about 5 to 8 minutes, or until thickened. Then add the giblet meat.
9. At this point, decide for yourself if you like the consistency of the gravy. If the gravy is too thick, add giblets broth or drippings liquid. If gravy is too thin, cook for about 10 minutes. If it's still thin, add cornstarch slurry (mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water and then add to the gravy). Continue heating until gravy thickens to desired consistency.
10. Once your happy with the consistency of your gravy, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and enjoy!
11. Store leftover gravy covered, in the refrigerator.
Here’s a great link to learn about making a corn starch slurry:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-thicken-sauce-soup-cornstarch-slurry/
CREAMY CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 cups chopped carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic from a jar
1 carton chicken broth, 32 ounces. (I used Simple Truth Organic)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 pounds chicken breast cut into bite-size cubes
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups milk
6 ounces dry medium egg noodles
Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the carrots and sauté for about 10 minutes until the carrots are slightly tender. Add the celery and onion and saute until the onions are translucent and the celery is tender about 5 minutes. Add the garlic during the last minute or so.
Add the chicken broth, parsley, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and chicken. Bring the soup to a boil over medium-high heat and reduce to medium. Cover and cook until the chicken is cooked and tender, about 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf.
Whisk the cornstarch into 1 cup of milk and add to the soup with the remaining 2 cups of the milk. Stir soup over medium heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat.
Cook the egg noodles according to package directions and drain. Add the soup and serve.
