Brown Thickening for Sauces

Brown Thickening for Sauces is a traditional British recipe, based on Charles Elmé Francatelli's recipe of 1861, for a classic thickening for sauces made from a blend of clarified butter, butter and flour that's cooked down until browned and bottled for use. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Brown Thickening for Sauces.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

80 minutes

Total Time:

100 minutes

Makes:

3 jars

Rating:

Tags : Sauce RecipesBritish Recipes

This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Brown Thickening for Sauces that's derived from the chef, Charles Elmé Francatelli' 1861 volume, The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.

Original Recipe

No. 9.—BROWN THICKENING FOR SAUCES

Put a pound of butter into a stewpan upon a slow fire to dissolve an throw up the milk it contains in the form of skum; remove this with a spoon, and then pour off the pure oiled butter into another clean stewpan; add to this a pound of butter into another clean stewpan; add to this a pound of sifted flour, and, after having well mixed both together with a wooden spoon, continue stirring the thickening over a slow fire for about an hour, for the purpose of baking it of a very light brown or fawn colour; it must then be poured into an earthern pan to be kept ready for use.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

450g butter
450g butter
450g pain flour, sifted

Method:

Melt 450g butter in a large pan until liquid. Continue cooking gently until the protein solids float to the surface. Skim these with a spoon then pour off the pure clarified butter into a clean pan. Add a further 450g of butter then beat in the sifted flour with a wooden spoon, a little at a time.

Continue stirring and cooking over a low heat for about 60 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and the flour cooks to a very light brown or fawn colour. Take off the heat and allow to cool then pour into bottles and store in the refrigerator until needed.

Find more of Charles Elmé Francatelli's Recipes Here and more Traditional Victorian Recipes Here