In celebration of some new videos from Fool’s Gold’s own Duck Sauce, we’re going to do a special all-sauce edition of Food Gold this week. We want liberate you from having to eat (and pay for) the flavorless, soulless, packaged jars of gunk that the man is trying to pass off on you. Yes friends, it’s time to step up your game and get into HOMEMADE SAUCES. On deck we have a trio of delightful, multipurpose condiments that are a snap to create: mayo, parsley salsa verde and for all you lovers out there, the luscious Beurre Blanc. Let’s go!

HOMEMADE MAYO:

If you have never experienced the silky goodness that is homemade mayo you are missing out friends. It’s incredibly easy to make and will make you shun ever picking up the Hellmann’s again.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature 30 minutes *make sure the eggs are super fresh
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3/4 cup olive or vegetable oil (or a combination) divided *ideally in a squeeze bottle so you don’t dump the whole thing in at once
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar *or champagne or white wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice *or water if you don’t have a lemon handy
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Start by whisking together the egg yolk, mustard and a generous pinch of salt until all ingredients are incorporated. Then, using a squeeze bottle if you have one, start whisking in the oil drop by drop until the mixture starts to thicken.You want to add about 1/4 cup of the oil.

2. Add your acid (vinegar, lemon juice, etc.) and then start adding the rest of the oil, about a 1/2 cup, slowly and drop by drop. What you are doing here is creating a very basic emulsion, just like you do when you make a vinaigrette.

3. Once that is smooth, you can thin it out with a bit of water if you like. Just be sure to whisk it in immediately so your sauce doesn’t break. Season with salt and paper and go to town!

PARSLEY SALSA VERDE:

While there are many, many different iterations of Salsa Verde, I decided to go with a fresh, parsley-driven approach for this one. The mild bitterness of the sauce can really make an unctuousness piece of lamb, veal or chicken sing with pleasure. Try it with roasted bone marrow if you are adventurous!

• 1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped *the Italian kind is often called flat leaf parsley, avoid the curly stuff
• 2 tablespoons capers, chopped
• 1 small shallot, minced up in really tiny pieces
• 1 lemon, juiced *be sure to strain out or remove seeds
• 2 tablespoons good quality olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste *tho you may not need to add this if the food you are serving it with is already mad salty

First things first, make sure you have a sharp ass knife when you chop the parsley. If you don’t you will bruise the herb and it will taste like lawnmower mulch. Also, pay attention to how finely you chop it. No one wants to eat a big hunk of uncut parsley!

1. Mix together the chopped parsley, minced shallot and chopped capers in a small bowl.

2. Then add the olive oil and the lemon juice until the mixture is nicely coated. You are going for less wetness than a sauce here, think of it more as a spread.

3. Add salt and pepper if you like and serve atop a luscious cut of skin on roasted chicken, veal shank or pork belly.

BEURRE BLANC:

Now, this sauce requires a little bit more finesse to pull off than the other two but I promise you that if you pay attention to the specifics, you will nail it every time. It was very popular back in the 1980s, when chefs were trying to “lighten up” their sauces and get away from heavy, flour based sauces like Bechamel. Beurre Blanc aka “white butter” is absolutely marvelous with a nice piece of broiled fish like salmon or some steamed vegetables. Throw on some slow jams and give this a shot, player.

• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
• 1/3 cup white wine *ideally dry white wine
• 8 tablespoons aka ONE ENTIRE STICK of COLD ASS Unsalted Butter, cut into small bits
• salt and pepper to taste
  

1. To get this jumping off, you need to combine the first four ingredients in a small saucepan (do not use a skillet, as the surface area will be too large) and turn the heat up to medium. Once the heat is up, stir occasionally until the mixture is reduced to about 2 tablespoons. This should take about 4-5 minutes.

2. Once it is reduced, move the saucepan to an unlit burner and let the sauce cool for two minutes. While the sauce is cooling, remove your butter from the fridge (again, I can’t stress enough that the butter MUST be cold) and cut it into small/medium sized pats, about what you see in an English Muffin ad.

3. Now it’s time to add your butter. Turn the heat to as low a setting as possible (you just want a whisper of a flame) and start to whisk in the butter, one pat at a time until it gets incorporated into the sauce.

DO NOT get lazy here and add too much butter at once, your sauce will break and you will be screwed. Treat it with love and it will love you back.

4. Once the sauce is creamy and smooth and the entire stick of butter has been incorporated, you are good to go. Be sure to serve immediately, as this sauce will not keep in the fridge. It must be enjoyed “a la minute”.

That does it for this week’s Food Gold. Be sure to tune in next week for our FIRST EVER VIDEO EDITION!

Fork The World,

Elliot