Classic Sauce Poulette with Mushrooms, Cream and Lemon
Sauce poulette is a classic French mushroom sauce built from a light velouté, finished with cream, egg yolk, lemon and parsley. The result should be smooth and lightly tangy, with the mushrooms still distinct and enough body to coat chicken, veal, poached fish or vegetables.
My mussels in creamy white wine sauce already use a poulette-style flavour profile, but this page isolates the sauce itself. It is also different from my creamy mushroom sauce for steak, which is darker, richer and designed around beef.
What makes a poulette sauce work
The base is a pale roux and stock, essentially a quick velouté. The roux must cook long enough to lose its raw flour taste without turning brown. Two tablespoons each of butter and flour will thicken about one and a half cups of stock to a sauce consistency once the cream and liaison are added.
The mushrooms are sautéed separately so they develop flavour instead of boiling in the sauce. If they go into a watery base raw, they release liquid and dilute the sauce.
The egg yolk and cream go in at the end. This liaison gives the sauce a softer, more luxurious texture. The important rule is not to boil after the yolk is added, or it can curdle.
For more background on velouté and its derivatives, my French mother sauces guide is useful.
Ingredients You Need
Use button or cremini mushrooms, unsalted butter, flour, light chicken or veal stock, heavy cream, one egg yolk, fresh lemon juice, parsley, salt and white pepper.
A pale stock is best. If you use a dark stock, the sauce can still taste good but it will no longer have the classic light colour. My homemade chicken stock concentrate can be diluted carefully if you do not have fresh stock.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Sauté the mushrooms
Slice the mushrooms about one-quarter inch thick. Melt one tablespoon of butter in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until their moisture evaporates and they pick up light golden colour.
Season lightly and transfer them to a plate.
Make the pale roux
Lower the heat to medium. Add two tablespoons butter, then the flour. Stir for about two minutes. The mixture should foam gently and smell buttery, but it should not become brown.
Whisk in the stock gradually. Start with a small amount and whisk smooth before adding the rest. Simmer five to seven minutes until the sauce lightly coats a spoon.
Return the mushrooms
Add the mushrooms and any juices back to the sauce. Simmer two minutes so the flavours come together. Taste the salt level before the cream and yolk go in.
Make the liaison carefully
In a small bowl, whisk the heavy cream with the egg yolk. Whisk in a few spoonfuls of the hot sauce to warm the mixture gradually.
Remove the pan from direct heat and whisk the tempered liaison into the sauce. Return to very low heat only if needed, stirring constantly. Do not boil.
Finish with lemon and parsley
Add one teaspoon of lemon juice, white pepper and chopped parsley. Taste. The lemon should brighten the sauce but not make it sour.
The sauce is ready when it coats the back of a spoon and the mushrooms remain clearly visible in it.
What can go wrong
A brown roux changes the character of the sauce. It is not ruined, but it becomes closer to a brown mushroom gravy. Keep the roux pale.
If the sauce becomes lumpy, the stock was probably added too quickly. Whisking in small additions at the beginning prevents this. My béchamel methods use a similar principle with milk.
If the sauce curdles after the yolk is added, the heat was too high. Do not boil. A small amount of cold cream whisked in immediately can sometimes smooth a slightly overheated sauce, but a badly scrambled liaison is difficult to repair.
This sauce is rich, so a few tablespoons per serving are enough. It works especially well with chicken supreme, veal kidneys with Dijon or a mild white fish.
Chef Notes on Holding and Serving Sauce Poulette
Sauce poulette is at its best when the liaison is added close to serving. The velouté base can wait, but once the egg yolk and cream are in the pan, prolonged heat works against you. Keep it warm, not hot, and stir from the bottom so a skin does not form.
The mushrooms can also be managed separately if you are cooking for guests. Brown them ahead, chill them, and rewarm them in the velouté before finishing the liaison. That preserves more mushroom flavour than leaving them simmering in the sauce for a long period.
When pairing the sauce, think about salt. Poached chicken, veal and white fish are usually mildly seasoned, so the sauce can carry more of the final seasoning. If you are spooning it over something already salty, such as ham or a seasoned roast, use a lighter hand.
The lemon should be adjusted at the very end. Cream and stock reduce differently depending on the pan and heat, so a fixed lemon amount can taste brighter in one batch than another. Add one teaspoon, taste, then decide.
If the sauce must wait ten or fifteen minutes, cover the surface directly with a piece of parchment or keep the lid slightly ajar over the pan. Before serving, whisk gently and loosen with a spoonful of warm stock if it has thickened. Do not try to restore it by bringing it to a boil.
Substitutions
Veal stock can replace chicken stock and gives a slightly richer result. Vegetable stock works for a meat-free sauce, but choose a pale stock without tomato.
Cremini mushrooms give a darker flavour than white button mushrooms. A small amount of wild mushrooms can be added, but I would keep at least half the mushrooms mild so the sauce still tastes like poulette rather than a wild mushroom sauce.
If you prefer not to use egg yolk, omit it and reduce the cream slightly longer. The sauce will still work, but it loses the traditional liaison texture.
FAQ
Can I make sauce poulette ahead?
Make the sauce through the mushroom-and-velouté stage, then cool and refrigerate. Reheat gently and add the cream-yolk liaison, lemon and parsley just before serving.
Is sauce poulette the same as mushroom cream sauce?
No. Poulette is based on a velouté and traditionally finished with a liaison and lemon. A standard mushroom cream sauce is usually built more directly from browned mushrooms, cream and pan juices.
What do I serve it with?
It is good with chicken, veal, poached fish, asparagus, green beans and potatoes. It is especially useful when the main ingredient is delicate and you do not want a dark sauce.
Suggested Posts
For other French sauces, try creamy Dijon sauce, sauce Diane, Roquefort sauce or easy white sauce. For another mushroom-focused dish, mushroom risotto uses mushrooms in a completely different format.
Classic Sauce Poulette with Mushrooms, Cream and Lemon
Ingredients
- 8 ounces button or cremini mushrooms sliced
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups light chicken or veal stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 –2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Instructions
- Sauté mushrooms in 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat until their moisture evaporates and they are lightly golden. Remove.
- Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in flour and cook about 2 minutes without browning.
- Whisk in stock gradually and simmer 5–7 minutes until lightly thickened.
- Return mushrooms and simmer 2 minutes.
- Whisk cream and egg yolk in a bowl. Temper with several spoonfuls of hot sauce.
- Remove pan from heat and whisk in liaison. Keep over very low heat only if needed; do not boil.
- Add lemon juice, parsley, salt and white pepper. Serve warm.
