Sauces/Gravy Maitre D'Hotel Butter / Sauce

maitre d' hotel sauce
(from Common Sense in the Household: A Manual of Practical Housewifery, by Marion Harland, 1871)

Ingredients:

1 teacup drawn butter​

1 tsp. minced parsley​

1 lemon​

Cayenne pepper​

Salt​

Instructions:

Draw the butter (No. 2); boil the parsley three minutes; take it out and lay in cold water five minutes, to cool; chop and stir into the butter; squeeze the lemon juice, the pepper and salt; beat hard with an egg-whip, return to the fire, and boil up once.​

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This is a "stock" sauce, being suitable for so many dishes, roast or boiled.​

 

[Albert Sailhorst]

maitre d'hotel butter
(from The Book of Household Management, edited by Isabella Beeton, 1861)

Ingredients:

1/4 lb. of butter​

2 dessertspoonfuls of minced parsley​

salt​

pepper​

juice of 1 large lemon​

Instructions:

MAITRE D'HOTEL BUTTER, for putting into Broiled Fish just before it is sent to Table.​

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465. INGREDIENTS. - 1/4 lb. of butter, 2 dessertspoonfuls of minced parsley, salt and pepper to taste, the juice of 1 large lemon.​

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Mode. - Work the above ingredients well together, and let them be thoroughly mixed with a wooden spoon. If this is used as a sauce, it may be poured either under or over the meat or fish it is intended to be served with.​

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Average cost, for this quantity, 5d.​

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Note. - 4 tablespoonfuls of Béchamel No. 367, 2 do. of white stock, No. 107, with 2 oz. of the above maitre d'hôtel butter stirred into it, and just allowed to simmer for 1 minute, will be found an excellent hot maitre d'hôtel sauce.​

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THE MAITRE D'HÔTEL. - The house steward of England is synonomous with the maitre d'hôtel of France; and, in ancient times, amongst the Latins, he was called procurator or major-domo. In Rome, the slaves, after they had procured the various articles necessary for the repasts of the day, would return to the spacious kitchen laden with meat, game, sea-fish, vegetables, fruit, &c. Each one would then lay his basket at the feet of the major-domo, who would examine its contents and register them on his tablets, placing in the pantry contiguous to the dining-room, those of the provisions which need no preparation, and consigning the others to the more immediate care of the cooks.​

 

[donna]

Hope we get many sauces posted. Thanks Albert.

 

[Deleted User CS]

This is a variation of a very classic French butter sauce known as a beurre blanc, which is one of the five mother sauces of French cuisine. A traditional beurre blanc sauce is made with a good wine, aromatics and butter all reduced and then heavy cream is added to stabilize the sauce. Albert, Thanks for sharing this variation of this classic sauce. David.