Fred wrote:

> I'm sure I'm going about this all wrong, but I have a sauce with the
> following in it:
>
> Olive Oil
> Butter
> Lemon Juice
> Wine
>
> I tried 2 different times to thicken it different ways. The first was
> pouring in a corn starch slurry, and the second was adding a cooked
> roux with butter and flour. No matter what I do, the instant I put in
> the thickener, it appears to bind with the fat and leave me with a
> very lumpy mess, with clarified butter separated from the lumps. Any
> ideas what I am doing wrong? Thanks.

I assume that your intent is to put this on some seafood. This isn't a
sauce and you can't thicken it by adding starch in any form without it
binding. Roux and slurries require appropriate ratios of fat to starch
to water-based liquid, and if this is remotely like I think it is,
you're not in the same universe with those numbers.

You're better off making an emulsion (temporary or permanent) and
using that.

Try a beurre blanc. You'll have to lose most of the oil if you do.

Or add a bit of dry mustard to this and whip it furiously. An egg yolk
(the lecithin will help with the emulsion and give a better succulence
to it).

Or deal with it like a vinaigrette knowing that after you shake it and
whisk it or blend it or whatever, it'll separate later.

Pastorio