Béarnaise Sauce
Authentic recipe for the classic French Sauce Béarnaise, with added herbs to the classic ingredients of its mother sauce, the Hollandaise. Created in the 1830s near Paris, in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Perfect accompaniment for steaks, salmon, chicken, potatoes or asparagus. Note that a quicker version can be made by omitting 2 optional steps (sieving and clarifying butter).
Ingredients
- 3-4 small shallots chopped finely
- 50 ml (2floz/ ¼ cup) white wine vinegar
- 100 ml (3.5floz/ ⅖ cup) white wine
- 3 branches fresh tarragon stalks separated from leaves (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns crushed
- 3 egg yolks organic
- 125 g (4.5oz/ ½ cup) unsalted butter clarified (gently melted and separated from milk proteins)
- pinch fleur de sel salt (or Maldon, Celtic sea salt)
- 1 tablespoon fresh chervil finely chopped
- ½ tablespoon fresh parsley (flat-leaf) optional
Instructions
- Sauté the chopped shallots in a little butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. When translucent, add the white wine vinegar, white wine, tarragon stalks (not the leaves) and crushed pepper to a boil in a small saucepan. As soon as it boils, reduce the heat and leave to reduce for about 10 minutes until there's about 2-3 tablespoons. Filter the liquid using a sieve into a bowl then return to the saucepan (optional: remove stalks but keep in the shallots)
- Meanwhile, prepare the clarified butter (optional but authentic step). Melt gently in a saucepan over low heat until the creamy milky proteins rest at the bottom of the pan. Carefully pour the top golden butter into a glass, leaving the milky part behind. Set aside.
- Over a low heat, add the yolks and whisk constantly until mousse-like and it thickens slightly. The pan should not get too hot (able to touch the pan with bare hand) as eggs should not be cooked. Take off the heat.
- Continuing to whisk, incorporate the warm, clarified butter until thickened. Add the chopped tarragon, chervil and parsley at the end. Season with salt to taste.
Notes
How to Serve: ideally, this sauce should be made as close as possible to serving.
If planning on making this much later in the day, prepare the sauce reduction in advance and only the rest of the ingredients. Keep at room temperature (off the heat) and when ready to serve, reheat by whisking in the pan over a very gentle heat. Measures: Please note that all my recipes are best made using digital kitchen scales in precise metric grams. Both ounces (and cups) are given as an approximate guide.
If planning on making this much later in the day, prepare the sauce reduction in advance and only the rest of the ingredients. Keep at room temperature (off the heat) and when ready to serve, reheat by whisking in the pan over a very gentle heat. Measures: Please note that all my recipes are best made using digital kitchen scales in precise metric grams. Both ounces (and cups) are given as an approximate guide.