Classic Béarnaise Sauce Recipe

How to Make a Classic Béarnaise Sauce?

Béarnaise sauce is rich and creamy. It is used with meats – steak or chicken and even with fish. It is from the same family as the hollandaise sauce but more flavorful.

Ingredients needed

Tarragon base:

¼ cup of dry white wine

¼ cup shallots, finely chopped

3 tbsp. white wine vinegar

¼ tsp black pepper

1 ½ tsp fresh tarragon chopped well, and divided into 2 portions

For the main sauce:

8 oz. butter, cubed

3 egg yolks

3 tbsp. water

1 tbsp. lemon juice, or more as required

Salt to taste

See Also

How to Make Delicious Chicken Tikka Masala

Step-by-Step instructions to make the sauce

1.      In a skillet, add all the ingredients needed to make the tarragon sauce and simmer over medium to low heat. The liquid has to almost evaporate. The pan should not be completely dry. Set aside to cool to lukewarm.

2.      Clarify the butter so that the milk solids can be removed. Heat butter in a Pyrex dish in the microwave. Use a strainer to pour out clarified butter. This step requires a bit of time and patience.

3.      In this step, you cook the eggs. In a small saucepan, you put in egg yolks, lemon juice and water and whisk for about 4 minutes. The mixture should be thick like the consistency of mayonnaise. Over low heat, the mixture in the pan has to be whisked constantly till the sauce is frothy and thick. You should be able to see the bottom of the pan while whisking.

4.      Add the butter slowly and keep whisking so that it becomes an emulsion. This will take up to 8 minutes.

5.      Add the tarragon mixture now and stir. Add the remaining portion of tarragon and salt. Taste it and add more lemon juice if necessary.