Description
Beurre blanc is a classic French butter sauce made with white wine, white wine vinegar, shallots, and cold butter, emulsified to create a rich, velvety sauce with a hint of acidity. Perfectly drizzled over fish, chicken, or steamed vegetables, this sauce enhances dishes without overpowering them.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 small eschalot (finely diced; aka French onion, US: shallot)
- 1/4 cup dry white wine (such as Chardonnay)
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 200g / 2 sticks unsalted butter (cold, cut into 1cm / 0.4″ dice, keep refrigerated until needed)
- 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (or half for table salt, plus 50% for salt flakes)
- 2 tbsp thickened cream / heavy cream (optional)
Instructions
- Make reduction: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the finely diced eschalot, white wine, and white wine vinegar. Let the mixture simmer gently until it reduces by two-thirds to about 2–3 tablespoons of liquid, excluding the eschalots. If you are using cream, add it now and continue simmering until the liquid reduces again to 2–3 tablespoons.
- Add cold butter: Reduce heat to low, ensuring the mixture does not simmer further. Add the cold, diced butter one heaped tablespoon at a time, whisking briskly and constantly to emulsify the sauce. Allow each addition of butter to melt fully before adding the next. This process should take around 5 minutes and will result in a pale milky yellow sauce.
- Season sauce: Once all butter is incorporated and the sauce has thickened slightly, add the salt and whisk well.
- Strain sauce: Pour the sauce through a fine sieve into another small saucepan, pressing on the eschalots to extract maximum flavor.
- Warm and serve: Place the strained sauce over very low heat on your smallest burner to keep it gently warm. Avoid heating too much to prevent splitting. Serve generously over fish, chicken, or steamed vegetables, optionally garnishing with finely chopped chives.
Notes
- Use eschalots or shallots as they provide a subtle onion flavor essential for the sauce.
- Choose a dry, not sweet, white wine like Chardonnay for the best balance and depth.
- The white wine vinegar adds acidity that balances the richness of the butter.
- Adding cream is optional but can help stabilize the sauce and add richness.
- Be careful with heat when adding the butter; it must be low to prevent the sauce from splitting.
- Whisk constantly and add the butter gradually to create a smooth emulsion.
- The sauce should have the consistency of pouring cream and lightly coat a spoon’s back.
- Keep the sauce warm on very low heat but do not let it simmer to avoid breaking.
- Straining removes onion solids to leave a smooth velvety texture in the finished sauce.
- Best served fresh immediately after preparation for optimal flavor and texture.
