Béarnaise

Name: Béarnaise
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 60 ml (¼ cup) white wine vinegar, or tarragon vinegar; 60 ml (¼ cup) dry white wine; 1 shallot, finely chopped, about 30 g; 2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped, stems kept separately; 6 black peppercorns, crushed; 3 egg yolks; 180 g (¾ cup / 1½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted and kept warm; 2 g (⅓ tsp) fine sea salt; 1 tbsp fresh chervil or parsley, chopped, optional

Hollandaise's bolder sibling, sharp with tarragon and shallot

Makes: about 300 ml (1¼ cups)
Hands-on: 25 min
Total: 25 min
Level: Some skill

Béarnaise is a warm butter emulsion built on a reduction of vinegar, wine, shallot and tarragon. It is the classic sauce for steak and, in Norway and Sweden, a firm favorite with almost any grilled meat.

Ingredients

Reduction

60 mlwhite wine vinegar (¼ cup)or tarragon vinegar
60 mldry white wine (¼ cup)
1shallotfinely chopped, about 30 g
2 tbspfresh tarragonchopped, stems kept separately
6black peppercornscrushed

Sauce

3egg yolks
180 gunsalted butter (¾ cup / 1½ sticks)melted and kept warm
2 gfine sea salt (⅓ tsp)
1 tbspfresh chervil or parsleychopped, optional

Diet: Vegetarian, Gluten-free
Allergens: egg, milk, sulphites
Origin: France

Method

Put the vinegar, wine, shallot, tarragon stems and crushed peppercorns in a small pan. Simmer until reduced to about 2 tablespoons of liquid, 5–7 minutes.
Strain the reduction into a heatproof bowl, pressing on the shallots, and let it cool for 2 minutes. Add 1 tbsp cold water.
Bring 3 cm of water to a bare simmer in a pan that the bowl can sit on without touching the water.
Whisk the yolks into the reduction. Set the bowl over the water and whisk constantly until thick, pale and holding a trail, 2–4 minutes, lifting it off the heat whenever it feels hot at the edges.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the warm butter, a spoonful at a time at first, then in a thin stream.
Stir in the chopped tarragon leaves, chervil and salt. Taste: it should be rich and sharp. Add a few drops of vinegar if it needs more edge.
Serve right away, or hold in a warm (not hot) place for up to 1 hour.

Why it works

The reduction concentrates the vinegar's acidity and the aromatics' flavor into a few spoonfuls, so it seasons the sauce without watering it down. That acidity also helps stabilize the emulsion by keeping the yolk proteins from tightening too quickly. Tarragon added at the end stays fresh and anise-sweet; the stems in the reduction give background depth.

Common mistakes

Using a hot reduction: it can scramble the yolks. Let it cool slightly and add the cold water.
Overheating: the sauce splits. Rescue with 1 tbsp hot water whisked in a clean bowl, then slowly whisk in the split sauce.
Using dried tarragon: the flavor is hay-like. Fresh only.

Variations

Choron: Whisk 1 tbsp tomato paste into the finished béarnaise; good with grilled lamb.
Brown-butter béarnaise: Brown the butter until nutty before adding; let it cool to 70°C (160°F) first.