Béarnaise Sauce

Name: Béarnaise Sauce
Yield: Makes enough for 4 Main-Course Servings of Steak
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 2 shallots, minced; ¼ cup [60 ml] dry white wine; ¼ cup [60 ml] white wine vinegar or tarragon vinegar; ¼ cup [60 ml] white wine vinegar or tarragon vinegar; 10 black peppercorns; 4 sprigs fresh tarragon, plus 2 tablespoons whole fresh tarragon leaves, leaves plunged in boiling water for 5 seconds, drained, rinsed with cold water (these leaves optional); 4 sprigs fresh tarragon, plus 2 tablespoons whole fresh tarragon leaves, leaves plunged in boiling water for 5 seconds, drained, rinsed with cold water (these leaves optional); 4 sprigs fresh tarragon, plus 2 tablespoons whole fresh tarragon leaves, leaves plunged in boiling water for 5 seconds, drained, rinsed with cold water (these leaves optional); 4 sprigs fresh tarragon, plus 2 tablespoons whole fresh tarragon leaves, leaves plunged in boiling water for 5 seconds, drained, rinsed with cold water (these leaves optional); 2 sticks (½ pound [225 g]) butter; 3 egg yolks; salt; pepper

Preparation info

Makes enough for
4
Main-Course Servings of Steak

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Glorious French Food

By James Peterson

Published 2002

About

Serve béarnaise in a sauceboat at the table, so guests can help themselves. (See for more about making hollandaise and its derivatives.)

Ingredients

2 shallots, minced
¼ cup [60 ml] dry white wine
¼</

Europe
France
Sauce
Mediterranean
Gluten-free

Method

Combine the shallots, wine, and vinegar in a small saucepan. Crush the peppercorns by putting them on a cutting board and pressing down on them with the corner of a heavy saucepan and leaning on it with all your weight. Put them in a Windsor pan—a saucepan with sloping sides—with the above ingredients and the tarragon sprigs. Put the pan over low heat and simmer the mixture until only about 2 t