Beurre Blanc Recipe | French Butter Sauce
Make beurre blanc with my step-by-step recipe and video. Learn to prepare a French butter sauce with white wine, shallots and chives, ready to serve with fish.
RECIPES
Beurre blanc is a French butter sauce that I enjoy serving with fish. In my restaurant kitchen, I make it with a reduction of dry white wine, white vinegar, shallots, bay leaves and peppercorns, then gradually whisk in cold butter.
I prefer to build the acidity into the reduction rather than add lemon at the end. A little chopped chive brings freshness just before serving.
Ingredients
Serves 4
3 small shallots, finely chopped
200 ml dry white wine
50 ml white vinegar
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon whole peppercorns
About 150 g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
Salt, to taste
A little cayenne pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
Method
1. Make the reduction
Place the shallots, white wine, white vinegar, bay leaves and peppercorns in a saucepan.
Bring to a simmer and reduce the liquid by approximately half. Leave the shallots, bay leaves and peppercorns in the pan while you incorporate the butter.
2. Whisk in the butter
Lower the heat. Add the cold butter a few cubes at a time, whisking continuously. Allow each addition to blend into the sauce before adding more.
Keep the heat gentle as you work. If the pan becomes too hot, lift it off the heat and continue whisking. Do not let the sauce boil once you begin adding the butter.
Continue until the butter is incorporated, and the sauce is smooth.
3. Strain the sauce
Pass the sauce through a fine sieve into a clean, warm container to remove the shallots, bay leaves and peppercorns.
4. Season and finish
Season with salt and a little cayenne pepper to taste. Stir in the finely chopped chives and serve immediately, warm.
Chef’s notes
Prepare everything first. Cut the butter into cubes and keep it refrigerated until needed. Have your sieve and serving dishes ready before you start whisking.
Control the heat. Gentle heat and gradual additions of butter help you build the emulsion. Avoid boiling the finished sauce.
Taste before adding more acidity. The vinegar is already part of the reduction, so I do not normally finish this sauce with lemon.
My pepper preference. I use whole peppercorns in the reduction and strain them out afterwards. For the final seasoning, I prefer a little cayenne to avoid black pepper specks in the sauce.
My optional finishing touch. I sometimes whisk in 1 tablespoon of cream after incorporating the butter, just before straining. It gives the sauce a little extra body. This addition is not shown in the video.
Serving
Make this sauce close to serving time and spoon it onto warm plates. I enjoy it with fish, but it also works well with asparagus and other vegetables.
Watch the method
Follow along with the video below to see how I prepare the reduction, whisk in the butter and finish the sauce in my restaurant kitchen.
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