Beurre Blanc

The beurre blanc sauce is of French origin, and it is a smooth sauce with a velvety flavor; it is ideal for light dishes and is mostly used in seafood and fish dishes. Beurre Blanc means white butter in french, and it arose from a mistake by chef Clemence while she was making a poached fish in bearnaise sauce. The reduction process was done as usual. Still, she mistakenly began to beat the butter without realizing she had forgotten the egg yolks. The dish had already been served, so she didn’t say anything until they realized her mistake. Still, the marquis was not only unable to notice the difference but also congratulated her on the quality of her sauce. Some years later, Clemence opened her own restaurant and trained numerous cooks, and one of them, who opened one of the most famous fish restaurants in Paris, made his reputation by serving Clemence’s poached fish with white butter sauce.

There are two recipes for the sauce, the first classic one and the other called “a la Nantaise.” The difference is adding a little bit of cream to the sauce. I prefer sauvignon blanc for this sauce, but any white wine you like works; always use a wine you would drink; if you dislike the taste, you probably won’t like the final product using that wine either. This sauce is super easy to infuse as you would only need to substitute 2-3 tbs of the amount of butter for infused butter to get a delicious infused sauce.

You can always adjust this sauce to your liking by adding herbs or any flavor addition you like. Still, I always recommend trying the recipes as they are first and then making adjustments because it may seem simple, but simple does not mean tasteless or bland, just like complexity doesn’t mean flavorful. Especially in this recipe is recommended to use good quality products since the sauce is mostly butter; by using good quality butter, you won’t need much more to get a flavorful silky sauce. A good quality butter is tastier, but it tends to be a more yellow butter that will add some color to your sauce. This sauce is mainly used in seafood and fish dishes but is also great over vegetables like asparagus or tossing some pasta for a quick dinner. This is my adaptation of Julia Child’s beurre blanc recipe, and I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

3 sticks cold unsalted butter (24 tablespoons), cut into tablespoon-sized chunks

¹/₄ cup dry white wine

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp minced shallots

¹/₄  tsp kosher salt

1 pinch of white pepper

¹/₂ tsp fresh lemon juice

Method:

In a saucepan, cook on medium heat the onion and shallot with the wine and vinegar until reduced; (There should be about 1 1/2 tablespoons of liquid left. If you reduced it too far, add 1 tablespoon of water to remoisten.) *If using, at this point, add the cream, mix thoroughly and reduce a little more.

Then add the cubed COLD butter, one piece at a time, constantly whisking it until evenly combined, then add another cube, whisking until all the butter is incorporated. You want to make an emulsion, and it is crucial NOT to let the sauce BOIL.

Once the sauce is thoroughly combined and looks silky and smooth, add a few drops of lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.

**This is not a good make in advance kind of sauce; it must be fresh before serving. It is crucial to keep the sauce warm until serving, or it can separate and get curdy.

The author shall not be liable for any damage or injury alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly, by the information provided here. Neither is responsible for any allergic reaction or adverse reaction to any ingredient (including infusions). No legal, nutritional, or medical advice is intended with this information, and under no circumstances should any infused product be given to children without professional medical guidance.