Beurre Blanc is a classic butter sauce that’s both creamy and flavorful – perfect for drizzle over fish, poached eggs or vegetables.
Creamy and flavorful, rich yet tender, beurre blanc inspires a superb upgrade for salmon, sole, poached eggs, prawns or an asparagus plate for a special occasion. You should drizzle this velvety, rich buttery sauce over any poached or fried fish.
Chunks of cold butter whisked with a reduction of white wine, vinegar, and shallots create a Buerre Blanc sauce. If you’ve ever added cold butter to thicken a pan sauce, you’ve made a warm butter emulsion—it’s the same technique used in making that sauce.
Although it should be served immediately, you can keep it in a warm place for about an hour, stirring from time to time.
Why did my beurre blanc break?
There are a few reasons why your beurre blanc can burst (the butter will melt and separate from the sauce).
- If the butter isn’t cold enough, the emulsion could be destroyed.
- Other reasons for the sauce breaking up include not stirring vigorously enough, adding the butter too quickly, or adding butter that is too warm.
One way to fix this is to take the sauce off the heat and smash in a few small pieces of ice so the sauce and butter don’t get too hot to emulsify.
Beurre blanc really should be served immediately. You can keep it warm on the back flame of the stove and whip it for about an hour, it’s better to prepare it right before serving.
If you make the sauce and refrigerate it overnight, there’s a 50/50 chance you can reheat it without it breaking. Place the pan over low heat, add a tablespoon or two of heavy cream and beat constantly until the sauce is hot. Move the pan on and off the stovetop to keep it from getting too hot, if necessary.
If it breaks, it still has plenty of good flavor to drizzle over veggies or fish.
Beurre Blanc Variations
There are many good ways to use beurre blanc as a base sauce to create a different sauce. Here are a few examples:
- Burre rouge is a more assertive sauce that works well with a steak. Make it by substituting red wine and red wine vinegar in the reduction.
- For a light, lemony version of Beurre Blancreplace the vinegar with lemon juice and add some finely grated lemon zest.
- Stir in some freshly chopped herbs such as parsley, tarragon or chives for a herb sauce. Stir in a teaspoon or two of Dijon mustard for a savory mustard sauce.
More mother sauce recipes for you!
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- Classic demi-glace sauce
- Classic Espagnole sauce
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Classic Beurre Blanc sauce
ingredients
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9 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, divided
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3 tablespoons shallots, finely chopped
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3 tablespoons dry white wine
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2 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
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1/3 cup cream
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1/8 teaspoon salt
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Pinch of white pepper
method
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Make the shallot reduction:
In a medium-heavy saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until the shallots are soft and translucent but not browned, 1 to 2 minutes.
Stir in dry white wine and white wine vinegar; cook, stirring occasionally to reduce liquid, until about 2 to 3 tablespoons remain.
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Add cream:
Add cream and salt to skillet and bring to a boil over medium heat and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
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Strain sauce:
Pour the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer into a small bowl and press down with a spoon to extract as much of the liquid as possible. Rinse the pot.
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Add the butter to the strained sauce and season:
Return the strained sauce to the pan and reduce the heat to low. Beat vigorously, add the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter, a few pieces at a time. As each addition is incorporated, add more butter until incorporated and the sauce looks creamy and coating the back of a spoon. It will resemble heavy cream. (It’s not a thick sauce.) Stir in the salt and pepper.
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Serve sauce:
Serve the sauce immediately. If not using immediately, keep on the side of the oven to maintain a lukewarm temperature until ready to use. Just before serving, heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until hot.
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