French Béarnaise Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the ingredients in Béarnaise sauce? ›

Béarnaise sauce is a piquant child of hollandaise, one of the so-called mother sauces of French cuisine. It is simply an emulsification — egg yolks and butter cut through with vinegar flavored with tarragon and shallots, with a bite of black pepper.

Irresistibly creamy, buttery, and rich, Béarnaise combines an herby, slightly acidic reduction of white wine, vinegar, shallots, fresh tarragon, and lemon juice with hollandaise to make a luscious sauce for spooning over grilled steak, chicken, fish, or vegetables.

It is regarded as a "child" of hollandaise sauce. The difference is only in the flavoring: béarnaise uses shallot, black pepper, and tarragon, while hollandaise uses white pepper or a pinch of cayenne. The sauce's name derives from the province of Béarn, France. It is a traditional sauce for steak.

If your béarnaise is thin and runny, transfer to a large bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water. Whisk constantly and vigorously until sauce is thickened.

The fat from the egg yolks and butter play off the acidic vinegar, which are enhanced and activated by the salt. Perhaps, though, béarnaise's excellence comes from the generous amount of pepper that elevates the flavor triumvirate to something higher.

If you use mayonnaise instead, however, you don't have to worry about the egg and butter separating and can use just a regular saucepan. As NPR explains, tumeric colors the sauce so it looks like the real thing, and the mayo substitute tastes like a real béarnaise as well—just with less effort.

To make Béarnaise Sauce, you need: white wine vinegar, white wine, butter (which we clarify – more on this below), egg yolks, tarragon, chervil and eschalots/shallots (the small sweet onions sometimes called French eschalots.)

Béarnaise uses liquid clarified butter, and it is important to keep it warm. With beurre blanc, on the other hand, you use whole butter, and it's important to keep it as cold as possible. Beurre blanc tastes velvety and rich thanks to butter, but it's also slightly sweet and tangy as well.

' Common reasons include adding the fat too quickly, which means the fat and the liquid in the sauce you're making struggle to combine. If the sauce is on too high a heat, sometimes the ingredients will lose their ability to emulsify.

The five French mother sauces are béchamel, velouté, espagnole, hollandaise, and tomato. Developed in the 19th century by French chef Auguste Escoffier, mother sauces serve as a starting point for a variety of delicious sauces used to complement countless dishes, including veggies, fish, meat, casseroles, and pastas.

What is the thickening agent used for a hollandaise bearnaise sauce? ›

Egg yolks and butter. This is what 'thickens' a hollandaise sauce. It's an emulsion sauce. Using anything else will alter the flavour and texture, and not be a true hollandaise.

(ˌbeɪəˈneɪz ) noun. (sometimes without capital) a rich sauce made from egg yolks, lemon juice or wine vinegar, butter, shallots, herbs, and seasoning.

The first step to preventing a sauce from breaking is to be sure you're cooking at the right temperature. Most sauces shouldn't be cooked over high heat. A simmer is usually enough, and a lower temperature will give you more control over how fast the sauce cooks. This helps you get the consistency just right.

Béarnaise sauce is commonly paired with grilled fish or steak, but it's just as delicious on roasted vegetables or eggs Benedict. Spoon this silky, herby sauce over roasted asparagus, steamed broccoli, or grilled mushrooms for a sophisticated dinner party side.

To make Béarnaise Sauce, you need: white wine vinegar, white wine, butter (which we clarify – more on this below), egg yolks, tarragon, chervil and eschalots/shallots (the small sweet onions sometimes called French eschalots.)

Ingredients. Rapeseed oil, water, alcohol vinegar, egg yolks, salt, tarragon (1.5%), shallots (1.5%), chervil, lemon juice from concentrate, cayenne pepper, sugar, natural flavor, modified starch, color: beta-carotene.