A beurre blanc is an easy sauce that liven any fish or chicken or even steak dish.
To begin, gather the following ingredients:
- 2 Shallots (Peeled, Finely Sliced)
- 4-5 Peppercorns
- 2 Cups Dry White Wine (Chablis)
- 3 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest
- 2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
- 1 Pound Butter (Unsalted)
- ½ Teaspoon Sugar
Traditionally, a beurre blanc, or white butter sauce, is made from the reduced cooking liquid of a poached fish. However, a reduction can be made without poaching a fish.
- Heat the white wine, shallots, black peppercorns, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Reduce liquid by ninety percent being careful not to scorch the sauce.
- Stir in the heavy cream and heat until slightly thickened (1-2 minutes).
- Dice the butter into medium-sized cubes. Slowly whisk in the butter one or two cubes at a time. If done properly, then the butter will create a thick emulsion sauce. If the butter is added too quickly the sauce will drop in temperature and become too thick. If the heat is too high, then the sauce will break and the fat will separate from the solids, making an oily and thin liquid. If done right, then the melted butter will create a thick, smooth sauce.
- Strain the sauce through a fine-meshed sieve, stir in the sugar, and serve.
Tips:
If the sauce is too hot when you begin to whisk in the butter, then the sauce will break. If this happens, then there are several things that can be done to repair the sauce. First, remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in a few more cubes of butter. This action will lower the temperature of the sauce, thus making it possible to revive the sauce. If this does not work, then place the sauce in a refrigerator for a few minutes. This will also lower the temperature of the sauce. As a last resort, you may add an additional 2 tablespoons of heavy cream after straining. Using an emulsion blender, blend the sauce until smooth. Use the sauce immediately as this method will only keep the sauce from breaking for a few minutes.
Variations:
The greatness of this basic sauce is its versatility:
- Replace the white wine with red wine to make a beurre rouge. This sauce is ideal for fatty fish or even red meat.
- Replace the heavy cream with fresh honey and add fish basil chiffonade to create a sauce perfect for white fish.
- Replace the white wine with sherry for a different taste.
- Add saffron to the lemon juice before adding to the sauce for a richer sauce.
- Use orange juice and zest instead lemon juice and zest.
- Also substitute blood oranges, grapefruits, or any other citrus fruit. However, be careful with limes as they become very bitter if cooked too long.
