Bearnaise sauce is one of the classics. It is a sauce prepared from clarified butter emulsified in egg yolks and white wine vinegar and flavored with herbs especially tarragon although other herbs can be used. It’s the ideal sauce for serving with steak. The sauce is an extension of that other classic, the Hollandaise sauce and for many has become one of the highlights of haute cuisine.
Most recipes call for clarified butter so ghee probably works extremely well in this dish. Our version uses ordinary butter. Some recipes call for the addition of cayenne pepper but this not a true bearnaise as would defined by Escoffier for example but you can add a pinch just to see how it performs.
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Equipment:
- a 3-pt heavy bottomed and enamelled saucepans, stainless steel pans or copper-lined saucepan.
- small saucepan
- wooden spatula or spoon
- wire whisk
Ingredients:
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 small shallot
- 2 tbsp dry white wine
- 125g unsalted butter
- 1 tsp tarragon vinegar or white wine vinegar
- small pack fresh tarragon, the tarragon needs to be chopped.
Preparation:
- Crack your eggs and collect the yolks. Either beat vigorously in a bowl or simply add to a mini food processor. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne if that it something you like, then add the vinegar and wine.
- Finely chop tarragon stalks and leaves separately.
- Melt butter in a pan and add the chopped tarragon stalks and the shallot.
- Simmer the but carefully because the butter needs to be hot enough that the egg yolks are cooked ever so slightly.
- Turn the processor on and add the hot melted butter slowly while the processor is running.
- Add all the butter to produce a smooth thick mixture, pour it into a bowl and stir through the tarragon leaves.
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