The Best Béarnaise Sauce Recipe - Chef John's Version

Name: The Best Béarnaise Sauce Recipe - Chef John's Version
Total time: 55 mins
Ingredients: 1 cup fresh tarragon leaves, coarsely chopped; 0.5 cup thinly sliced shallots; 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns; 0.5 cup white wine vinegar; 0.5 cup white wine; 0.33333334326744 cup water; 0.25 cup chopped fresh tarragon; 1 teaspoon drained capers; 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter; 2 large egg yolks; 3 tablespoons tarragon-vinegar reduction; 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter; 1 tablespoon caper-tarragon compound butter; salt and cayenne pepper to taste; 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

In my opinion, Bearnaise sauce is the ultimate steak sauce! This version of the French classic is made with fresh tarragon and shallot reduction, butter, egg yolks, and white wine vinegar. It's also delicious on potatoes, vegetables, and seafood.

Total time55 mins
Prep time15 mins
Cook time40 mins
Yield1 cup, 8

Adjust servings

Scale ingredients instantly for the number of servings you need.

Servings

Instructions

Combine tarragon, shallots, and peppercorns in a saucepan. Add white wine vinegar, white wine, and water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer and reduce liquid to about 3 tablespoons, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and strain into a bowl through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing tarragon mixture to extract as much liquid as possible.
Prepare the compound butter: Combine chopped tarragon and capers in a mortar. Mash with a pestle for about 1 minute. Add cold butter and continue to mash and pound with a pestle until ingredients are thoroughly combined. Transfer to plastic wrap, wrap tightly, and chill.
Make the Béarnaise sauce: Place egg yolks in a stainless steel (flameproof) mixing bowl; add 3 tablespoons tarragon/shallot reduction and whisk together. Add cold butter cubes. Place bowl over low to medium heat, whisking constantly, using a kitchen towel to hold the bowl. After butter melts, continue whisking; mixture will turn a lighter yellow color after 8 to 10 minutes. When mixture is nice and thick, reduce heat to low and stir in compound butter broken into chunks. Continue whisking, then remove from heat. Season with salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper to taste.

Nutrition

Calories: 152 kcal
Fat Content: 14 g
Fiber Content: 0 g
Sugar Content: 1 g
Sodium Content: 38 mg
Protein Content: 1 g
Cholesterol Content: 86 mg
Carbohydrate Content: 3 g
Saturated Fat Content: 9 g
Unsaturated Fat Content: 0 g