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Epicurious

Beurre Blanc

5.0

(40)

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  • Active Time

    15 min

  • Total Time

    20 min

This classic French sauce starts by simmering shallots in a mixture of white wine and vinegar until the pot is very nearly dry. Cream is then added to enrich the sauce. (It also aids in the emulsification, causing the wine mixture and butter to combine more easily, which means your sauce will come together quickly and stay rich and luxurious far longer that a sauce without it.) White pepper balances the sauce, giving it an aromatic oomph without the speckling that would come from using black pepper. Straining removes the pieces of shallot, as they’ve already lent all the savory notes they have to give. Feel free to leave them in if you’d like your sauce to have a little texture.

Ingredients

Makes about 1 cup

¼ cup dry white wine
¼ cup white-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
⅓ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon white pepper, or to taste
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces and chilled

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Boil wine, vinegar, and shallot in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until liquid is syrupy and reduced to 2 to 3 tablespoons, about 5 minutes. Add cream, salt, and white pepper and boil 1 minute. Reduce heat to moderately low and add a few tablespoons butter, whisking constantly. Add remaining butter a few pieces at a time, whisking constantly and adding new pieces before previous ones have completely liquefied (the sauce should maintain consistency of hollandaise), lifting pan from heat occasionally to cool mixture.

    Step 2

    Remove from heat, then season to taste with salt and pepper and pour sauce through a medium-mesh sieve into a sauceboat, pressing on and then discarding shallot. Serve immediately.

Cooks' Note

Wine mixture can be reduced, and cream and seasoning added, up to 1 hour ahead. Boil cream 1 minute before adding butter.

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Reviews (40)

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  • I loved it! 💖🪩 Happy New Year , 2024!

    • ExxotiqueGOURMET

    • Columbus, OH

    • 1/1/2024

  • Easy-Peasy! Simple, quick, gluten-free, and very simple. Super tasty too.

    • Peter

    • 98020

    • 6/13/2022

  • Easy to make, with a whole lot of flavor!

    • Anonymous

    • Houston, Texas

    • 3/27/2022

  • Easy to make and tasted fantastic

    • Anonymous

    • Kentucky

    • 7/7/2021

  • Made this to go with some Dover Sole - DELICIOUS!! Super easy to make and just yummy!

    • kunjan

    • Oregon

    • 5/19/2020

  • Beurre blanc usually doesn’t have heavy cream, despite this it was delicious. I left the shallots in for a more rustic texture and it was delicious!

    • Pebblz S

    • California

    • 4/12/2020

  • Traditional Beurre Blanc doesn't have heavy cream in it.

    • Joncf129

    • Philadelphia

    • 10/11/2019

  • Damn this was great. Easy enough to make all the time. Served with blackened redfish and broccoli. Highly recommend.

    • Anonymous

    • Frisco Texas

    • 5/19/2019

  • Just made this sauce tonight. I doubled the recipe thinking I would not have enough. I had MORE then enough! Served it over Sea Bass and Baked Asparagus - Beyond Delicious!

    • ryankelly

    • Long Island NY

    • 3/24/2018

  • Wonderful on fish and scallops! I do like to sub lemon juice for the vinegar now and then. I make 2 to 3 hours ahead and keep in a Zojurushi thermos/ travel mug that I keep for sauces only. As hot a if it just came off the fire and no breaking.

    • jhough1

    • Ocean City, MD

    • 3/17/2018

  • I halved the recipe as I was only cooking for two, and it produced just the right amount of sauce. You could probably put this sauce on just about anything and it would taste amazing. I placed the sauce on top of black sea bass filets.

    • jmason53

    • New York, NY

    • 4/9/2017

  • I've always found that the biggest pain with these types of sauces are preventing it from overheating and separating the fat from the butter. As stated, simply taking the pan off the heat for a few seconds while gradually adding the butter every so often worked perfectly. I followed the directions as stated though my reduction of the wine and vinegar wasn't as syrupy as expected. Regardless, the sauce was absolutely fantastic. I left out the extra salt and pepper at the end, it was already delicious and I didn't want the extra bite of pepper. I tried to recreate a dish I had at Trellis in Kirkland, WA, gnocchi with beurre blanc, pancetta, and fried sage. It turned out wonderfully. I kept it warm in bowl of warm water while the gnocchi cooked, which heated it right back up when it was mixed in.

    • icetea

    • seattle

    • 1/22/2012

  • Why does it have a video for Aioli attached to it ???

    • djvanwyk

    • FL

    • 1/20/2012

  • perfect! I used part red wine vinegar and part distilled white vinegar and subbed soy milk for the cream. Also, added a few drops of dijon mustard and a squeeze of lemon. I only used about 3/4 of a stick of butter (I used vegan earth balance) which achieved the butter flavor. There was enough for about 3-4 servings. It was delicious drizzled over salmon!

    • kimberlyknapp36

    • 1/6/2012

  • I didn't have time to follow the recipe exactly, so I changed it a little. I made it with white wine vinegar, rice wine vinegar, garlic and butter. It was delicious!

    • Anonymous

    • Victoria, BC

    • 10/31/2011

TagsCondimentSauceWhite WineWineAlcoholBeveragesFrenchEuropeanShallotVegetableNut FreeGluten FreeVegetarian5 Ingredients or FewerMeal Prep30 Minutes or LessSimmerGourmet

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