Beurre Blanc Sauce

Beurre Blanc is a classic French sauce I made countless times in my restaurant days. This creamy elegant sauce has a signature tang that sets it apart from others. It’s especially great with fish but also works perfectly with shellfish, chicken or vegetables. Let’s go!

Beurre Blanc Sauce

Along with Hollandaise Sauce and Béarnaise Sauce, Beurre Blanc Sauce – which means white butter sauce in French – is one of the first basic sauce recipes you learn as a chef at culinary school. It is a staple French sauce you find at cafes and bistros across France, but it’s so elegant it is used at fine dining restaurants all over the world, both the classic and as a base for endless variations. One of my signature appetisers is a crispy kataifi wrapped scampi / langoustine that I serve with a vanilla beurre blanc that Nagi loses her mind over.

Today, though, I am sharing the classic version. It is delicious and light, with a buttery, creamy flavour that’s balanced by the beautiful tang from the wine, white wine vinegar and onion shallots. Though straightforward to make, like any butter emulsified sauce it is a little temperamental so there are few vital rules that must be followed so it does not split.

Ingredients

There are only five ingredients required but the most important thing is to ensure that the butter is cold otherwise the sauce will not work.

• Onion shallot – Also known as French onions, eschalots or shallots (US name), these are the little onions that are purplish/white inside. They have a sweeter, more delicate flavour than regular onions and form the flavour base for Beurre Blanc. 

  Don’t get confused with a green onion (the long green stems) which are sometimes called shallots.

• White wine – Chardonnay is my favourite – it adds really good flavour and was the wine most commonly used at the restaurants where I worked in France – but any wine that is not too woody or sweet will work great here. No need to get anything expensive!

• White wine vinegar – The signature tang that balances its buttery richness comes from white wine vinegar. You could use another pale vinegar, like white vinegar or apple cider vinegar or even lemon juice, but the sauce just won’t be a classic Beurre Blanc. 

• Butter – We need 200 g / 2 sticks of unsalted butter for the sauce, cut into evenly sized 1 cm / 0.4” cubes. But most importantly, it must be COLD! Leave it in the fridge until you are about to add it to the pan. And use a spoon, not your fingers, to add the butter in gradually, as the warmth of your hands will melt the butter. The cold butter melting slowly into the warm wine and vinegar is what turns it into a creamy sauce. It will not thicken if the butter is not cold. Oui, it’s a delicate process! 

• Cooking salt / kosher salt – Used for seasoning. If you’ve only got table salt, halve the amount. For salt flakes, increase by 50%.

How To Make Beurre Blanc Sauce

Here is how to make Beurre Blanc sauce. The most important thing is to ensure that once you start adding butter, the heat always remains low as otherwise the sauce will split. This includes once the sauce is made and is being kept warm until serving.

However, if you are a first timer and want to take an easy precaution against the risk of splitting, just add 2 tablespoons of cream in Step 1. If you do this, you can even bring the sauce to a boil and it will not split.

1. Wine reduction – Simmer the onion shallots, wine and vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Let it simmer until it has reduced by two-thirds – this will take about 5 minutes. You should have 2–3 tablespoons of the liquid left, not including the onion shallots – any less liquid and you won’t have enough to emulsify with the butter. If you have too much, the sauce will be too thin.

2. Add COLD butter – Immediately reduce the heat to low – this is vital as if the temperature is too high, the sauce will split which is when the fat separates and the sauce becomes watery. You never want the mixture to even reach a simmer (not even approaching a bubble!). Make sure you are using your smallest burner as low heat on a large burger is much stronger than low on a small burner. 

   Take the butter cubes out of the fridge, then, using a tablespoon, add 1 heaped spoonful of cubes to the reduction. Don’t use your fingers as the warmth will melt the butter – and you’ll get greasy hands! 

3. Whisk the butter to emulsify – Whisk the butter into the reduction briskly and constantly, letting each addition melt before adding the next spoonful. The clear wine reduction will turn into a pale milky yellow colour, and will thicken as you add more and more butter. It should take around 5 minutes to add all the butter in. Add the salt in at the end.

4. Sauce consistency – After whisking in the butter, the sauce should be slightly thickened like pouring cream, and it should be pale yellow.  It should be thick enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon, but it is not as thick as hollandaise or a béchamel sauce. 

5. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into another small saucepan. Press down on the onion shallots with a spoon as you go to extract every last bit of juice and flavour. 

   TIP: Don’t throw out the onion shallots – they are beautifully buttery and infused with a lovely vinegar flavour. Scatter them over vegetables or a salad.

6. Warm and serve – Place the saucepan over LOW heat on your smallest burner to keep the sauce gently warm. The heat must stay very low otherwise the sauce can split. You just want it warm enough so it doesn’t solidify, as reheating cold Beurre Blanc usually causes it to split. Spoon generously over fish or your favourite protein, finish with finely chopped chives and enjoy!

How to Serve Beurre Blanc Sauce

Beurre Blanc is a classic sauce to serve with a simple pan-fried piece of white fish. Any fish will work but I like thin-filleted fish like snapper, John Dory, bream or flounder paired with a pea puree. Poached or gently pan-fried chicken is also a lovely pairing, as are steamed vegetables like asparagus, broccoli / broccolini – or even potatoes. 

It’s such an elegant sauce, it really can elevate something simple into a lovely meal. It forms part of the foundations of French cuisine, and one all French chefs learn very early on. I absolutely love it and can’t wait for you to try it and tell me what you think. Bon appétit! – JB

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Watch How To Make It

In Memory Of Dozer

Once, I put a French beret on Dozer as a joke and he immediately looked like he was about to criticise my cooking.

After assuring him that I would be okay, he went for a snooze under the table like an exhausted old French café owner who’s been working every lunch and dinner service for the last 50 years. A true master of the afternoon nap.