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Classic burre blanc sauce is smooth, rich, and buttery, perfect for jazzing up pork, chicken, or fish.
According to Wikapedia, **Beurre blanc, literally translated from French as ‘white butter’, is a hot emulsified butter sauce. It’s made with a reduction of vinegar, white wine and shallots into which cold, whole butter is blended off the heat to prevent separation.
My son Jacob and I stayed up late over Christmas break, watching old episodes of The French Chef. We watched Julia Child whip up a chocolate souffle, create beautiful roast chicken, and classic Burre Blanc sauce.
Jacob wanted to know why anyone in the world would make a sauce that uses that much butter. That moved on to a conversation about how Julia Child influenced my desire to spend a lot of my time in the kitchen. I then went on to describe to him how reading My Life in France and Mastering the Art of French Cooking gave me a starting point and love for the art of food and cooking. Way before she was immortalized in Julie & Julia, she left her mark on many modern cooks.
We then watched Julie & Julia (how could we not) and I asked him to let me know what he wanted to make with me after all that we had watched and read. His choice was a classic burre blanc sauce, and I was happy to oblige.
I adapted a recipe from Saveur Magazine, adding a splash of whole cream to mine before whisking in the butter. The sauce has a smoother texture when you add the cream. Because the sauce is so easy to make, and perfect for fine dinner entertaining, I know I’ll make it again.
The classic burre blanc sauce was served over grilled chicken for me and over a white fish filet for Hubby.
I hope that you enjoy creating your own classic burre blanc sauce. Here’s the recipe.
Total Servings about 1 1/2 C
Ingredients
- 3 sticks cold unsalted butter cut into chunks
- 1⁄4 cup dry white wine
- 1⁄4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 TB finely minced shallots
- 1⁄4 tsp kosher salt
- Pinch of ground white pepper
- 1⁄2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 oz of whole cream
Instructions
- Have your cut butter cold and next to the stove top, ready to use.
- Bring wine and vinegar to a low boil in a saucepan. Add shallots,salt,and pepper.
- Lower heat to a simmer.
- Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. There should be about 1 1⁄2 TB of liquid left.
- If reduced too much, stir 1 TB water into the sauce pan.
- Whisk in whole cream.
- Remove pan from heat and whisk 2 pieces of butter into the reduction.
- Set pan over low heat and continue whisking butter into sauce, a chunk at a time, allowing each piece to melt into the sauce before adding more.
- Remove sauce from heat and whisk in lemon juice.
- Taste and adjust seasoning, then strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. (This step is optional, I wanted a smooth texture and finish.)
- Serve immediately.
Important Notes
Adapted from Saveur Magazine
