Classic Beurre Blanc (Silky White Butter Sauce)

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The French kitchen's most elegant pan sauce: shallots simmered down in white wine and vinegar, then whisked with cold butter until it turns into a glossy, pourable emulsion that tastes like cream but contains almost none. A splash of heavy cream makes it stable enough for home cooks, so it won't break while you plate the fish. Twenty minutes, five ingredients, restaurant-plate results over seared scallops, salmon, halibut, asparagus or new potatoes.

Ingredients

• 2 medium shallots, very finely minced (about 1/3 cup)
• 1/3 cup dry white wine (Muscadet, Sauvignon Blanc or unoaked Chardonnay)
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 white peppercorns, lightly crushed (or black)

• 2 tbsp heavy cream, cold
• 16 tbsp unsalted butter (2 sticks), cold, cut into 16 cubes
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
• 1 pinch ground white pepper
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste

• 1 tbsp finely snipped chives or chervil
• flaky sea salt, for serving

Instructions

1. Cut the butter into 16 roughly equal cubes and return them to the refrigerator. Cold butter is what makes the emulsion work — do not let it soften while you build the reduction.
2. Combine the minced shallots, white wine, white wine vinegar, bay leaf and crushed peppercorns in a small heavy saucepan (1 to 1.5 quart, preferably stainless steel, not nonstick). Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low.
3. Simmer 8 to 12 minutes, until the liquid has reduced to about 2 tablespoons and the shallots look glazed and wet rather than soupy. Tilt the pan: the liquid should just barely pool. If you go too far and the pan looks dry, add 1 tablespoon of water and pull it off the heat.
4. Add the cold heavy cream and simmer 1 minute more, until it thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon. This is your insurance policy — the milk proteins keep the sauce from splitting.
5. Turn the heat to its lowest setting. Add 2 cubes of cold butter and whisk constantly until they are nearly melted but the mixture is still creamy, not oily-looking. Keep going, adding butter 2 cubes at a time and whisking each addition almost fully in before the next. The whole process takes 5 to 7 minutes.
6. Keep the pan between 120°F and 135°F — warm enough to melt butter, never hot enough to boil. If you see the sauce bubble at the edges or look thin and greasy, lift the pan off the burner for 15 to 20 seconds while whisking, then return it. An instant-read thermometer takes all the guesswork out.
7. When all the butter is in, you should have about 1 1/4 cups of pale, opaque sauce that lightly coats a spoon and leaves a clean line when you drag your finger through it. Whisk in the salt, white pepper and lemon juice, then taste: it should be bright and just-sharp, not flat.
8. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a warm bowl or small pitcher for a glass-smooth restaurant finish, pressing gently on the shallots. (For a more rustic sauce, fish out the bay leaf and peppercorns and leave the shallots in.) Stir in chives, if using, and serve within 30 minutes.
9. Hold the sauce off the heat in a warm spot — over a pot of 130°F water, or in a preheated thermos — whisking occasionally. Spoon over seared fish, scallops, roasted asparagus or steamed potatoes and finish with flaky salt.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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