Béarnaise Sauce

Béarnaise sauce is a derivative of Hollandaise sauce - one of the five mother sauces of the culinary world. It's made just like Hollandaise, but using a tarragon-shallot reduction instead of lemon juice.

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Blender Béarnaise Sauce

  • Prep Time: 10 m
  • Cook Time: 5 m
  • Total Time: 15 m
  • Servings:
    6

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch fresh tarragon divided
  • 2 shallots minced
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • ¼ cup white wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup white wine
  • 3 egg yolks
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup butter 1 stick, melted
  • pinch cayenne pepper

Instructions

  1. Combine half the bunch of tarragon, the shallots, peppercorns, vinegar and wine in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer until it has reduced by half. Let the mixture cool and strain through a fine strainer.
  2. Combine the tarragon reduction, egg yolks, and salt in a blender jar. Blend until well mixed.
  3. Slowly drizzle in the melted butter.
  4. Season with salt and cayenne pepper. Add the leaves from the remaining half bunch of tarragon and buzz in the blender a couple of times. Hold the Béarnaise in a bowl covered with plastic wrap, over a barely simmering water bath.

Stovetop Béarnaise Sauce

  • Prep Time: 5 m
  • Cook Time: 10 m
  • Total Time: 15 m
  • Servings:
    6

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch fresh tarragon divided
  • 2 shallots minced
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • ¼ cup white wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup white wine
  • 3 egg yolks
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup butter 1 stick, melted
  • pinch cayenne pepper

Instructions

  1. Combine half the bunch of tarragon, the shallots, peppercorns, vinegar and wine in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer until it has reduced by half. Let the mixture cool and strain through a fine strainer.
  2. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over medium high heat. Once the water has boiled, reduce the heat to a minimum and allow the water to cool for about 5 minutes.
  3. Combine the tarragon reduction, egg yolks, lemon juice and salt together in a stainless steel bowl and whisk vigorously until the mixture has almost doubled in volume. Place the bowl over the simmering water and continue to whisk, making sure you don’t scramble the eggs. Remove the bowl from the saucepan if you suspect it might be getting too hot.
  4. Continue to stir vigorously, adding the butter as slowly as you can. Continue until all the butter has been incorporated into the egg yolks. The sauce should be thick and smooth. Check the seasonings and add the cayenne pepper and remaining leaves of tarragon, finely chopped. Hold the Bearnaise in the bowl covered with plastic wrap, over a barely simmering water bath.
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Comments (2)Post a Reply

    1. Hi Lura. Make sure you click on the words “Blender Method” so that the blue bar is resting underneath it. You should see the blender instructions there. You do need to start by making the reduction on the stovetop, but then the butter gets combined with that reduction in a blender.

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