Béarnaise sauce
This very tasty sauce, flavoured with tarragon, chervil and shallot, with its hint of acidity, is perfect for grilled fish or meats. Its well-known as a difficult sauce, but here are all the tips that you need to succeed.
342 K 4.3/5 (15 reviews)
1 hour 6 min.
Easy
6 people
10 IngredientsLast modified on: May 22th 2016
2 
250 g 
1 bunch Chervil
1 bunch 
100 ml 
100 ml white (spirit) vinegar
1 pinch 
1 
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 40 min.
Cooking: 30 min.
All in all: 1 hour 6 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 10 min.
Peel and chop finely 1 shallot.
Chop tarragon and chervil finely.
Reserve one teaspoon of chopped herbs for garnishing.
Chop tarragon and chervil finely.
Reserve one teaspoon of chopped herbs for garnishing.
Stage 2 - 1 min.
Put shallot and herbs in a small pan, salt and pepper generously.
Stage 3 - 15 min.
Pour in 100 ml white (spirit) vinegar and 100 ml dry white wine.
Reduce over low heat until you are left with about 1/5 of the original volume.
Reduce over low heat until you are left with about 1/5 of the original volume.
Stage 4 - 3 min.
Stage 5
You should get only 2 to 4 tablespoons of this tasty liquid which is the base for your sauce.
This base could be made several days beforehand, and kept in a sealed jar in the fridge.
This base could be made several days beforehand, and kept in a sealed jar in the fridge.
Stage 6 - 5 min.
On the day, melt 250 g butter, remove the foam which rises to the top and discard it.
Your goal is to clarify the butter, removing as far as possbile the white impurities (whey) which will be left on the bottom.
Leave to cool.
Your goal is to clarify the butter, removing as far as possbile the white impurities (whey) which will be left on the bottom.
Leave to cool.
Stage 7 - 5 min.
Prepare a bain-marie.
Put 2 egg yolks, sauce base, and 1 pinch flour in the bowl over the bain-marie.
Put 2 egg yolks, sauce base, and 1 pinch flour in the bowl over the bain-marie.
Stage 8 - 10 min.
Put over low heat, and beat to form a sabayon.
Stage 9
Continue to beat until it thickens, and "holds" the whisk.
Stage 10
Then add the melted butter, a little at a time, while beating continously.
Stage 11 - 15 min.
Your Béarnaise will develop its texture. Continue until all the butter is added, apart from the very last bit in the container with all the impurities (discard).
Stage 12 - 2 min.
And finally add the spoonful of herbs.
Serve without too much delay. If your dish is not ready, leave the sauce to wait in the bain-marie, not too hot, with a lid.
Serve without too much delay. If your dish is not ready, leave the sauce to wait in the bain-marie, not too hot, with a lid.
Remarks
Some technical words: Béarnaise is a sauce of the warm emulsified kind (like hollandaise and mousseline), which means a hot base, here a well-flavoured sabayon, where butter is added to get this smooth texture.
Usually chefs make bearnaise in a different way: everything in a single pan, without a bain-marie. Faster, but more difficult.
Usually chefs make bearnaise in a different way: everything in a single pan, without a bain-marie. Faster, but more difficult.
Keeping: A few minutes, not more.
Source: Nicolas.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 8 RDI=3 % | 6 RDI=1 % | 220 RDI=30 % | 2,070 RDI=100 % | 8,650 RDI: 100 % |
| Per 100 g | 1 RDI=1 % | 1 RDI=0 % | 40 RDI=6 % | 390 RDI=20 % | 1,620 RDI: 20 % |
| Per person | 1 RDI=1 % | 1 RDI=0 % | 40 RDI=6 % | 340 RDI=20 % | 1,440 RDI: 20 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 6 people : 5.45 €
- Per person : 0.95 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Butter
Like these other recipes: Tea and white chocolate biscuits, Foie gras fingers, Choux pastry (pâte à choux), Eggs "en cocotte" with spinach, Melting Epoisses on toast , ... See them all 456
Dry white wine
Like these other recipes: Creamy risotto with diced vegetables and flax seeds, Express sauerkraut, Tomato meat balls, Chicken breasts with tarragon, Seafood sauerkraut, ... See them all 67
White (spirit) vinegar
Like these other recipes: How to prepare romanesco, How to prepare broccoli, How to prepare cabbage, Fish petals, vegetables julienne, and beurre blanc, Cervelle de Canut, ... See them all 18
Egg yolk
Like these other recipes: Panettone, Chocolate mousse, Pistachio confectioner's custard, Butter cream, Baked potatoes with poached egg and tuna sauce , ... See them all 72
Other recipes you may also like
How to cook red meat properly
Cooking red meat well is not as simple as it might seem. Even if you start with high quality meat, with poor cooking it can become dry and tough. Here's a way that will guarantee you a perfect result.October 13th 2010470 K2.7 1 hour 25 min.
Home-made terrine of foie gras
Preparing your own home-made foie gras from raw is immensively satisfying: good quality liver and a simply amazing flavour – much better than anything you can buy. This recipe is a bit tricky, but quite within everyone's grasp, as long as you follow the 3 most delicate stages carefully. These are,...December 16th 20245.25 M 64.2 4 days 15 hours 50 min.
Guacamole
For this typically Mexican recipe there are two main methods: smooth mashed avocado (made with a blender), or simple mashed avocado (made with a fork) with small pieces. And you can add, or not, finely diced tomato. You will find the first version (smooth) below.November 26th 2011296 K4.1 1 hour 25 min.
Fougasse with bacon and Comté
This is a richer version of the traditional Mediterranean recipe (originaly, it was a simple olive oil bread).October 24th 2017336 K4.1 3 hours 9 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-02-23)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.