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.
351 K 4.3/5 (15 reviews)
1 hour 6 min.
Easy
2 people
10 IngredientsLast modified on: May 22th 2016
For 2 people, you will need:
1 
87.72 ml 
1⁄3 bunch Chervil
1⁄3 bunch 
35 ml 
35 ml white (spirit) vinegar
1⁄3 pinch 
1⁄3 
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 1⁄3 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 35 ml white (spirit) vinegar and 35 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 87.72 ml 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 1 egg yolk, sauce base, and 1⁄3 pinch flour in the bowl over the bain-marie.
Put 1 egg yolk, sauce base, and 1⁄3 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 | 3 RDI=1 % | 2 RDI=0 % | 80 RDI=10 % | 700 RDI=40 % | 2,940 RDI: 40 % |
| Per 100 g | 1 RDI=1 % | 1 RDI=0 % | 40 RDI=6 % | 380 RDI=20 % | 1,600 RDI: 20 % |
| Per person | 1 RDI=1 % | 1 RDI=0 % | 40 RDI=6 % | 350 RDI=20 % | 1,470 RDI: 20 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 2 people : 1.85 €
- 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: Potimarron (Japanese chestnut pumpkin) purée, Marchand de vin sauce, Sorrel omelette, Brioche galette, Craquelin (sweet cracker dough), ... See them all 472
White (spirit) vinegar
Like these other recipes: How to prepare corn salad, Sautéed chicken with leeks, Pickled gherkins, Cervelle de Canut, Poached eggs, ... See them all 18
Dry white wine
Like these other recipes: Turmeric risotto, Rabbit terrine, Savoury French toast, Seafood sauerkraut, Pan-fried salmon with white cabbage, ... See them all 68
Egg yolk
Like these other recipes: Breton sablé biscuit dough, Pistachio confectioner's custard, Salmon chard rolls, Peach and verbena feuilleté, Tagliatelle and courgette spaghetti, carbonara style, ... See them all 73
Other recipes you may also like
Spaghetti with mushrooms
In this recipe, the mushrooms are cooked in the oven first and are then combined with the cooked spaghetti, shallots and dressed with white wine and soy sauce.March 12th 201576 K4.1 1 hour 3 min.
Sweetcrust pastry (pâte sablée)
Sweetcrust pastry is one of the basic pastry of French patisserie, used in many tart and cakes recipes, but it can also be rolled out and cut into biscuits, delicious with tea or coffee. This recipe is given for those who have a mixer (Kenwood, KitchenAid or other), but it can also be done with your...July 1st 2019489 K 23.8 35 min.
Pitta bread
This Lebanese speciality is made as a flat round pocket, which can be filled with all manner of things.January 8th 2025531 K 14.5 2 hours 50 min.
Koulibiak in pie dish
Koulibiak is a traditional russian recipe from, usually served in a flat puff pastry fish shape. Here is an easier version, in a pie dish.September 7th 2018375 K3.8 3 hours 20 min.
Tahitian style fish
Little pieces of fish marinated overnight a night in lime juice.February 21th 2011276 K5 12 hours 60 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-07-27)
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.