This site uses only a few technical cookies necessary for its operation. By continuing to browse, you accept their use.
To find out more...
To find out more...
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.
366 K 4.1/5 (16 reviews)
1 hour 6 min.
Easy
5.40 €
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: Little Christmas biscuits, Manou's zucchinis garnished, Oat shortbread biscuits, Breton Sandwich, Grapefruit cake, ... See them all 493
Dry white wine
Like these other recipes: Summer Salmon Blanquette, Spring veal sauté , Curried prawn risotto, Beurre blanc sauce, Spaghetti with smoked salmon, ... See them all 70
White (spirit) vinegar
Like these other recipes: Mackerel Fillets in White Wine, How to prepare romanesco, Puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée), Pickled gherkins, Fish petals, vegetables julienne, and beurre blanc, ... See them all 18
Egg yolk
Like these other recipes: Sicilian Epiphany Pie, Chaud-froid of grapefruit, pineapple and lime custard , Apple confectioner's custard, Crème brulée, Scallops with crunchy vegetables and wine sabayon, ... See them all 76
Other recipes you may also like
Bouquet garni
Used very frequently in French cuisine, a secret of French chefs, it adds flavour to a lot of recipes, and it's easy to prepare. The basic principle is to make a small bundle of herbs, bind them in green leek leaves and to tie it up, so that the whole thing can be removed and discarded easily after cooking. March 21th 2017439 K3.5 15 min.
Morteau sausage
In this recipe, Morteau sausages are cooked on a bed of chopped potatoes. The trick is to cook the Morteau sausage slowly, so that its delicious, smoky flavor descends on the potatoes, which are crispy on the outside and melt-in-the-mouth on the inside, a pure delight. September 29th 20241.28 M 34.1 1 hour 35 min.
How to butter a dish or a mould easily
Often when making gratins, crumbles or other oven-cooked dishes, you will need to butter the dish or mould. To butter (or grease) means to rub inside the mould with a knob of butter to prevent the mixture sticking too much. Instead of putting a knob of butter in the dish and wiping with paper, here is a smart and quicker way. February 21th 2011156 K4.1 1 min.
Chocolate thins with toasted nuts
A very thin disc of chocolate, topped with toasted nuts and candied grapefruit peel. February 21th 2011275 K4 2 hours 25 min.
Sausage in brioche
In this recipe, sausage is cooked, the skin removed, and baked in a savoury brioche dough. Serve preferably with a good green salad and French dressing (vinaigrette). September 10th 2018431 K5 1 hour 50 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2026-03-22)
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.