Julia Child’s Beurre Blanc

Helga Glaesel de BlandingApril 30, 2012

This post is also available in / Esta entrada también está disponible en ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)

Butter is essentially a smooth mixture of fat and water. The secret to making beurre blanc is to preserve its makeup by allowing each addition of butter to melt smoothly into the sauce, as you whisk it, before adding the next piece of butter. Also, never let the sauce come to a boil once the butter is added; that will cause it to separate. Some restaurant cooks add a little heavy cream to the wine reduction before whisking in the butter, to ensure a smooth and stable sauce, this is a new tip for me, as I researched to make this sauce I found that out.

You can serve this sauce with fish, poultry or vegetables. Try Fork Crushed Purple Potatoes, a recipe shared with us by Edith Paiz from EPI Catering as a side dish for a beautiful meal.

Helga

Beurre Blanc Sauce

Yields 1 ½ cups
Recipe adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking
by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck

Ingredients:
3 sticks cold unsalted butter (24 tbsp.), cut into chunks
¼ cup dry white wine
¼ cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallots
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch of white pepper
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Procedure:

Have butter ready, already cut into chunks.
Bring wine and vinegar to a boil in a saucepan; add shallots, salt, and pepper. Lower heat to a simmer; cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. There should be about 1½ tablespoon of liquid left. If reduced too far, add 1 tablespoon water to re-moisten.
Remove pan from heat; whisk 2 pieces of butter into the reduction. Set pan over low heat and continue whisking butter into sauce a chunk at a time, allowing each piece to melt into sauce before adding more.
Remove sauce from heat; whisk in lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning, then strain through a fine sieve into a bowl.

Have you made this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture with the hashtag #thefoodieskitchen!

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