Beurre Blanc Sauce - Learn how to make this buttery white wine sauce with hints of lemon and shallots and impress your friends and family! Beurre blanc sauce is delicious served over chicken, fish, seafood, and vegetables. It elevates any ordinary dish to the next level and makes it taste elegant and fancy!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time35 minutesmins
Additional Time20 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr5 minutesmins
Course: All Recipes
Cuisine: French
Servings: 16
Calories: 116kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
½cupdry white wineChardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, or Pinot Grigio
1shallotvery finely minced
2tablespoonsfreshly squeezed lemon juice
2tablespoonsheavy cream
1cupunsalted buttersliced into about 16 thin slices or cubed small and very COLD
Pinchof cayenne pepperoptional and to taste
Saltif needed and to taste
Instructions
To a large, high-sided, heavy saute pan or saucepan, add the wine, shallots, lemon juice, and cook over high heat until the volume has reduced to 2 to 3 tablespoons. This will take about 35 to 40 minutes. The mixture should be bubbling and boiling pretty vigorously; stir intermittently and check on it frequently.
After the mixture has reduced, add the heavy cream, and cook for 3 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat, and add 1 pat or cube of cold butter, whisking vigorously until it has melted and incorporated. Do not stop whisking. Do not add more butter until the first has melted.
Add the butter, one slice or cube at a time, until all the butter has been whisked in and the sauce is silky smooth.* (See Notes for Avoiding a Broken Sauce)
Optionally, you can strain the shallot out, or leave it in.
Transfer sauce to a serving pitcher, and optionally sprinkle with cayenne, and/or optionally add salt to taste if desired.
Serve immediately over chicken, fish, seafood, or vegetables. Beurre blanc sauce needs to be kept warm and served warm or it will break, and it's not able to be made in advance. If you have extra sauce, it will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week. Tip - It's best not to try to reheat it or it will break. Instead, treat it as a compound butter and put a pat of it on hot chicken, fish, seafood, or vegetables as you would do with a pat of butter on hot food.
Notes
To avoid your sauce from breaking, here are my tips and suggestions:
The heavy cream helps the sauce not break as easily. Don’t try to substitute half-and-half or milk for heavy cream for this reason. Fat is your friend here.
Keep the butter very COLD and in small cubes. I slice a stick of butter into about 16 slices, or about 1/2 tablespoon each.
Only add one slice or cube of butter at a time and whisk vigorously and intensely until it melts. Don’t add more butter and don’t stop whisking! Although this seems tedious, it’s worth it.
It is important to stay with the sauce at all times when cooking. You may be tempted to walk away, but it will be that moment that the sauce breaks.
To fix a broken sauce, remove from the and whisk in a few ice chips until the sauce re-emulsifies and comes back together. However, this isn’t a guarantee. It’s a Band-Aid. Better to prevent a broken sauce than to try to fix one.