Bearnaise Sauce

Ingredients

• •225g (2 sticks) unsalted butter, clarified (see tip)
• •3 large egg yolks
• •3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• •3 tablespoons dry white wine
• •2 medium shallots, finely minced
• •3 tablespoons fresh, divided tarragon leaves, finely chopped
• •1 tablespoon fresh chervil or flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• •8 whole black peppercorns, cracked
• •to taste fine salt
• •1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

1. 1Make the reduction: combine the vinegar, white wine, minced shallots, cracked peppercorns, and half the tarragon in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and reduce until only 2–3 tablespoons of liquid remain, about 5 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl, pressing the solids; discard solids and let the liquid cool for 5 minutes.
2. 2Clarify the butter if not already done: melt the butter gently in a small saucepan over low heat, skim the white foam from the surface, then carefully pour the clear yellow butter into a jug, leaving the milky solids behind. Keep warm but not hot (around 60°C / 140°F).
3. 3Add the egg yolks to the bowl with the cooled reduction and whisk until the mixture is pale and slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
4. 4Set the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water (bain-marie), making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk the yolks constantly over this gentle heat until they thicken to a creamy ribbon consistency and you can see the bottom of the bowl between strokes, about 5–7 minutes. Keep the heat low — if the bowl feels too hot to hold briefly, lift it off the heat and keep whisking.
5. 5Remove the bowl from the heat. Whisking constantly, pour in the warm clarified butter in a very thin, slow, steady stream at first, then gradually faster once the emulsion is established. The sauce will thicken to a creamy, spoonable consistency. Do not add cold or very hot butter, as either will cause splitting.
6. 6Season with salt and lemon juice. Fold in the remaining fresh tarragon and the chervil or parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning.
7. 7Hold the sauce warm by setting the bowl over warm (not simmering) water, stirring occasionally, for up to 1 hour before serving. To rescue a split sauce, whisk a fresh egg yolk with a teaspoon of warm water in a clean bowl, then very slowly whisk the broken sauce into it, drop by drop at first, until it re-emulsifies.

💡 If the sauce splits during cooking, immediately take it off the heat and whisk in an ice cube or a splash of cold water to cool it down before attempting to re-emulsify.

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