Bearnaise Sauce

Béarnaise sauce varies from hollandaise only is taste and strength; instead of lemon juice, its basic flavoring is a reduction of wine, vinegar, shallots, pepper and tarragon. The techniques for making the two sauces are similar. At Sub Rosa you'll find this classic French sauce drizzled over everything from red meat to potatoes, but then, we're fools for tarragon.

Here's what you need for one and a half cups of béarnaise sauce:

This sauce is excellent on broiled and grilled red meats especially beef and game steaks or over fish fillets such as salmon or halibut.

In small saucepan, combine vinegar, wine, 1 tablespoon tarragon and shallot; bring just to boiling over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 8 to 10 minutes, until liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup. Allow it to cool.

Strain mixture into top of double boiler. With wire whisk or rotary beater, beat in egg yolks. Cook over hot, not boiling water, beating constantly until mixture begins to thicken.

3. Beat in 1/2 cup butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition, to melt butter. Keep warm. Add just enough cold water to hot water in bottom of double boiler to make it lukewarm. Set top of double boiler over water.

For any of these emulsion sauces, I keep a pan of cool water off to the side, so I can dip the bottom of the cooking pan in it to cool it down ever careful not to overheat the sausce so it seperates.

Sauce Hollandaise
Sauce Mayonnaise
Sauce Aioli
Sub Rosa Recipes
Sub Rosa Spirits Tarragon vodka