Béarnaise Sauce
Béarnaise sauce is best known for being the sauce of choice for Chateaubriand and is one of the world's most classy sauces. It can turn a well done dinner into a gourmet feast. A fabulous sauce for beef steak, but it accents any red meat or grilled vegetable dish. Good with green beans, salmon, beef, broiled chicken, lamb, and egg dishes.
Like Hollandaise sauce, Béarnaise sauce is an emulsion of butter in egg yolks. The difference is only in their flavoring: Béarnaise uses a reduction of vinegar and tarragon, while Hollandaise uses lemon juice. Such emulsions require some practice to prepare properly. The prime dangers are curdling the egg yolk mixture through excessive heat, and separation of the emulsion by rushing the addition of clarified butter. The ingredient list for beurre blanc sauce, another closely related emulsion, differs from Béarnaise sauce only by the lack of tarragon and egg yolks.
Serve with steak or prime rib. Also good with fish.
Béarnaise Sauce
from 1950 edition of Betty Crocker Cookbook
1/2 c. butter
4 egg yolks, well beaten
3/4 c. boiling water [add less so the sauce is thicker, one chef uses 1/4 c. for every 2 egg yolks]
cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
2 T. tarragon vinegar (see note below)
1 tsp. minced parsley
1 tsp. tarragon
Note: Instead of the 2 T. tarragon vinegar, to add more flavor, reduce 1/4 cup tarragon wine vinegar, 1/4 cup dry white wine and 1 T. minced scallion to 2 tablespoons and cool. Use in place of the tarragon vinegar. Cool and strain before using.
[My revised instructions from How to Make a Satiny, Full-Bodied Hollandaise Sauce:
Melt the butter and keep it warm.
Put the eggs and water in a Windsor pan (a saucepan with sloped sides) or in a heavy-duty metal mixing bowl. Off the heat, whisk the eggs and water for 30 seconds, whipping in lots of air. Cook the sabayon over very low heat, whisking constantly and scraping the bowl, until thick and voluminous. The whisk will leave tracks that hold for a few seconds.
At this point, take it off the heat and whisk rapidly for 30 seconds to cool it slightly. Add the melted butter a little at a time, whisking constantly. Be sure the butter isn't too hot or it will break the emulsion.
To finish the sauce, whisk in tarragon vinegar to taste. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in finely chopped tarragon, if you like.]
Melt butter in the top of a double boiler. Gradually stir in the egg yolks, whisking all the time. Whisk in boiling water. Cook until starts to thicken or let set over the hot water in the double boiler. Remove from heat and add the last three ingredients.
Blender Béarnaise Sauce
Make the reduction first if using in place of the 2 T. tarragon vinegar. See Note below the recipe to the left.
Melt the butter in a separate saucepan. Heat the water to boiling.
Blend the yolks and vinegar or vinegar/wine reduction together in a blender until the eggs are light and fluffy. With the blender running, add 1/3 of the butter in a slow steady stream. Once it emulsifies, turn the blender speed up to high and add the remaining butter. Add the water and continue to blend until the sauce starts to thicken.
Set aside in a warm spot to continue to thicken and to hold the sauce.
Notes: Do not use an aluminum pan. Do not let sauce stand over a lit burner. If prepared ahead, serve at room temperature. If sauce curdles, slowly add 1 tablespoon boiling water while beating with a mixer.
