Buerre Blanc
Buerre Blanc
This classic French sauce starts by simmering shallots in a mixture of white wine and vinegar until the pot is very nearly dry. Cream is then added to enrich the sauce. (it also aids in the emulsification, causing the wine mixture and butter to combine more easily, which means your sauce will come together quickly and stay rich and luxurious far longer than a sauce without it.) White pepper balances the sauce, giving it an aromatic oomph without speckling that you would get from using black pepper. Straining removes the pieces of shallot, as they've already lent all the savory notes they have to give. Feel free to leave them in if you'd like your sauce to have a little texture.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ¼ cup white-wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp finely chopped shallot
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp white pepper, to taste
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces and chilled (2 sticks)
Instructions
- Boil wine, vinegar, and shallot in a 2-3 quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until liquid is syrupy and reduced to 2-3 tablespoons (about 5 minutes)
- Add cream, salt and white pepper and boil for 1 minute.
- Reduce heat to moderately low and add a few tablespoons of butter, whisking constantly. Add remaining butter a few pieces at a time, whisking constantly and adding new pieces before previous ones have completely liquefied (the sauce should maintain the consistency of hollandaise), lifting pan from heat occasionally to cool mixture.
- Remove sauce from heat, then season to taste with salt and pepper and pour sauce through a medium-mesh sieve into a sauceboat, pressing on and then discarding shallot. Serve immeidately.
Notes
Cook’s Note: wine mixture can be reduced and cream and seasoning added up to 1 hour ahead. Boil cream for 1 minute before adding butter.
This recipe is from a website but I don’t know which one.