French · Main
Beurre Blanc
Nantes' butter sauce at the canonical ratio — 60 ml reduction to 150 g cold butter — the whitest test of heat control in the kitchen
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- Shallots, very finely minced — 50 g
- Dry white wine (Muscadet) — 100 ml
- White wine vinegar — 40 ml
- Double cream (optional stabiliser) — 15 ml
- Cold unsalted butter, 1.5 cm dice, kept chilled — 150 g
- Fine salt — 3 g
- White pepper — 0.5 g
- Lemon juice — 5 ml
Method
- Reduce shallots, wine and vinegar in a small heavy pan to 60 ml of moist, syrupy reduction.
- Add the cream if using (insurance against splitting; purists skip it); bubble 20 sec.
- Over the lowest heat, whisk in cold butter 2–3 cubes at a time, adding more only as the last melts.
- Keep the sauce between 50 and 60 °C throughout — too hot it oils, too cold it sets.
- Season with salt, white pepper and a thread of lemon.
- Strain for a refined service, or keep the shallots in for bistro character.
- Hold no more than 30 min in a warm (not hot) bain-marie, whisking occasionally.