BeaRnaise Sauce

By ClaudiaJan

Ingredients

• Ingredients
• 2/3 cup white-wine vinegar
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried tarragon
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• Coarse salt
• Bearnaise sauce must be kept at a constant temperature. Make it no more than 20 minutes before serving; keep warm near stove.
• .
• Everyday Food, December 2003 Prep Time 10 minutes
• Total Time 15 minutes
• Yield Makes about 1 cup

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, bring vinegar, shallot, and tarragon to a boil. Cook until liquid has reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 4 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Rinse out saucepan, and return strained vinegar.
2. Add egg yolks and 2 tablespoons water. Cook, over low heat, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens and forms thick ribbons, 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Whisk in butter, if sauce gets too hot (it starts to bubble), remove from heat and whisk in a piece of butter. Continue whisking until all the butter has been absorbed, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately transfer to a bowl to stop further cooking. Season with salt. Use immediately, or keep warm over a pan