Beurre Blanc (White Butter Sauce)

 BEURRE BLANC

The first time I made a beurre blanc sauce I was in college in Washington, DC hosting one of the many fancy dinner parties I managed to have in a sub-basement apartment on Capitol Hill.  (Remember I was the college kid who when given a choice between buying a bed or buying pots and pans, I choose to sleep on the floor.)  The recipe was from Gourmet Magazine and had phyllo purses with some kind of fish inside them.  We followed the recipe step-by-step the first time we made them and it really felt like some kind of magic.  The sauce was smooth yet tangy.  Everyone raved.  

Then feeling like I was an expert because I had made the sauce once so successfully I hurried the next time I made the sauce and thought it was foolish to slowly whisk in the butter a tablespoon at a time and just went ahead and but all the butter in.  Well what I ended up with was melted butter and not the delicious sauce at all.  The ingredients may have been the same but the technique was not and it tasted completely different.  That was probably the moment I learned how significant technique is in cooking.

Later in life when I worked at Roy Yamaguchi's restaurant we made 30 to 35 sauces everyday.  My job was to make 20 pounds of Beurre Blanc everyday since it was the complimentary sauce to everything.  While some chefs finish a reduction sauce or other sauce by swirling in a little bit of butter, Roy, went one level higher by finishing with a drizzle of buerre blanc.  

This is the basic sauce.  There are a myriad of variations.  Yesterday I was teaching a friend how to make the sauce for scallops and we added Ichimi Togarashi, which is a Japanese Red Pepper that I learned about also from cooking at Roy's.  Two weeks ago I made a Ponzu Beurre Blanc only because I had Ponzu sauce for a different course and had Yuzu Beurre Blanc for another course,  When I got to the 7th course, the Arugula Vichyssoise sauce I had planned for that course had exploded all over the kitchen by one of the cooks.   So instead of repeating something we had already done, I decided to improvise and combine the two.  It was fabulous.  (My Ponzu sauce is also from scratch with lemons, oranges and grapefruit) and I will share that soon too  I've added Thai Chili Sauce before, lemon and capers, made orange Beurre Blanc or I've used Red Wine and made a Beurre Rouge.  I most frequently make a Ruby Red Grapefruit Beurre Blanc with salmon that many of you have also made.  That one is still my most favorite.  

This past weekend we catered a wedding that was originally planned 200 guests last July.  As with so many things in 2020 it was changed numerous times and was eventually celebrated with 11 guests in attendance and everyone else joining in with their toasts and well wishes via zoom.  While small, it was very meaningful and beautiful.  And they still went forward with the full menu plans.

We made a Lemon Beurre Blanc for the Abalone appetizers and for the Sea Bass entree with Forbidden Rice and Braised Fennel.  Many asked for the recipe and I couldn't believe I didn't have it up on my blog because I've been making it for 30 years now!

Here is the base recipe.  Feel free to experiment with whatever flavors you would like to add.  Just remember the important step of removing it from the heat when you first begin to whisk in the butter.  And for anyone who may be panicking about the two sticks of butter remember that you personally are not eating all of the sauce.  You are probably only going to drizzle an ounce or two of sauce on your fish so maybe in all you will consume at most a couple tablespoons of butter.  It is well worth the delight!

BEURRE BLANC 

(White Butter Sauce)

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup mild vinegar (such as rice wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, tarragon vinegar, sherry vinegar)

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots

3/4 cup heavy cream

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter

1/8 teaspoons (pinch) of Kosher salt

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat combine the white wine, vinegar and shallots.  Cook over medium heat until the bubbles become large and syrupy and almost all of the liquid is reduced.

Add the heavy cream and reduce by half (which means cook down until there is half as much as their used to be in the pot.)  

Remove from heat.  

Whisk in the butter one tablespoon at a time.  By the time I get to the second stick of butter I sometimes but the sauce back on low heat.  The key again is that you are trying to get the butter to emulsify into the cream mixture and not just melt.

In a restaurant you would hold the sauce in a hot water bath to keep it warm.  At your house you just want to be careful not to overcook it so it breaks.  If it does break you can try to fix it by whisking in a little more cream and then butter.

In general, you should make it within an hour before you want to serve it and then just heat right before serving.  

I'm making it sound hard when it truly isn't.  You will feel like you are a magician once you make it!