Classic Beurre Blanc (French Butter Sauce)

Buerre Blanc is a classic French butter sauce that pairs beautifully with fish, seafood, chicken and vegetable.

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Course: sauce

Cuisine: French

Keyword: buerre blanc, French butter, herb butter

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 20

Servings: cup

Calories: 1018kcal

Add the shallot and white wine to a small saucepan and bring up to a boil. Simmer until the liquid has reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Remove the pan from the heat and begin whisking in the butter, one piece at a time, being sure not to add a new piece of butter until the first one has been fully incorporated.
If the pan gets too cool to melt the butter, you can turn the heat on to low every so often to gently warm it back up. Be careful not to let the sauce boil to get too hot as it can cause the sauce to break.
Once all the butter has been incorporated, taste the sauce and season it with salt and white pepper. Pour the sauce through a fine mesh strainer, pressing on the shallots to extract every last bit. Straining the sauce may be skipped for a more rustic presentation.
Serve the beurre blanc immediately with poultry, seafood or vegetables. This sauce will not reheat well.

Cold butter is KEY to a smooth and creamy sauce. Before starting the recipe, break the butter up into small pieces and keep it in the refrigerator until ready to use. This way, you can easily add just a small amount at a time so it doesn’t break the sauce.
If the pan is too hot, the sauce could break. It’s important to remove the pan from the heat while stirring in the butter, and only gently reheat it if it becomes too cold to melt the additional butter.
Serve your French butter sauce as soon as it’s done. It can break if it sits for too long and does not store or reheat well.
This is a very basic recipe and can be adjusted to suit a variety of flavors. Experiment with different herbs and spices in the reduction, or by swapping out some of the white wine for a different liquid, such as a fruit juice.