What Is Beurre Blanc?

Beurre blanc is a classic creamy French sauce that is made with butter, shallots, vinegar or white wine, and lemon juice. Spoon this silky, decadent sauce over fish or chicken, or try pooling it under pork chops.

How to Make Beurre Blanc

To make beurre blanc, reduce a combination of vinegar or white wine and shallots until nearly dry. Add cream to stabilize the sauce and aid in emulsification. Whisk in cold cubes of butter, piece by piece, until the mixture has thickened and emulsified. Strain the sauce to remove the shallots and season with white pepper. Serve warm.

MAKES about 1 cup
PREP TIME 5 min
TOTAL TIME 20 min
COOK TIME 15 min

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup dry white wine
  • ¼ cup white-wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup finely chopped shallots
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • Kosher salt and white pepper, to taste
  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into cubes and chilled
  1. In a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, boil wine, vinegar, and shallots until liquid is reduced to2 tablespoons, about 4–5 minutes. Add cream and boil for 1 minute.
  2. Reduce heat to low and add a few cubes of cold butter, whisking constantly. Add remaining pieces of butter little by little, whisking constantly until the sauce is the consistency of hollandaise and coats the back of a spoon.
  3. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and white pepper. Pour sauce through a fine sieve to remove shallots. Serve warm.