Homemade Béarnaise Sauce – The World's Finest Steak Sauce

Many consider Béarnaise sauce, a luscious variation of Hollandaise sauce, to be one of the finest steak sauces in the world. The good news is that it’s much easier to make than you might think. In just 15 minutes or less, you can create a velvety sauce bursting with the flavors of tarragon, chervil, butter, white wine, and more. It’s a true indulgence for your taste buds.

Contents show

Ingredients

INFUSED VINEGAR :

1 1/2 tbsp white wine , dry, not too fruity, sweet or woody (Note 1)
1 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar (Note 2)
1/4 tsp black pepper , coarsely crushed
1 eschallot (small), peeled and finely sliced (Note 3)
2 sprigs tarragon (Note 6)

BÉARNAISE SAUCE:

3 egg yolks , at room temperature (Note 4)
1/4 tsp salt , kosher/cooking salt
225g / 16 tbsp unsalted butter , cut into 1cm / 1″ cubes – 2 US sticks (Note 5)
1/2 tbsp tarragon leaves , finely chopped (Note 6)
1/2 tbsp chervil , finely chopped (Note 6)

Instructions

INFUSED VINEGAR:

Place Infused Vinegar ingredients in a small saucepan over medium low heat.
Simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from stove and let it stand for 5 minutes to infuse.
Strain, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. You should have around 1 tbsp of liquid. Cool 5 minutes before use.

QUICK CLARIFIED BUTTER:

Place butter in a jug and microwave until melted (1 – 1½ minutes on high, but watch it carefully so it doesn’t explode!).
Stand for 30 seconds until the milky whites settle at the bottom (this is the milk solids) and clarified butter (golden part) sits above it.
Pour off 175g / 3/4 cup of the clarified butter, discard the milky whites remaining. Use in this recipe while hot.
Alternative: Just melt 175g / 3/4 cup ghee, which is the same thing as clarified butter.

BÉARNAISE SAUCE:

Place egg yolks, infused vinegar and salt in a tall, narrow container that the blender stick fits in all the way to the base. Blitz briefly to combine.
With the stick blender going on high, slowly drizzle the butter in over about a minute.
After all the butter is in, blitz for a further 10 seconds, moving the stick up and down.
Thickness: Add 1 tablespoon water, then blitz to incorporate. Add more water as needed, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the Bearnaise Sauce is a thick sauce but loose enough to ooze across a steak, coating it thickly.
Fresh herbs: Stir in tarragon and chervil.
Using: Use immediately, or keep warm until required. I use a thermos – a good one will keep it warm for at least 1 hour. Use warm or at room temperature. See note for storing and reheating.

Recipe Notes:

Wine – Use a dry white wine that’s not too sweet, fruity, or woody.
Vinegar – Champagne vinegar also works great. Cider vinegar works fine too.
Eschalot/shallot – The small onion-like vegetables, also called French eschalots. Sub with 1 tbsp very finely sliced normal onion.
Egg yolks – Easiest to separate when fridge cold, but then leave them for 15 minutes to take the chill out of them. Do not use it while fridge cold, it may not incorporate properly with the butter.
Leftover egg whites – Here’s my list of what I do with them and all my egg white recipes can be found in this recipe collection.
Butter – We need 175g / ¾ cup clarified butter for this recipe. With the quick clarified butter method used in this recipe, you will lose around 30 – 50g of butter, which is why we start with more.
Ghee – instead of making clarified butter, just use 175g / ¾ cup ghee instead. Melt until hot and use per recipe.
Tarragon is the signature herb of Béarnaise, so you really can’t substitute this! Chervil can be substituted with parsley.
Make ahead – Can be done but it’s difficult to reheat after refrigeration (it goes hard like butter). Bizarrely it’s more prone to splitting than Hollandaise which I’ve revived many times. It’s best to make it fresh, as follows:
Prep everything ahead then make it fresh while your cooked protein is resting (it really does take 2 – 3 minutes flat); or
Make up to an hour or so ahead and keep warm in a thermos.
Source: Based on my Hollandaise recipe. The immersion blender method in Hollandaise is adapted from Serious Eats but the quantities are my own (their recipe is way too thin).
Nutrition per serving, Béarnaise Sauce only. It’s worth every calorie!