French · Paris
Bearnaise Sauce
Bearnaise is hollandaise with a tarragon-shallot reduction instead of the plain reduction. It is the sauce of the steakhouse — the sauce that has defined the relationship between charred beef and creamy, tarragon-scented butter for 150 years. The technique is identical to hollandaise; the flavour is its own category.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
60 ml
white wine vinegar
Your own market
30 ml
dry white wine
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2
shallots
minced
Your own market
8
fresh tarragon leaves
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1
bay leaf
Your own market
3
Tellicherry black peppercorns
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
3
large egg yolks
room temperature
Your own market
200 g
unsalted butter
clarified, warmed to 50°C
Your own market
10 g
5 ml
fresh lemon juice
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 g
fine sea salt
Your own market
1 pinch
cayenne pepper
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Combine vinegar, wine, shallots, tarragon leaves, bay leaf, and peppercorns in heavy saucepan; reduce over medium-high heat until 15 ml liquid remains (syrupy reduction); strain through fine sieve, pressing on solids; cool to room temperature.
From the canon — Reduction is the technique of simmering a liquid uncovered to evaporate water and concentrate flavour, body, colour, and viscosity. Reduction — Concentrating Flavour Through Evaporation →
2
Whisk egg yolks with cooled reduction in heatproof bowl set over simmering water (bowl must not touch water); whisk constantly 3 minutes until pale and ribbon-like.
3
Remove bowl from heat; whisk continuously while slowly drizzling in warm clarified butter in thin stream.
From the canon — Whole butter contains three components: water (16%), milk solids (4%), and fat (80%). Clarified Butter (Beurre Clarifié) and Brown Butter (Beurre Noisette) →
4
Continue whisking and adding butter until sauce is thick, glossy, and pale; fold in fresh tarragon.
5
Season with lemon juice, salt, and cayenne; taste and adjust vinegar tang and seasoning as needed.
6
Pass through fine-mesh chinois if desired; keep warm at 48–52°C in water bath.
7
If sauce breaks, whisk 5 ml cold water or cream in clean bowl and slowly whisk in broken sauce to re-emulsify.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Where it lives or dies. The moment where Bearnaise lives or dies is the final tarragon addition — the quantity should be generous. Bearnaise should taste unmistakably of tarragon, not of egg and butter with a whisper of herb. Two tablespoons of chopped fresh tarragon per 300ml of sauce is the correct quantity. The fresh tarragon leaves should be visible as bright green specks throughout the pale gold sauce.
Pillar V
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Charles Joguet Chinon Clos de la Dioterie
Domaine Charles Joguet · Chinon
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Wine
From British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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Sourced through Provenance