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French

Sauce Choron — Tomato Béarnaise

Choron is béarnaise coloured and flavoured with tomato concassée or concentrated tomato purée — the warmest and most visually striking of the hollandaise family. Named for the chef Alexandre-Étienne Choron (1837-1924), it trades the stark yellow of its parent sauce for a sunset coral-orange, and adds a gentle acidity that makes it the preferred accompaniment to grilled beef, particularly tournedos and entrecôte. Begin with a fully made béarnaise: shallot, tarragon, and chervil stems reduced in white wine vinegar until nearly dry; egg yolks whisked over gentle heat until thick and pale; clarified butter added in a thin stream until the emulsion is stable, thick, and creamy. Strain through a fine sieve. This is your foundation. For the tomato addition, two schools exist. The classical method: 2-3 tablespoons of very finely chopped tomato concassée (peeled, seeded, diced tomato, cooked gently in butter until dry and concentrated — the water must be removed or it breaks the emulsion). The modern method: 1-2 tablespoons of double-concentrated tomato paste, sieved smooth. Both work. The concassée gives texture and a fresher tomato character; the paste gives cleaner colour and a more concentrated flavour. Fold the tomato into the béarnaise gently — do not whisk vigorously, which can break an emulsion that is already at the limits of its stability. The finished Choron should be coral-orange, hold its shape on a spoon, taste first of tarragon and butter (the béarnaise identity), then of tomato as a warm afterthought. The tomato addition should feel like a blush, not a transformation. Choron is almost always served with grilled red meat. The combination of butter, tarragon, and tomato against the char and iron of a grilled steak is one of the great flavour marriages in French cuisine — each element exists to support the meat, and together they create a whole greater than the sum.

ServesFour portions
Sourced0of 8 in BC
Cook
I

The Market List

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For the béarnaise reduction
3
shallots
finely chopped
Your own market
60 ml
white wine vinegar
Your own market
5 g
fresh tarragon stems
leaves reserved separately
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
5 g
fresh chervil stems
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the béarnaise
4
egg yolks
Your own market
250 g
clarified butter
warm, added in a thin stream
Your own market
For the tomato addition — classical method
30–45 ml
tomato concassée
peeled, seeded, finely diced tomato; cooked gently in butter until completely dry
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the tomato addition — modern method (alternative)
15–30 ml
double-concentrated tomato paste
sieved smooth
Your own market
II

The Method

1
Combine the shallots, tarragon stems, chervil stems, and white wine vinegar in a small saucepan. Reduce over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the pan is almost dry and the mixture holds together as a dark, fragrant paste. The reduction is ready when almost no free liquid remains.
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
If using the concassée method: place the finely diced tomato in a small pan with a little butter and cook gently, stirring, until every trace of water has evaporated and the tomato is dense, concentrated, and moves as a single mass with no pooling liquid. This is the step the dish lives or dies on — any residual water introduced at this stage will break the emulsion when the tomato is folded in, and no recovery is possible.
3
Place the egg yolks and the strained reduction in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, ensuring the base of the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk steadily until the yolks are thick, pale, and leave a ribbon trail; the mixture should hold a clear line drawn through it with a spoon.
4
Remove the bowl from the heat. Begin adding the warm clarified butter in a very thin, steady stream, whisking continuously. As the emulsion builds and thickens, the stream may be increased slightly. Continue until all the butter is incorporated and the sauce is thick, creamy, and holds its shape on a spoon.
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) →
5
Strain the béarnaise through a fine sieve. Taste: the sauce should lead clearly with tarragon and butter. The base is now complete.
6
Add the dried concassée or twice-sieved tomato paste to the béarnaise. Fold in gently with a spatula — do not whisk. The incorporation is complete when the sauce is a uniform coral-orange, with no streaks of white or red remaining, and still holds its shape on a spoon.
7
Taste the finished Choron. Tarragon and butter must lead; tomato should register as a warm, gentle afterthought — a blush of acidity and colour, not a dominant flavour. Adjust only if the tomato overwhelms the béarnaise character.
III

Quality Hierarchy

01
Reserve — Concassée method using ripe, in-season plum tomatoes, cooked down in cultured butter; tarragon and chervil cut fresh to order. The sauce carries genuine tomato character alongside the béarnaise identity.
02
Estate — Concassée from quality tinned whole tomatoes, drained and dried thoroughly; good unsalted butter clarified in-house. Colour is reliable, flavour clean.
03
Market — Double-concentrated tomato paste, twice-sieved, folded into a sound béarnaise. Colour is the most uniform at this rung; flavour is concentrated but less fresh. The standard of a competent professional kitchen.
04
House — Single-strength tomato paste or passata — acceptable only if drained and reduced to complete dryness before use. The emulsion is at greater risk and the colour tends toward red rather than coral-orange.
IV

Sensory Tests

◇Sight. The reduction is almost completely dry — a dense, dark paste with no pooling liquid in the pan.
◇Sight. The concassée moves as a single concentrated mass with no water separating from it in the pan.
◇Sight. Yolks are thick, pale, and leave a ribbon trail; a line drawn through the mixture with a spoon holds its shape.
◇Touch. The emulsified béarnaise is thick and creamy, holding its shape on a tilted spoon without running.
◇Sight. The finished Choron is a uniform coral-orange — not yellow, not red — and still holds its shape on a spoon after the tomato is folded in.
◇Where it lives or dies. The tomato concassée must be cooked entirely dry before it meets the béarnaise — any residual water will break the emulsion beyond recovery.
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VI

What to Pour

The pairing
El Silencio Espadin Mezcal
El Silencio Mezcal · Oaxaca — Mezcal
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Agave spirit
From British Columbia
Fort Berens Riesling
Fort Berens Estate Winery · Lillooet
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic

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The whole pairing
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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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