BÉARNAISE SAUCE

SOURCE: JULIA CHILD AND JACQUES PÉPIN. JULIA AND JACQUES COOKING AT HOME.

Béarnaise Sauce probably stands out as the most lustfully delicious member of the Hollandaise Sauce family, if not among all French sauces, due to the acetic infusion of tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus). An asteraceous relative of the lettuce, tarragon exists in two variants where the cultivated French tarragon is preferred in cooking over the wild Russian type. A sensory profile of tarragon extracts indicates the chemical presence of estragole, a phenolic ether identically and synthetically used in perfume formulations but naturally responsible for the delicate anise-like fragrance of the leaves that once led medieval civilizations to believe in the power of the herb to repel snakes and dragons and to clot snake bites. Hence, estragole comes from the French word for tarragon, estragon, which, in turn, derives from the Greek and Latin term for dragon. Strange enough, neither tarragon nor the mother sauce has any rapport with Béarn or its traditions. Rather, the name only connects to the French-Basque region through a chef of a Parisian restaurant named after Béarn-born King Henry IV of France.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons/30 mL white wine vinegar or tarragon vinegar

2 tablespoons/30 mL dry white wine

1/4 cup/25 grams finely chopped shallots

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon

3 egg yolks

1 tablespoon/15 mL water

6-8 ounces/170-227 grams unsalted butter, softened

Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

Specific Equipment

2 small heavy-bottomed saucepans

Wire whisk

Makes about 1 cup/250 mL

Instructions

1. Combine wine vinegar or tarragon vinegar, white wine, finely chopped shallots, ground black pepper, and 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat to reduce the liquid to about a tablespoon.

2. Whisk the egg yolks, water, and the tarragon reduction altogether in another saucepan until thick and pale. Set the saucepan over moderately low heat and continue whisking all over the bottom and insides of the pan..

3. Move the saucepan on and off the stove burner for a few seconds to moderate the heat and to prevent the egg yolks from curdling. The egg yolks will start to cook by frothing up and increasing in volume before they thicken due to the continuous whisking . Remove the saucepan from the heat once the egg yolks are thick and smooth and the bottom of the pan becomes visible from the streaks of the whisk.

4. Add the softened butter by spoonfuls while whisking constantly until the butter absorbs into the egg yolks to form an emulsion. Continue adding and whisking in the soft butter to the emulsion until the butter is entirely incorporated, and the sauce has a thick consistency.

5. Season lightly with salt, freshly ground white pepper, and 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon. Stir and serve.