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Bearnaise sauce in a dish next to a small bunch of fresh tarragon.

Easy Béarnaise Sauce

Rosanna Stevens
If making a Béarnaise Sauce the classic way seems like too much effort, try this easy method.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine French
Servings 4 servings
Calories 288 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
 

Tarragon vinegar

  • 4 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • ½ shallot
  • 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon finely chopped

Béarnaise Sauce

  • 2 egg yolks at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoon tarragon vinegar or just use white wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon cold water
  • 130 grams (1 stick + 1 tbsp) unsalted butter must be softened
  • 3 tablespoon fresh tarragon finely chopped

Instructions
 

Tarragon vinegar

  • Place the vinegar, diced shallot, and two stems of tarragon (or just the leaves) into a saucepan.
  • Boil the vinegar until it reduces in volume to 2 teaspoons, then strain and allow to cool completely (put it in the freezer for 5 minutes).

Béarnaise Sauce

  • Place the room-temperature egg yolks into a small heavy-based saucepan with the vinegar and a teaspoon of cold water. Whisk them together until fully incorporated.
  • Turn the heat to low. Gently warm the egg yolk mixture and whisk continuously. When it feels warm, but not hot, to the touch, add one cube of butter and whisk until it melts into the egg yolks.
  • Slowly keep adding butter, whisking in one small cube at a time. Monitor the heat and lift it off the stove if it ever seems to be on the verge of catching. If the surface ever starts violently steaming, it is too hot and will need a brief time out.
  • Once all the butter has been incorporated, remove it from the heat, and whisk in the chopped tarragon, and season with salt and black pepper.
  • Warm the serving jug in the microwave or pour the sauce into a thermos to keep it warm whilst serving.

Notes

Expert tips
  1. This is a high-risk method if you do not have decent cookware. The saucepan needs to have good heat distribution and a heavy base. If it's one of those thin saucepans that heats up very fast and often burns things, it is not the right one for this recipe. 
  2. The butter needs to be at room temperature before you begin. I find this takes around an hour out of the fridge. It is at the right temperature when you press a finger to the surface and it leaves an indent.  
Troubleshooting
If the sauce starts to really steam at any point, lift it off the stove and continue whisking until it cools slightly. Otherwise, the eggs can start to scramble. I sometimes have the sink filled with an inch of cold water just in case I need to quickly cool the saucepan down before resuming. 

Nutrition

Calories: 288kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 3gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 18gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 167mgSodium: 14mgPotassium: 245mgFiber: 1gSugar: 0.3gVitamin A: 1236IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 101mgIron: 3mg
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