Make Weeknight Steak or Chicken Fancy With Classic Béarnaise Sauce (2024)

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Classic Béarnaise transforms weekday steak or chicken into a dinner party-worthy dish.

By

Sally Vargas

Make Weeknight Steak or Chicken Fancy With Classic Béarnaise Sauce (1)

Sally Vargas

Sally is the author of four cookbooks and is a regular correspondent for the Boston Globe Wednesday Food Section. She also is a food photographer.

Learn about Simply Recipes'Editorial Process

Updated April 30, 2024

Make Weeknight Steak or Chicken Fancy With Classic Béarnaise Sauce (2)

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In This Recipe

Irresistibly creamy, buttery, and rich, Béarnaise combines an herby, slightly acidic reduction of white wine, vinegar, shallots, fresh tarragon, and lemon juice with hollandaise to make a luscious sauce for spooning over grilled steak, chicken, fish, or vegetables.

The Difference Between Hollandaise Sauce and Béarnaise Sauce

It is subsidiary sauce or ‘daughter’ sauce of hollandaise, one of the five French mother sauces, with an herbal piquancy that complements its mother sauce.

To make Béarnaise, you start with a reduction of wine, vinegar, shallots, and tarragon. Set it aside while you make the hollandaise, which is a semi-permanent emulsion of egg yolks and clarified butter. Stir the herbal reduction into hollandaise, and voila! You have Béarnaise sauce.

Tips for Making Béarnaise Sauce

If you’re new to Béarnaise sauce, it helps to know the entire game plan from start to finish. Here are some of the finer points.

  • Be sure to finely chop the shallots since they will remain in the sauce.
  • You’ll want to cook the reduction until it is almost, but not quite dry—there should be a bit of liquid in the bottom of the pan, but the shallots should not be swimming in it.
  • Let it cool until at least lukewarm before stirring it into the hollandaise.
  • The process of clarifying butter removes the milky solids from the butter, so it is almost 100 percent butterfat. Without liquid in the butter, the sauce will be thick and lush.
  • The butter gets heated in a microwave, rests for 5 minutes, and then is microwaved again. At that point, the milky solids will be on the bottom, and the clarified butter can be carefully poured into a clean container, leaving the milky residue behind. You can also do this on the stovetop. I provide both methods below.

Make Weeknight Steak or Chicken Fancy With Classic Béarnaise Sauce (4)

How To Use Béarnaise Sauce?

Steak Béarnaise is probably the most well known use of Béarnaise sauce, a dish you might order in a restaurant, but certainly not out of reach for the home cook for a fancy date night in chez vous. Steak is not the only game in town. Consider spooning it over poached eggs, salmon, chicken or vegetables.

Variations of Béarnaise Sauce

While Béarnaise sauce may be a ‘daughter’ sauce of hollandaise; it has its own descendants! Try some of these tweaks next time you make Béarnaise.

  • Tarragon is the hallmark of Béarnaise, but you could add more herbs like chopped parsley, chives or dill if you want a greener, herbier sauce.
  • For grilled meat or fish, stir in tomato puree to create sauce Choron.
  • Add demi-glace, and the sauce becomes sauce Foyot for serving with grilled fish or meat.
  • For a lamb sauce, make sauce Paloise, by substituting mint for tarragon.

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Storing Béarnaise Sauce

Béarnaise sauce is best used immediately. If you must, you can refrigerate it for up to 2 days and reconstitute it. It will become solid in the fridge.

Break it up into pieces and reheat it, whisking constantly and vigorously over low heat and sliding the saucepan off the burner if it seems to be melting too quickly. Have a glass of ice water close to the stove, and if the sauce looks like it is starting to separate, add a few drops of the cold water.

If it does separate, try whisking it into an egg yolk in a thin stream in a separate bowl. Return it to a clean pot and gently reheat it before serving.

Classic Béarnaise Sauce

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time25 mins

Servings6to 8 servings

Yield1 cup sauce

Ingredients

For the tarragon base

  • 1/4 cup dry white wine

  • 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

  • 1/4 cup shallots, very finely chopped

  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped, divided

For the sauce

  • 8 ounces unsalted butter, cut into cubes

  • 3 egg yolks

  • 3 tablespoons water

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or more as needed

  • Pinch salt, to taste

Method

  1. Make the tarragon base:

    In a small skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat, simmer the wine, vinegar, shallots, black pepper and 1/2 tablespoon of tarragon until most of the liquid has evaporated, but the pan is not completely dry. There should still be a tablespoon or two of liquid in the bottom of the pan. Set aside and let cool to lukewarm.

    Make Weeknight Steak or Chicken Fancy With Classic Béarnaise Sauce (6)

    Make Weeknight Steak or Chicken Fancy With Classic Béarnaise Sauce (7)

  2. Clarify and strain the butter:

    To clarify in the microwave: In a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup covered partially with a paper towel, microwave the butter on high power for 1 minute, or until it is melted. Let it rest for 5 minutes. Return the melted butter to the microwave and microwave again for 1 minute.

    At this point the butter’s milky solids should have settled into the bottom of the cup. If there is foam on top, skim it off with a spoon. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a clean measuring cup or small bowl. Carefully pour the butter into the cup or bowl, leaving the residue behind. The strainer should catch any bits of cooked milky solids that stray into the cup.

    To clarify on top of the stove: In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the foam subsides, the water in the butter evaporates, and the milk solids on the bottom are lightly brown. Carefully ladle the pure melted butterfat into a separate container, leaving the milk solids behind. You can also strain it through several layers of cheesecloth or a coffee filter. The resulting clarified butter will have a slightly nutty flavor.

    Make Weeknight Steak or Chicken Fancy With Classic Béarnaise Sauce (8)

    Make Weeknight Steak or Chicken Fancy With Classic Béarnaise Sauce (9)

    Make Weeknight Steak or Chicken Fancy With Classic Béarnaise Sauce (10)

    Make Weeknight Steak or Chicken Fancy With Classic Béarnaise Sauce (11)

  3. Cook the eggs for the sauce:

    In a small saucepan, whisk the egg yolks, water, and lemon juice for 3 to 4 minutes, or until pale and thick, something like the consistency of soft mayonnaise.

    Set the pan over low heat and whisk constantly until the sauce increases in volume, is frothy, and then thickens until you can see the bottom of the pan through the streaks made by the whisk.

    As you whisk, be sure to reach into the bottom corners of the pan where the eggs could cook too quickly. Remove the pan from the heat.

    Make Weeknight Steak or Chicken Fancy With Classic Béarnaise Sauce (12)

    Make Weeknight Steak or Chicken Fancy With Classic Béarnaise Sauce (13)

  4. Add the butter:

    Whisk the warm, clarified butter into the thickened egg yolks, a few tablespoons at a time, until the sauce thickens further and the butter is incorporated and forms an emulsion. This can take anywhere from 5 to 8 minutes.

    The final thickness should be soft, light, and velvety; not runny or as thick as mayonnaise.You should be able to pour it off the spoon.

    Make Weeknight Steak or Chicken Fancy With Classic Béarnaise Sauce (14)

    Make Weeknight Steak or Chicken Fancy With Classic Béarnaise Sauce (15)

  5. Add the tarragon base:

    Stir the tarragon base into the sauce and stir in the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly chopped tarragon. Taste and add a pinch of salt if you like, or a little more lemon juice, to taste.

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    Make Weeknight Steak or Chicken Fancy With Classic Béarnaise Sauce (17)

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
248Calories
25g Fat
2g Carbs
3g Protein

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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6to 8
Amount per serving
Calories248
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 25g33%
Saturated Fat 15g76%
Cholesterol 154mg51%
Sodium 49mg2%
Total Carbohydrate 2g1%
Dietary Fiber 0g1%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 1mg7%
Calcium 25mg2%
Iron 1mg3%
Potassium 63mg1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Make Weeknight Steak or Chicken Fancy With Classic Béarnaise Sauce (2024)

FAQs

What does bearnaise sauce go well with? ›

But you can use it for any cooked meat or fish that needs a saucy touch! Sauce up your cooked veggies. You'd be surprised how good this tastes over roasted vegetables, such as roasted broccoli (similar to this roasted broccoli with hollandaise sauce) or these garlic herb roasted potatoes.

What is bearnaise sauce made of? ›

What Is Béarnaise? Béarnaise is a fat-in-water emulsion—in this case, butter emulsified into a reduction of white wine and vinegar flavored with shallots, tarragon, and chervil, all bound and thickened with egg yolks. It's technically a derivative of hollandaise sauce, one of the five French mother sauces.

Is bearnaise sauce the same as hollandaise sauce? ›

It is regarded as a "child" of hollandaise sauce. The difference is only in the flavoring: béarnaise uses shallot, black pepper, and tarragon, while hollandaise uses white pepper or a pinch of cayenne. The sauce's name derives from the province of Béarn, France. It is a traditional sauce for steak.

What makes bearnaise sauce break? ›

A broken sauce is generally caused by the separation of sauces into two components: a watery liquid and an oily film on top. This happens when there's too much fat or liquid in the mixture. This can happen when there are not enough emulsifiers (which help keep your ingredients together).

How unhealthy is Béarnaise sauce? ›

3 oz of bearnaise sauce (Timber Lodge Steakhouse) contains 270 Calories. The macronutrient breakdown is 14% carbs, 80% fat, and 6% protein. This has a relatively high calorie density, with 321 Calories per 100g.

What does bearnaise steak sauce taste like? ›

Béarnaise sauce has a rich, creamy, and tangy flavor with a slight herbal, licorice-like note from the tarragon. The sauce is known for its velvety texture and buttery taste, and it pairs well with a variety of dishes, including steak, fish, and vegetables.

Can you buy premade bearnaise sauce? ›

Béarnaise Sauce, 6.35 oz at Whole Foods Market.

Can bearnaise sauce be reheated? ›

Serve warm. Béarnaise sauce may be made ahead of time and reheated.

What's the difference between bearnaise and mayonnaise? ›

If you're feeling a bit fancy, there are two mayonnaise alternatives to add to your saucy arsenal: béarnaise and hollandaise. While mayo is egg yolks plus oil (usually olive oil, sometimes sunflower), béarnaise and hollandaise feature egg yolks plus clarified butter.

What is the mother of all sauces? ›

The five mother sauces are hollandaise, tomato (sauce tomat), bechamel, Espagnole, and veloute. French chef Auguste Escoffier identified the five mother sauces, forever associating them with French cuisine. However, mother sauces are relevant in all modern cooking practices.

Why is it called bearnaise sauce? ›

Sauce Béarnaise traces its origins back to the early 19th century in France. It was named after the region of Béarn, located in the southwestern part of the country. The renowned French chef Auguste Escoffier is credited with refining and popularizing this sauce.

What's the difference between bearnaise sauce and beurre blanc? ›

Béarnaise uses liquid clarified butter, and it is important to keep it warm. With beurre blanc, on the other hand, you use whole butter, and it's important to keep it as cold as possible. Beurre blanc tastes velvety and rich thanks to butter, but it's also slightly sweet and tangy as well.

Does béarnaise go bad? ›

Béarnaise sauce is best served immediately, but will keep for three days in an airtight container in the fridge. Use it straight from the fridge like butter for toast, or reheat over a double boiler.

What does bearnaise sauce go on? ›

Béarnaise sauce is commonly paired with grilled fish or steak, but it's just as delicious on roasted vegetables or eggs Benedict. Spoon this silky, herby sauce over roasted asparagus, steamed broccoli, or grilled mushrooms for a sophisticated dinner party side.

Can you refrigerate bearnaise sauce? ›

Béarnaise sauce is best used immediately. If you must, you can refrigerate it for up to 2 days and reconstitute it. It will become solid in the fridge. Break it up into pieces and reheat it, whisking constantly and vigorously over low heat and sliding the saucepan off the burner if it seems to be melting too quickly.

Is Béarnaise sauce good on pizza? ›

Bearnaise sauce. It is a popular sauce in Sweden and on pizza in Sweden. My favourite Swedish pizza, usually called an Amadeus, has beef steak, mushrooms, onions and bearnaise sauce. Pizzas in Sweden usually have a full fat cheese, not mozzarella.

What does hollandaise sauce go with? ›

Here, six fantastic dishes that are better with hollandaise.
  • Poached Salmon. Silky poached salmon is a real crowd-pleaser topped with tarragon-spiked hollandaise. ...
  • Broccoli. ...
  • Asparagus. ...
  • Bacon, Cheese and Scrambled Egg Sandwiches. ...
  • Baked Turbot. ...
  • Crab Imperial.
May 25, 2017

What is the Béarnaise sauce effect? ›

sauce béarnaise effect

a colloquial term referring to a conditioned taste aversion. If a person happens to become ill after tasting a new food, such as sauce béarnaise, they may subsequently dislike and avoid that food. Regardless of the actual cause of the illness, the sauce will be identified with it.

What wine goes best with steak and Béarnaise sauce? ›

It may surprise you that we're recommending Chardonnay with this dish, but as Wine Enthusiast said, sometimes the old rules (i.e., red wine with red meat) just don't fly. They suggest pairing decadent steak and Béarnaise sauce with a full-bodied, oaky Chardonnay.

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