Bearnaise sauce is an amalgamation of egg yolk and clarified butter, with distinct flavors of various herbs. The origin of this sauce lies in France. In French, this sauce is famous by the name of sauce béarnaise. The sauce is quite similar to Hollandaise sauce, which is one of the popular sauces in French cuisine. Variation between the two types of sauce lies in their flavor. Bearnaise sauce makes use of shallot, peppercorn, tarragon, and chervil, as the essential herbs for adding flavor, while Hollandaise makes use of lemon juice. If prepared in a correct way, this sauce is creamy and smooth in texture. The appearance of the sauce is opaque and light yellow in color. The sauce is served best with poultry, meat or vegetables and is considered to be traditional for steak.
Ingredients commonly Used by Béarnaise Sauce
There are various ways of preparing bearnaise sauce. However, the commonly used ingredients include egg, butter, shallots, tarragon, white wine vinegar, and chervil, where shallots are a form of onions and tarragon and chervil are considered to be herbs.
Bearnaise Sauce - Preparation
Though there are various variations on preparation of bearnaise sauce, yet bain marie method is used most commonly. All the three seasonings, i.e. shallots, tarragon, and chervil are collected together, mixed with white wine vinegar and cooked in glaze base. Crushed peppercorns are also used in a few recipes, which are strained out later.
A few variations of bearnaise sauce recipe make use of champagne to prepare the sauce. Many recipes also include cayenne pepper as an essential ingredient. Years of practice may be required to get perfect creamy and smooth texture of the sauce.
Origin of Bearnaise Sauce
Most of the people refer bearnaise sauce to bernaise sauce, with the wrong assumption of having its origin in Bern, Switzerland. However, this sauce is not at all connected to Bern. The name Béarnaise was derived from Bearn region in southwestern France.
Bearnaise Sauce Recipe- Derivatives
A few derivatives of bearnaise sauce recipe are listed hereunder:
- Sauce Choron- It is sauce which is prepared without using the herbs tarragon and chervil. Tomato puree is used to prepare this sauce, which is named after Alexandre Étienne Choron.
- Sauce Foyot- It is a sauce where meat glaze is added to the recipe of bearnaise sauce.
- Sauce Colbert- It is similar to Sauce Foyot. Only reduced white wine is an additional ingredient used in preparing this sauce.
- Sauce Paloise- It is somewhat similar to sauce béarnaise. The only difference is that mint is used in place of tarragon while preparing the sauce.
Tips to Remember
- The cuisine experts of bearnaise sauce pay special attention while monitoring the heat in the cooking process of the sauce. High level of flame would curdle the egg yolk, and low level of flame would not allow the sauce to thicken properly. Also, if butter is added very quickly, the emulsion may get separated, thus ruining the sauce. So, lot of practice and caution is required to cook bearnaise sauce to perfection.
- London broil, red meat and filet mignon are the popular dishes with which bearnaise sauce is served. It is not considered to be a good choice for egg dishes, unlike Hollandaise, which is popularly served with various egg dishes.
