Beurre blanc (pronounced "burr-blonk") is a very simple emulsified butter sauce you can make using nothing but butter and wine. It can be more complex than that, but at its simplest, it's made by whisking cold, raw butter into a reduction of dry, white wine.
Beurre blanc sauce.
Photo © Etsuko Nakamura
Emulsions are pretty amazing. When you imagine melted butter, you might picture a translucent yellow liquid. But when we make an emulsion using butter and some sort of liquid like wine (or egg yolks, in the case of Hollandaise sauce), that same melted butter thickens and turns almost creamy. It's much the same principle that's at work when we make emulsified salad dressings, only instead of a cold dressing, we're making a hot, velvety, buttery sauce that's perfect for fish and shellfish.
By the way, you can make a beurre rouge, or red butter sauce, by using red wine instead of white wine. Here's the beurre blanc recipe.
Beurre blanc sauce.
Photo © Etsuko Nakamura
Emulsions are pretty amazing. When you imagine melted butter, you might picture a translucent yellow liquid. But when we make an emulsion using butter and some sort of liquid like wine (or egg yolks, in the case of Hollandaise sauce), that same melted butter thickens and turns almost creamy. It's much the same principle that's at work when we make emulsified salad dressings, only instead of a cold dressing, we're making a hot, velvety, buttery sauce that's perfect for fish and shellfish.
By the way, you can make a beurre rouge, or red butter sauce, by using red wine instead of white wine. Here's the beurre blanc recipe.
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