Buttery Beautiful Beurre Blanc
Beurre Blanc
I ran into this interesting article the other day that settles several arguments at the restaurant. A couple of people think that there is only one way to make a true Beurre Blanc...I believe differently of course. If you're looking for a recipe then use this article to custom fit your operation....One thing is universal though...BUTTER IS LIFE!...ENJOY!
White Butter SauceBeurre blanc translates literally into English as "white butter". It is a rich, buttery, slightly tangy sauce usually associated with the cuisine of the Loire Valley. It is typically used to accompany the fairly bland river fish of the area. A classic of French cuisine is the Brochet au beurre blanc or Loire Pike with butter sauce. There is a friendly controversy between Nantes and the Anjou region over who actually can claim to be the birthplace of the sauce. The Angevins insist that real beurre blanc, 1) can only be made with the local gray shallots; 2)shallots should not be strained out of the sauce and 3) it was first used as a sauce for pike at the restaurant La Poissonnière in Anger. Very logical reasoning but I like the story from Nantes a bit better:
The story takes place around the turn of the century in the kitches of château of the Marquis de Goaline His kitchen staff was preparing for an important dinner under the direction of his head cuisinière Madame Clémence Lefeuvre. She was very busy preparing the pike and asked an assistant to make a bérnaise sauce, which she liked to serve with the fish. The assistant forgot to add the tarragon and the egg yolks but there was no time to start over, so Clémence decided to serve the sauce as it was. After the meal, the Marquis asked Clémence to come into the dining room where of course she expected to be reprimanded. Instead, he praised her new preparation and gave it the name of "beurre blanc". Clémence soon took her new creation and opened her own auberge. Although they can't agree on the actual birthplace of the sauce, both will tell you that the inclusion of cream is not an "authentic" beurre blanc.
As you'll see from the recipes, there are now many ways to prepare a beurre blanc. I'll leave it up to you to decide which one you prefer. On page 2you'll find quite a few tips, culled from chefs like Madeleine Kamman, James Peterson and others to assure your success in making the sauce.
Tips for Making Beurre Blanc
Buerre blanc is a fairly straight forward sauce to make, but according to Phillipe Couderc, "the delicateness of its preparation requires an instinctive touch, almost maternal and patient." Here are some tips culled from Madeleine Kamman, James Peterson and Hilaire Walden that will help insure success.
Use only the freshest butter with a high percentage of butter fat.
Cooks from both Nantes and Anjou use beurre demi-sel = lightly salted butter.
Chop the shallots VERY finely.
Use a saucepan that is at least as large as the heat source. If the pan is smaller, the insides of the pan may brown causing the sauce to discolor.
Take the butter out of the refrigerator about 10 minutes before using it.
Whisk "madly" - the more whisking you do, the more tiny air bubbles you trap, the more stayng power your sauce will have.
is is a very old traditional sauce recipe for buerre blanc. Use this sauce on grilled fish, poultry or chops.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups butter cut into about 10 pieces
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
PREPARATION:
Put onion, vinegar and wine in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to about 2 tablespoons. Stir constantly. Reduce heat to medium and begin adding butter, one piece at a time, stirring constantly. Allow each piece of butter to melt before adding the next.
The sauce will be thick and creamy by the time you are finished adding the butter. Serve immediately. You can add flavor to the sauce by adding 2 tablespoons of your favorite herb to the mixture before you add the butter.
I ran into this interesting article the other day that settles several arguments at the restaurant. A couple of people think that there is only one way to make a true Beurre Blanc...I believe differently of course. If you're looking for a recipe then use this article to custom fit your operation....One thing is universal though...BUTTER IS LIFE!...ENJOY!
White Butter SauceBeurre blanc translates literally into English as "white butter". It is a rich, buttery, slightly tangy sauce usually associated with the cuisine of the Loire Valley. It is typically used to accompany the fairly bland river fish of the area. A classic of French cuisine is the Brochet au beurre blanc or Loire Pike with butter sauce. There is a friendly controversy between Nantes and the Anjou region over who actually can claim to be the birthplace of the sauce. The Angevins insist that real beurre blanc, 1) can only be made with the local gray shallots; 2)shallots should not be strained out of the sauce and 3) it was first used as a sauce for pike at the restaurant La Poissonnière in Anger. Very logical reasoning but I like the story from Nantes a bit better:
The story takes place around the turn of the century in the kitches of château of the Marquis de Goaline His kitchen staff was preparing for an important dinner under the direction of his head cuisinière Madame Clémence Lefeuvre. She was very busy preparing the pike and asked an assistant to make a bérnaise sauce, which she liked to serve with the fish. The assistant forgot to add the tarragon and the egg yolks but there was no time to start over, so Clémence decided to serve the sauce as it was. After the meal, the Marquis asked Clémence to come into the dining room where of course she expected to be reprimanded. Instead, he praised her new preparation and gave it the name of "beurre blanc". Clémence soon took her new creation and opened her own auberge. Although they can't agree on the actual birthplace of the sauce, both will tell you that the inclusion of cream is not an "authentic" beurre blanc.
As you'll see from the recipes, there are now many ways to prepare a beurre blanc. I'll leave it up to you to decide which one you prefer. On page 2you'll find quite a few tips, culled from chefs like Madeleine Kamman, James Peterson and others to assure your success in making the sauce.
Tips for Making Beurre Blanc
Buerre blanc is a fairly straight forward sauce to make, but according to Phillipe Couderc, "the delicateness of its preparation requires an instinctive touch, almost maternal and patient." Here are some tips culled from Madeleine Kamman, James Peterson and Hilaire Walden that will help insure success.
Use only the freshest butter with a high percentage of butter fat.
Cooks from both Nantes and Anjou use beurre demi-sel = lightly salted butter.
Chop the shallots VERY finely.
Use a saucepan that is at least as large as the heat source. If the pan is smaller, the insides of the pan may brown causing the sauce to discolor.
Take the butter out of the refrigerator about 10 minutes before using it.
Whisk "madly" - the more whisking you do, the more tiny air bubbles you trap, the more stayng power your sauce will have.
is is a very old traditional sauce recipe for buerre blanc. Use this sauce on grilled fish, poultry or chops.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups butter cut into about 10 pieces
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
PREPARATION:
Put onion, vinegar and wine in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to about 2 tablespoons. Stir constantly. Reduce heat to medium and begin adding butter, one piece at a time, stirring constantly. Allow each piece of butter to melt before adding the next.
The sauce will be thick and creamy by the time you are finished adding the butter. Serve immediately. You can add flavor to the sauce by adding 2 tablespoons of your favorite herb to the mixture before you add the butter.
posted by Chef KP at 12:14 PM
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