Chef John's Beurre Blanc

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Servings: 4
Yield: 4 servings

Description

This beurre blanc is Chef John's recipe for the classic French sauce made with butter, white wine, shallots, and a bit of cream, perfect with seafood.

Ingredients

1/2 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons very finely minced shallots
4 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pinch cayenne pepper
salt to taste

Directions

1 Gather ingredients.
2 Place wine, lemon juice, cream, and shallots in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer until liquid is reduced by about 75%, 4 to 5 minutes.
3 Reduce heat to the lowest setting and whisk in 2 cubes butter. Keep butter moving until it completely melts. Add a few more cubes, whisking continuously so butter emulsifies into wine-lemon juice mixture.
4 Continue to add remaining butter, a few cubes at a time, until sauce has a thick, luxurious texture, 4 to 6 minutes.
5 Remove the saucepan from heat. Season with cayenne pepper and salt.