Ingredients
Method
- Combine wine, vinegar, and shallot in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Reduce until only about 2 tablespoons of syrupy liquid remain.
- Reduce heat to the lowest setting. Stir in the cream.
- Add cold butter, a few cubes at a time, whisking constantly and letting each addition melt fully before adding more.
- Continue until all butter is incorporated and the sauce is thick, pale, and glossy.
- Season with salt and white pepper.
- Strain if desired. Top with chives. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Why we reduce so far. Reducing the wine and vinegar down to just a couple of tablespoons concentrates the shallot flavor and removes excess water that would otherwise thin out the finished sauce.
Why the cream is there. One tablespoon of cream isn't classic beurre blanc — but it adds a real margin of safety against the sauce breaking, without changing the flavor you're going for.
Why the butter must stay cold. Cold butter melts slowly, giving it time to fold into the emulsion instead of separating. Butter that's too warm melts fast and splits the sauce almost immediately.
Why this sauce doesn't get a finishing squeeze of lemon. Unlike some butter sauces later in this series, the acid here is already built into the foundation through the wine and vinegar reduction. A finishing acid isn't classic to beurre blanc and isn't needed.
If your sauce breaks: take it off the heat immediately, add a tablespoon of cold water or a single ice cube, and whisk vigorously. The cold shock will pull the emulsion back together in most cases.