Beurre blanc, translated from French as “white butter”, is similar to a Hollandaise sauce— except there are no eggs added. The warm sauce is made by reducing white wine and vinegar with shallots. Gradually, chunks of cold butter and heavy cream turns into a delicious emulsified “sauce”. This sauce sounds fancy, but you can easily make this in your own kitchen. Serve this with fish or shellfish for a tasty and beautiful presentation.
Living on the Monterey Peninsula of California, fresh seafood is readily available for me to buy. There are kinds of fish that we are most fond of– Salmon, Sea Bass and Halibut. Halibut is a mild fish, and it can be priced between $20-25 per pound in today’s market price. It’s definitely a treat for us to walk down our local Fisherman’s Wharf, or local Farmer’s Markets, where it’s fresh and a bit cheaper than buying it at Whole Foods.
One of my personal challenges is to learn how to make something at home, for the first time, that I’d normally order at an upscale restaurant. I feel so accomplished when it turns out just as I had hoped! I’ve had delicious seafood dinners that was served with a Beurre Blanc and I was smitten with it. How is that made?! Well, I decided to jump in and see if I could make one myself. I’m so glad that I did, because not only did it turn out perfectly, it made me feel so accomplished.
They key to success is to prepare all of your ingredients in advance. The French term is “mis en place“. The sauce comes together pretty quickly. The ingredients are: white wine vinegar, white wine, shallots, salt, heavy cream and butter. I wavered back and forth between choosing orange or lemon zest. Since I had been gifted oranges from a friend’s garden, that’s what I chose.
The Beurre Blanc ingredients are ready to go, so now it’s fish prep time. Pat the fish dry, with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. I like to use Old Bay Seasoning as well. To a hot skillet, I added avocado oil (vegetable oil works, too) and gave the fish a nice sear– 3-4 minutes. I flipped the fish over and moved the entire skillet into the oven to roast. This method of cooking fish (and steak) has become my favorite, fool-proof, way that has proven successful every time!
For the Beurre Blanc sauce:
The wine, vinegar and shallots are reduced to about two Tablespoons. Here’s where you want to pay close attention! Beurre Blanc is an “emulsion”, so you need a whisk and patience. One by one, a pat of cold butter is added and whisked. You’ll notice the sauce becomes thicker and thicker…
We’re not talking “cornstarch” thick, but a creamy consistency. This is where the orange (or lemon) zest is added.
The final step is to strain the Beurre Blanc through a fine mesh strainer. The shallots have done their job, and we don’t want any kind of lumps and bumps! The whole process in making this took about 15 minutes, total. I was tempted to make a yellow rice but decided that I wanted to keep things simple (and maybe to cut back on the carbs). There’s a whole stick of butter in this sauce, after all!
TASTING NOTES: Served with a glass of white wine, this dinner was such a special treat. Fresh Halibut, as I’ve mentioned, is a very mild fish. The Beurre Blanc was surprisingly light– given that it’s chock full of butter. It didn’t overpower the flavor of the perfectly seasoned fish, and was delicious with fresh roasted asparagus. In hindsight, I think I’d add more orange zest into the finished Beurre Blanc, because I would like to have more of that flavor. This sauce is a wonderful alternative to Hollandaise Sauce. In fact, I think that a Beurre Blanc is a lot less fussy to make, than a Hollandaise Sauce! I will definitely make this again, as I think it’s perfect for Seared Scallops or Fresh Salmon. If you want to impressed your loved one(s), make this for them. They’ll be so impressed with how fancy this is– and you don’t have to admit how easy it actually was.
Seared and Roasted Halibut with an Orange Beurre Blanc Sauce
Equipment
- Fine Mesh Strainer
- Wire Whisk
Ingredients
For the Beurre Blanc
- 3 tablespoons dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 small shallot minced
- Salt
- 1 tablespoons heavy cream
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 8 pieces and chilled
- ⅛ teaspoon sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon grated orange zest can substitute lemon zest
For the fish:
- 4 fillet Fresh Halibut Or Salmon
- 2 Tbsp olive or avocado oil
Instructions
For the Beurre Blanc:
- Bring wine, vinegar, shallot, and pinch salt to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat and cook until about 2 scant tablespoons of liquid remain, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and whisk in cream.
- Add butter, 1 piece at a time, whisking vigorously after each addition, until butter is incorporated and forms thick, pale yellow sauce, 30 to 60 seconds.
- Off heat, whisk in sugar.
- Strain sauce through fine mesh strainer into bowl. Stir in orange zest and season with salt to taste.
For the fish:
- Preheat the oven to 425F
- Pat the fillets dry with a paper towel. Season with Salt and Pepper. I like to use Old Bay Seasoning as well.
- Heat the oil in the skillet until really hot. Add the fillets, skin side up, and allow to "sear" for 3-4 minutes. DO NOT MOVE THE FISH AROUND! Gently lift corner of the fish. If it has a golden brown color, gently lift with a spatula.
- Move the skillet into the preheated oven and allow to cook until the internal temperature reaches about 145F (about 5-6 minutes). Carefully remove the skillet. To prevent burning your hands, always wrap a towel around the hot handle (speaking from experience).
- If desired, add additional fresh lemon juice. Add the Beurre Blanc onto the fish.
Notes
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