Published February 24, 2011.
Just the mention of Béarnaise Sauce is enough to evoke the memory of culinary shame and frustration in many home chefs. The velvety egg-emulsion, based on the French Mother Sauce Hollandaise, has driven even experienced kitchen hands to distraction. We have all enjoyed the tangy, yellow, anise flavored sauce with brunch or over a steak in a restaurant, but the memory of all those broken, granular messes and all that wasted whisking has derailed many an ambitious menu.

It would be wrong to proclaim that Béarnaise is simple to make. I am not going to sugar coat it for you, the path to prandial perfection is partly perilous. But, patience and preparation will ease your way. First, we need to understand what happens when a sauce “breaks.” When a Béarnaise sauce (or any egg-emulsion) gets too hot, then the fat molecules in the butter expand and explode. Remember, any emulsion, even a vinaigrette dressing, is about getting substances which would normally separate into different layers to remain combined in suspension. In the case of Béarnaise, the egg, butter and acid (lemon juice and/or vinegar) naturally want to form individual layers, but the gentle application of heat allows them to combine and thicken. If you allow the sauce to become too hot then not only will this emulsion process break down but the fats themselves will break apart, sometimes to a point where the sauce cannot be recovered.

If, in the course of your sauce preparation, you see this “breaking” being to happen (it will generally start around the edges of your cooking vessel) then quickly toss a few ice cubes into the sauce, remove from the heat and whisk like there is no tomorrow. You will be surprised at how easily you can save a sauce that appears good for little more than coating your trashcan. However, if you follow a few simple steps then you won't have to resort to the “ice cube method” of sauce salvation.

As mentioned above, the key to a good egg-emulsion is preparation. You want to have all of your ingredients at or near room temperature before you begin cooking. If I know I am going to make a Béarnaise, then I like to melt the butter and separate the egg yolk and just leave them on the counter while I do the rest of my cooking. Even temperature across your ingredients will make the whole process much easier. One final note about ingredients, the primary flavor in Béarnaise is a liquorice-like essence that comes from tarragon. The delicate French tarragon that you find in herb packs in the grocery store does not fair too well in our southern heat. Although I have seen many an otherwise sage foodie turn their nose up at Mexican tarragon, I am a believer. It is a robust relative of marigolds that takes the summer weather and will sometimes even survive our winters. Any serious herb garden in south Louisiana should contain a few Mexican tarragon plants. The flavor is not as delicate as the French variety, but what it lacks in subtlety it more than makes up for in survivability.  With all that in mind, I submit to you a painless recipe for Béarnaise sauce.

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