Béarnaise Sauce - not for the faint of heart

Ingredients

onion - ½ cup, chopped

red wine vinegar - ½ cup

tarragon - 3 tsps

water - 3 tbps

egg yolks -

butter - 1 stick

salt - pinch

pepper - pinch

Directions

Combine onion, red wine vinegar and tarragon in pan. Reduce over a low heat until the liquid is gone.

Cool the pan in the sink. Add the water and the egg yokes, whisk hard, keeping pan hot to the touch (at the base) for five minutes. Everybody uses bowls of steaming water : actually, there is no need. Put the heat on the lowest setting and you should be able to touch the bottom of the pan for a few seconds at a time. Don't burn your hand, people! Whip it hard for five minutes. It should double in volume.

Add in the stick of butter, a teaspoon at a time and continue to whisk to thickness at the same temperature. Refrigerate before serving to make it thicker. Season with salt and pepper.

The sauce can get too cold, but don't let it get too hot, or you will break the sauce!

You might need a few tries to get it right. But when you do, this is a friend for life.

#sauces