Condiment

Tarragon and Shallot Béarnaise Butter

Prepare and cool the reduction before mixing it into softened butter. Only a small weighed portion of reduction is needed.

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Cook Mode

Yield: 1 small batch
Cuisine: French-inspired

Bring it to the table

Keep the reduction cool

Warm liquid melts the butter. Cool the reduction completely before weighing and mixing.

At the table

Add a small pat to cooked meat, fish or vegetables just before serving.

Before you start

Gather your ingredients.

Full quantities and serving adjustments are in the recipe card below.

See the ingredient checklist

45 ml tarragon vinegar
30 ml dry white wine
1 tsp shallot — finely minced
5 g fresh tarragon — chopped
3 black peppercorns — cracked
15 ml water
200 g unsalted butter — softened
4 g fresh tarragon leaves — finely chopped
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest — finely grated
salt — to taste
1 pinch black pepper
1 pinch Espelette pepper

A few useful notes.

The base batch uses 6 g prepared reduction, rounded from the recorded butter ratio.

This is compound butter, with no egg yolks.

The reduction contains wine; cooking is not a promise of complete alcohol removal.

The cooking plan

How to make Tarragon and Shallot Béarnaise Butter.

Put the vinegar, wine, shallot, reduction tarragon and peppercorns in a small saucepan. Simmer until almost dry, watching closely near the end.
Stir in the measured water, strain through a fine sieve and cool completely. Weigh 6 g of the cooled reduction for the base butter batch; reserve any extra separately.
Mix the softened butter with the weighed reduction, fresh finishing tarragon, lemon juice and zest. Season to taste with salt, black pepper and Espelette.
Spoon into a small covered container or form into a wrapped log. Refrigerate until firm, allowing about 3 hours before slicing.
Keep refrigerated at 40°F or below and use within 2 days, or freeze promptly. Keep extra reduction refrigerated for use within 2 days or freeze it separately.

Let’s cook

The full recipe.

Check off ingredients as you get them ready.

Changing servings? The ingredient list scales automatically. Adjust quantities named in the steps to match, and choose pans and cooking times for your batch.

The Broken Scale