Buerre Blanc

Linguistic lesson

Buerre blanc offers several advantages over other sauce options. First among them is that it is French which rarely fails to impress guests. To get some understanding of how to pronounce the words, you should watch Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther movies. The Rs in buerre should emanate from your throat as if you were trying to clear it in front of polite company. Blanc ought to be said through your nose. To achieve the sound remember to get the rear portion of you tongue to seal the back of your mouth and force the sound represented by the "anc" through you nasal cavity. Or you can simply say "burr blank." Your choice.

 Delicate strength softener

However you say it, you may use buerre blanc to transport many flavors onto many things. Cheese goes into buerre blanc. Pesto and buerre blanc tend to be ideal complements. Fruit mixes right in to buerre blanc, as will things like roasted and pureed red peppers. You want things that have strong, concentrated flavors as the buerre blanc will cut the flavor and soften its strength. On the other hand, delicate flavors will work in buerre blanc too. Pineapple chunks, for instance. Or berries. A slight squeeze of lime. A touch of honey.

Distract and obfuscate

Like so many beautiful, sophisticated things, buerre blanc is devastatingly simple to make, yet it retains its mystery because most people have no idea what it is, and it is the mystery that adds an emotional layer to the sauce’s delectability. Make sure that you shroud the concocting in obfuscatory language, and try to have some other process – like chopping parsley – under way to distract curious eyes. You are a magician. Guard your secrets.

Some, defined

To begin put a pan on the fire. Pour in some white wine. The amount of white wine is up to you and can best be arrived at through experience. "Some" is a good amount to start with. For enough sauce for a pair of diners, try starting with a quarter or a half a cup. The precise amount is unimportant as step one is allowing the wine to boil away until it is nearly gone. Let the wine reduce until it is almost a syrup coating the pan. Add some cream and reduce it. Again, "some" cream is more than a couple of tablespoons but less than a half cup.

Broken sauce no reason for broken heart

Reduce the cream until it gets thick, and again, experience is the best guide at this point. Fortuitously, the execution of buerre blanc abounds with room for error. As you watch the cream reduce, you’ll see it thicken while it retains it creaminess. At some point though, the cream will reduce so far that it will break into the liquid part and the oil part. The cream will separate, and if you’re watching, you’ll see it happen. If your cream does break, you have allowed it to reduce too far, but nothing has been lost. Pull the pan from the fire and hit it with a little more cream. Notice: a "little" is somewhere between a tablespoon and a teaspoon. Give the mixture a stir and it should all come back together.

Some seems like a lot

Now, you ought to have a pan of slightly discolored liquid with the consistency of melted white chocolate. Its flavor should be rich and a little bitter from the white wine. You may believe it is done because it tastes so good, but work remains. Take some butter that you have allowed to warm to room temperature. In this case, "some" is anywhere from a quarter to a half pound. While stirring the cream and wine mixture add the butter. It will melt and disappear into the sauce. Continue to add the butter until it is gone or you can’t stand to add any more. Your option. Now you have in your pan buerre blanc.

Boggle mind

What you add to it now is entirely dependent on what you have to eat. If you have mahi-mahi, pineapple pieces along with a little pureed pineapple or pineapple juice would be perfect. If its Dorado, try some pureed chipotle peppers. If it dolphin, try some citrus like oranges or some lemon. If you’re putting it over chicken, hit it with some capers and lemon juice. Putting it over steak? Try putting in some shallots along with the white wine in step one. Buerre blanc is versatile stuff. For pasta, slip in an egg yolk and parmesan cheese. Add basil, tarragon or thyme. The mind boggles upon consideration of all the possibilities. Add sugar and blueberries and put it on waffles. It’s your sauce. Maybe try it on you lover. Who knows? 

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