butter-based mayo sauces

2014-12-12 a.o.

a. Hollandaise sauce

2014-12-12 a.o.

Hollandaise sauce is essentially a warm mayonnaise that is made with clarified melted butter instead of oil.

They are so similar that some people fake hollandaise by mixing mayonnaise into melted butter. IMO, it also tastes so much like mayo, that I won’t be making this very often. There is imo no improved flavor experience to justify the inconvenience of the preparation method; although the one with duck fat is different enough to be memorable.

Hollandaise is supposed to be made with clarified butter. I have not bothered and used plain melted butter instead. (Pic2) That seemed to work just fine.

The preparation method is rather complicated.
To keep the butter liquid without cooking the eggs, this has to be prepared in a bowl over hot water, not 'au bain marie' in hot water. The sauce needs to be kept warm at all times and is served warm. It will congeal when cooled. The blender method is imo a lot easier for this one.

Just like mayonnaise, Hollandaise is a basic sauce that can be varied upon by adding other ingredients like wine, spices, vegetables and many more.

Béarnaise is a spiced-up variant of Hollandaise sauce.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 1 cup:

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 tbsp. fresh lemon / lime juice
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, clarified
  • salt

Optional:

  • Cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbsp. cream
  • 1 tsp. mustard
Pic1: Hollandaise sauce — 2016-04-06

Directions

 

Pic2: melted butter — 2016-04-06
Pic3: white asparagus Hollandaise — 2014-12-12

 


B. blender hollandaise with duck fat

2016-04-06

Duck fat has a strong and very aromatic flavor. With duck fat, this will definitely not be a bland sauce.  If you like duck fat, this is worth a try, but even so, do not use more than 1/4 duck fat the first time.

If you don’t like duck fat, don’t go there because duck fat can be quite overpowering even in smaller quantities than used here. Just stick with the regular stick of butter, 1 stick = 8 tbsp. for 4 eggs.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 1 cup:

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 tbsp. fresh lemon / lime juice
  • 6 tbsp. unsalted butter +
    1-2 tbsp. duck fat (total 8 tbsp.)
  • S&P

Optional:

  • Chipotle powder
  • 1 tbsp. cream
  • 1 tsp. mustard
Pic4: with steak
2016-04-06

Directions


c. béarnaise sauce

As mentioned higher-up, béarnaise is a spiced up version of hollandaise.

Commercial Béarnaise sauce is made with oils instead of butter and uses gums as thickeners to stabilize the emulsion and to prevent separation. Fake your Béarnaise sauce with mayo and likely no one will notice the difference.

 

Pic5+6: béarnaise sauce

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for # servings:

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 12 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
  • S&P
  • ¼ cup white wine vinegar
  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 tsp. chopped tarragon leaves

Directions

  • Cook the shallot, pepper and 3 tsp. tarragon in the wine vinegar over medium heat until only a few tbsp. of liquid are left.
  • Make the hollandaise sauce as before.
  • Stir in the cooked condiment mix.
  • Add 1 tsp. fresh tarragon leaves.
  • Keep warm until serving time.