The most widely made fish sauce in classical cuisine: fish fumet reduced with white wine, thickened with velouté and egg yolk and finished with butter. Light, glossy and just acidic enough.
White wine sauce
Sauce vin blanc
White wine sauce
Sauce vin blanc
Method
01
Reduce
Reduce the fish fumet with the white wine and the shallot to about a quarter.
02
Velouté
Stir in the fish velouté and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
03
Liaison
Beat the egg yolks loose with the cream, temper with a spoonful of hot sauce and stir back into the pan. Heat to a maximum of 82 °C until the sauce thickens.
04
Strain
Pass through a fine sieve.
05
Mount with butter
Off the heat, whisk in the ice-cold butter until the sauce gleams and season with lemon juice, salt and white pepper.
Tips & notes
Choose a dry, lightly oaked wine at most: muscadet, aligoté or a sauvignon. A wine with a lot of oak or residual sugar makes the sauce bitter or syrupy-sweet once it is reduced. Keeps for a maximum of 2 days in the fridge; reheat gently without boiling. Freezing is not recommended, because the sauce splits.
Chef's tip
In restaurant practice this sauce is often made lighter: fumet reduction plus cream plus butter, without velouté and without yolk. That is technically a beurre blanc with fumet. The classic version here is firmer and copes better with coating and gratinating.
Variations
- Sauce au champagne – With champagne instead of white wine, for festive fish dishes.
- Sauce Véron – White wine sauce with some demi-glace and tarragon.
- Gratinated – Add whipped cream and put briefly under the grill (sauce glaçage).
Contains:
Eggs
Milk
Sulphites
Fish
Serve with
- Sole
- Turbot
- Sea bass
- Scallops
- Asparagus
- Poached egg
| Calories | 203 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 4 g |
| Fat | 16 g |
| Fibre | 0 g |
Estimated values, calculated from standard nutritional values per ingredient.
