Orange Butter Sauce (Beurre Blanc) for Seafood

Traditional French Beurre Blanc sauce, with the zest of oranges! Great sauce for seafood dishes.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
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Updated March 03, 2022
Elise Bauer
Orange Beurre Blanc Sauce
Elise Bauer

This Orange Butter Sauce is a French "Beurre Blanc" ("white butter") sauce based on a reduction of shallots and an acid such as vinegar, citrus juice, or wine, mixed in with cold butter.

Its creamy tanginess works well with mild fish such as trout, shad, or haddock.

It may also be served with any shellfish including lobster, crab, and scallops.

Orange Beurre Blanc Sauce
Elise Bauer

This recipe comes from a cooking class I took at Scott's Seafood in Folsom, California, presented by Chef David Lamonica.

Orange Butter Sauce (Beurre Blanc) for Seafood

Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 25 mins
Servings 4 servings
Yield 1 cup

You'll need one large orange or two smallish oranges to have enough juice for this recipe.

Ingredients

  • 2 oranges

  • 1/2 cup (120ml) white wine

  • 2 teaspoons minced shallots

  • 1/2 pound (2 sticks, 225g) cold, unsalted butter

  • Salt and white pepper

Method

  1. Make a syrup with orange zest, orange juice, wine, and shallots:

    Zest half of one orange (about 2 teaspoons) and juice the two oranges (about 3/4 cup).

    Put the juice, zest, wine and shallots in a sauce pan on medium high heat.

    Elise Bauer
    reduce liquid until it is almost gone and what you have is a syrup, this is your base for the orange beurre blanc sauce for seafood
    Elise Bauer

    Cook until it is syrupy and almost gone.

  2. Slowly whisk in butter:

    On low heat, whisk in the butter continuously and vigorously, 1 tablespoon at a time.

    add cold butter a tablespoon at a time for orange beurre blanc sauce
    Elise Bauer

    Butter is the only emulsifier for this sauce, and if you slowly add it, continuously stirring, the sauce will achieve a silky smooth texture. Do not let the sauce boil!

  3. Add salt and pepper to taste
Orange Beurre Blanc Sauce
Elise Bauer
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
614 Calories
46g Fat
48g Carbs
4g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 614
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 46g 59%
Saturated Fat 28g 142%
Cholesterol 121mg 40%
Sodium 86mg 4%
Total Carbohydrate 48g 18%
Dietary Fiber 8g 28%
Total Sugars 32g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 202mg 1,008%
Calcium 150mg 12%
Iron 1mg 4%
Potassium 685mg 15%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.