Orange Butter Sauce (Beurre Blanc) for Seafood Recipe

Name: Orange Butter Sauce (Beurre Blanc) for Seafood
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: Makes about 1 cup
Ingredients: 2 oranges; 1/2 cup (120 ml) white wine; 2 teaspoons minced shallots; 1/2 pound (2 sticks, 225 g) cold, unsalted butter; Salt and white pepper

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.

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

Yield 1 cup

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

2 oranges
1/2 cup (120 ml) white wine
2 teaspoons minced shallots
1/2 pound (2 sticks, 225 g) cold, unsalted butter
Salt and white pepper

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

Elise Bauer

Cook until it is syrupy and almost gone.
Slowly whisk in butter:

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

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!
Add salt and pepper to taste

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