Beurre blanc is a simple butter-based emulsified sauce that’s great with fish or seafood. It’s origin is French and in this case I’m making it with shrimp to create a Marinated Shrimp with Beurre Blanc Sauce for a Christmas dinner. The sauce is amazingly easy to make despite it’s fanciful French name and is a wonderful idea for a special occassion because of it’s fine cuisine reputation.
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 shallot, chopped
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 12 tablespoons cold butter
- 1/16 teaspoon white pepper
Shrimp
- 5 tablespoons butter
- ¾ lb medium shrimp, rinsed and deveined
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley (opional)
Method
For The Sauce
- Simmer the shallots, white wine, and lemon juice in a small saucepan over low-medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until the mixture is reduced to about 2 tablespoons.
- Add the cream and bring to just under a simmer. When the first few bubbles rise, turn the heat down very slightly
- Add the 12 tablespoons of butter, one tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly. Be sure to allow one pat of butter to melt completely before adding the next.
- Once the butter is fully incorporated, season the beurre blanc sauce with white pepper and set aside.
For The Shrimp
- Combine olive oil, salt, bay leaf, and ground pepper in a bowl. Add shrimp and marinate shrimp at room temperature at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
- In a heavy pan cook shrimp until it is pink and thoroughly cooked.
- Plate the shrimp and spoon the warm beurre blanc sauce over the hot shrimp. Sprinkle with chopped parsley if desired and serve.
Update: I recently attended a party and shared this recipe with the lovely hostess. Please check it out here.