Melt the butter and keep it warm (cold butter in pieces can also be used). Put 65 ml of white wine, 65 ml of tarragon vinegar, the chopped shallot, the coarsely chopped tarragon sprigs, the chervil, the crushed pepper and a pinch of salt into a small saucepan. Reduce by two thirds until about 3 tbsp of liquid remain.

Ingredients

• 65 mlAlcoholic beverage, wine, table, white
• 65 mlTarragon vinegar
• 13 gShallots, raw not counted – removed
• 17 gFresh tarragon not counted – removed
• 7 gFresh chervil not counted – removed
• 3.3 gSpices, pepper, black not counted – removed
• 0.4 gSalt, table
• 34 gEgg, yolk, raw, fresh
• 165 gButter, without salt
• 0.1 gSpices, pepper, red or cayenne
• 1 gFresh tarragon
• 0.5 gFresh chervil

Method

1. Melt the butter and keep it warm (cold butter in pieces can also be used). Put 65 ml of white wine, 65 ml of tarragon vinegar, the chopped shallot, the coarsely chopped tarragon sprigs, the chervil, the crushed pepper and a pinch of salt into a small saucepan. Reduce by two thirds until about 3 tbsp of liquid remain.
2. Let the reduction cool for a few minutes, add the yolks and gradually work in the butter over gentle heat (or in a water bath), whisking lightly. Only the gradually cooking yolks bind the sauce, so gentle heat is essential; do not let the yolks get hotter than about 65 °C.
3. Pass the sauce through a cloth or fine sieve (the shallot, herbs and pepper from the reduction stay behind). Season with a pinch of cayenne and salt and stir in the chopped tarragon and chervil.
4. Serve lukewarm with grilled beef, veal or lamb; served hot it easily splits. If it starts to split, add a few drops of cold water and whisk vigorously.