Recipes > Cod w/ Classic Beurre Blanc Sauce
- Serves: 2
- Active Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Views: 79,616
- Success Rating: 100% (?)
Steps
Step 1: Preparing the Sauce
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 tbsp shallots
- 8 tbsp unsalted, cold butter
- lemon juice (to finish)
- kosher salt (to taste)
- white pepper (to taste)
Method
Before preparing the sauce, cut the butter into tablespoon-size pieces and keep cold in the refrigerator.
To prepare the beurre blanc, first mince the shallots. Place a small saucepan over medium heat and add the shallots and the wine. Reduce the liquid by about two-thirds until it reaches a syrupy consistency.
Turn the heat to the lowest setting and whisk in the cold butter one piece at a time to slowly form the emulsion.
Once all of the butter has been incorporated, season with salt and pepper. You may want to add a few drops of lemon juice to brighten the flavor of the sauce.
Monitor the sauce closely while you cook the fish. Keep the sauce warm to the touch and whisk often to prevent it from splitting. You may need to turn the heat off and on to keep it at the correct temperature. The heat does not always need to be on, as the residual heat from the pan will keep it warm.
Step 2: Cooking the Fish and Serving
- two 6-ounce pieces of cod (or any white fish)
- 1 tbsp olive or grapeseed oil
- kosher salt (to taste)
- white pepper (to taste)
Method
To prepare the fish, heat a non-stick fry pan over medium heat and add the oil.
Pat the fish dry and season both sides with salt and white pepper. Place the fish, presentation-side down into the pan and gently pan fry until the edges become opaque.
Using a non-stick spatula, carefully turn the fish over and let cook through until done (about 3 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fish).
Once done, transfer to a plate. Whisk the beurre blanc and spoon over top. Serve immediately.
3 Comments
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I whipped this up last night for dinner. Wow! Delicious! I love beurre blanc but have never been brave enough to make at home. It was surprisingly easy (although I was also cooking potatoes and corn which did require some multi tasking to keep an eye on the sauce and ensure that it didn't break). The sauce was delicious and decadent and took the fish from good to excellent! The cod was cooked perfectly after 3 minutes per side. Thank you Rouxbe! I will definitely be making this again! -
Ditto what Sunnie said! This past week I made the mushroom cream sauce and it broke, not this. This sauce turned out excellent and it was only my first time. Not sure how I can ever eat white fish again without it. Thank you Rouxbe! -
I just made this. Whole Foods had cod on sale. I would have paid cash money for this dish. Phoenix mentioned something about a sauce breaking? I now know what that means. I stepped away for about 30 seconds and the sauce broke. Next time I would make the sauce after and not before making the fish.
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