Gettin’ Saucy with Béarnaise Chef Yves Camdeborde

Chef Yves Camdeborde is such a character. You’d think that one of the country’s most influential chefs (who has worked behind the best stoves in the city: the Ritz, Tour d’Argent, Hotel du Crillon, Régalade and Le Comptoir) would have an enormous ego – not so. He’s considered a mentor and big brother to many – and his joy of living life is infectious … as is his non-stop smile.

Over the years, I’ve seen his jovial eyes light up many times – but nothing compares to his reaction when dipping his spoon into a “true Béarnaise” sauce – he gets that flashback to childhood glow. Why?

Yves is passionately proud to have been born in the Southwest of France – so folks often think he is from the Pays Basques region when in fact he is from the city of Pau in the Béarn region next door – home of the béret, salt springs, Bigorre ham and it’s famous sauce. So, people find it humorous and surprising that if Yves is from the Béarn, this makes him a “Béarnaise.”

Recently I decided to tackle the recipe that Julia Child considered one of the five “mother” sauces in the repertoire of French cuisine. In her Mastering the Art of French Cooking she states, “Béarnaise is probably the most famous of all sauces, and if often the most dreaded, as the egg yolks can curdle and the sauce can turn.”

Who else would I turn to but Yves for help?

In between whisking vigorously with stern instructions, “If the sauce gets too thick, whisk in a few small drops of water,” he’d rattle off  the restaurants he loved during his recent trip to NYC, “Wendy, David Chang is amazing!” then back to, “Oof…don’t overcook the eggs!”

Yves came out of the kitchen like Pere Noel on Christmas Day with saucepan and spoon in hand to share the results with surprised customers in his Comptoir dining room and on the terrace.

This fickle emulsion actually starts out as a Hollandaise but instead of lemon juice for acidity, the base is made up of reduced wine, vinegar, shallots and tarragon. Béarnaise often takes a lot of patience to prepare and practice to get absolutely perfect.

According to Yves a perfect Béarnaise should have some “weight” to it – thick enough to stand up to steak and potatoes and not “too runny.”

Not satisfied that the lesson was over, Yves set up a table right in front of the door since the terrace was full – laid down some silverware and the saucepan, then told me to watch it and left for a few minutes.

Although Béarnaise can be used to compliment fish and eggs – it is most delicious this way…

Yves returned with a perfectly seared steak and two glasses of red wine to serve the best afternoon “snack” for our table and many curious patrons and friends. When his wife Claudine came outside and saw us face down taking a bath in Béarnaise, butter and potatoes … we thought we were in trouble for not watching our cholesterol, but bless her heart, she just said, “Oh la la….” before grabbing a piece of cornbread (made by a Pau friend of Yves’ and flown up) and joined in.

Good luck and I hope you have just as much fun in making his recipe!

Merci for a great day Chef….

 

Yves’ Receipe for Bearnaise:

Preparation time is 20 to approximately 25 minutes

Serving for 8 people.

 

Composition:

300g of butter

5 egg yolks

1 deciliter of wine vinegar

50g of shallots

5g of whole pepper

2 soup spoons of chopped tarragon

1 bunch of chopped persil (or parsley)

Pinch of table salt and cayenne pepper.

 

The making of Béarnaise is carried out in three steps:

 

Step One:

Cut the butter into pieces and let it melt gently over moderate heat without stirring, then remove from heat

 

Step Two:

Peel, wash and finely chop shallots

Wash and chop fresh tarragon, drain it well before chopping it

Use the bottom of a strong sauce pan to crush the whole pepper on a board or in a piece of fabric, and then again, crush the grains

Boil the shallots, tarragon, crushed pepper and wine vinegar a saucepan over moderate heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until the mixture has reduced to a few tablespoons

Take it off of the stove and let it cool before the next step of  incorporating the egg yolks or they’ll cook in the sauce

 

Step Three:

Whisk the egg yolks vigorously and deeply into the herb vinegar mixture (so that with each turn, the bottom of the container shows), done over a low heat of 65°, removing from the heat when it reaches the consistency of a cream.

Note: In the course of cooking, if the sauce gets too thick, whisk in a few small drops of water

Then take the pan off of the heat and using a whisk, gradually add in the butter to the herb- egg yolk sauce.

Using a small ladle, strain the sauce through a Chinese cheese cloth.

Season with the table salt and Cayenne pepper point) and gently mix in the chopped tarragon-parsley herbs – keep warm in the saucepan or in a plate before serving

Note: If the sauce curdles or separates, beating in a small amount of cold water will often bring it back

 

 

 

 

Tags: Béarnaise Sauce, julia child, le comptoir, yves camdeborde