My entrecote sauce is a classic French butter sauce with anchovies, tarragon, capers and Dijon, emulsified like a mayonnaise. Serve warm over steak, just like in a classic French bistro.
Entrecote Sauce
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Category
Dinner
Servings
6
Prep time
20 minutes
Cook time
20 minutes
Entrecôte sauce is a classic French butter-based sauce made to complement steak. It's typically a smooth emulsion of butter, mustard, shallots, fresh herbs (like tarragon and parsley), anchovies, and capers, often blended with an egg yolk to help it emulsify. It’s rich, herby, slightly tangy, and packed with umami, made to be poured over steak and chips.
This is my version of a paired back entrecote sauce recipe. I use to make this in a french restaurant in Melbourne and it has about 50 different ingredients that went into it. This is the version I like to make a home with a lot less ingredients and it's easier to make.
Technique
This version is built on a shallot butter that’s cooled and then emulsified into an egg yolk and mustard base, using the same technique as mayonnaise: with the blender running, the fat is poured in slowly so the lecithin in the yolk can coat each fat droplet and hold the emulsion together.
Flavour
The flavour comes from the anchovies and capers bring salt and briny depth; tarragon, parsley, and sage are the herb backbone; Worcestershire and Dijon add sharpness; lemon juice provides acidity. The recipe makes around 500ml, enough for 6 portions.
Ingredient Notes
Anchovies: I know not everyone likes anchovies but you won't taste them in the finished sauce. You can reduce the quantity or leave them out but they do add depth and umami. If you're leaving them out, just add extra salt to the sauce.
Nutmeg: I like to use a whole nutmeg and grate it over the shallots, however, you can just use ground nutmeg.
Mustard: It's typical to use Dijon mustard but I also use hot English mustard if that's what's in the fridge.
Tarragon: The defining herb in this sauce. French tarragon has a distinctive anise-like flavour that’s central to the character of classic French butter sauces. Use fresh rather than dried where possible. Dried tarragon loses most of its volatile oils during processing and the flavour is much flatter and less aromatic than fresh.
Unsalted butter: The sauce uses 250g of butter, most of which is melted with the shallots and then cooled before emulsification. Unsalted butter gives you control over the final seasoning. The anchovies, capers, and Worcestershire sauce all bring salt to the sauce, so using salted butter risks over-seasoning.
Equipment
- Chopping board
- Chef’s knife
- Medium saucepan
- Fine grater or microplane (for nutmeg)
- Tall jug or narrow container (for stick blending)
- Stick blender (immersion blender)
- Measuring spoons
- Serving jug
Ingredients
- 250g (8.8 oz) unsalted butter
-
3 shallots
-
½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
-
1 egg yolk
-
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
-
5 anchovies
-
10 small capers
-
1 small handful tarragon
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1 handful flat leaf parsley
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6 sage leaves
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juice of 1 lemon
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1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
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1-2 tbsp room temperature water, to thin out
-
Sea salt, to season
Directions
Cook the shallots
Place 75g of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and melt gently. Finely slice the shallots and add to the pan. Season with some salt and the nutmeg, then sauté for 3-4 minutes until the shallots are translucent.
Turn off the heat and leave for 5 minutes, then add the remaining butter and let it melt slowly. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Blend the sauce base
Place the egg yolk in a tall jug with the mustard, anchovies and capers. Add the tarragon, parsley and sage leaves, then the lemon juice and worcestershire.
Using a stick blender on low speed, blend until the base of the sauce has blended smoothly. With the blender running, slowly pour in the cooled butter mixture, similar to making a mayonnaise. Add a little room temperature water if needed to thin it down.
Season and serve
Give it a final taste and adjust salt if needed. Serve straight away over steak, or keep warm until ready to use.
Recipe notes
Chef Tips
Take your time with the butter
Don’t rush the cooling step. If the butter mix is too warm when you blend it, the sauce may split. Make sure you pour it slowly into the blender to help it emulsify properly.
Watch the texture
You want the sauce to be pourable, not gloopy. A splash of room temp water will fix it if it tightens up too much.
Storage
Makes around 500ml. Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To serve from cold, bring to room temperature or reheat very gently in a small saucepan over the lowest possible heat, stirring constantly. Don’t rush the reheating: emulsified sauces split if they get too hot too quickly.
FAQs
What do I serve this with? This sauce is designed for steak: traditionally entrecote (rib-eye or sirloin). Spoon it warm over the steak just before serving so it melts slightly into the meat. It also works well with grilled lamb cutlets or as a sauce for roasted vegetables.
Can I make it ahead? Yes. Make the sauce up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate. Bring it back to room temperature before serving, or reheat very gently in a small saucepan over low heat while stirring. Don’t rush the reheating or the emulsion will break.
What if the sauce splits? If the emulsion breaks, transfer the split sauce to a fresh tall jug, add a new egg yolk, and blend while slowly pouring the broken sauce back in. This should bring it back together, the same way you’d rescue a broken mayonnaise.
