Make your own 4-ingredient egg yolk sauce at home to add some more depth and flavor to your dishes. All you will need for this delicious sauce is to mix together the egg yolks, with melted butter using the “Bain Marie” method. No matter what you will serve, this simple sauce will impress everybody.
Even if it sounds complicated, it is very easy to make at home and will require from you only a few simple ingredients.
I’ll walk with you through the steps of making this delicious egg yolk sauce recipe to make sure that you can’t go wrong with it.
The secret key to making this egg yolk sauce is to heat the egg yolks gradually using a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
By using this “Bain Marie” method, we will help to prevent the eggs from curdling or scrambling.
Just make sure that you add little by little the melted butter over the egg yolks by mixing continuously to ensure that you will get a smooth and emulsified sauce.
The egg yolk sauce is very versatile and you can add different herbs to it to match different dishes that you plan to serve near it.
I will share with you the basic recipe + two more variations that will help you if you want to get better results if you will serve it in salads or near a piece of meat.
Let’s get started!
🥰 Why You Will Love This Recipe?
- It has a rich and creamy texture making it perfect for benedict eggs, or for drizzling over fish, vegetables, and meats.
- Is an easy recipe that is quick to make and will require from you only a few simple ingredients and minimal cooking time.
- You can easily adjust the taste to your preference by adding different spices or other ingredients.
- A delicious way to add more nutrients to your meals as egg yolks are a rich source of vitamins and minerals.
🥘 Ingredients and Substitutes
- Egg Yolks.
- Lemon juice.
- Butter.
- Salt.
As this is a base recipe, you can’t substitute too much in it. All the ingredients have their own role. However, you can add mustard or some aromatic herbs like tarragon.
👩🍳 Step-by-step Directions
Put the butter in a saucepan and melt it.
In the meantime, prepare another pan and a bowl that we will put on top of the saucepan so that you can cook the sauce using the “Bain Marie” technique.
For this, pour water into the pan until there will be about 2″ of water in height. After that, put the bowl on top of the pan.
Quick Note: It is important that the bowl should not be in direct contact with the water. If the top bowl touches the water, change the bowl or reduce the amount of water.
Put the saucepan on the stove on high heat. When the water starts to boil, reduce the heat to low and start preparing the sauce.
When the butter will be melted, we can start preparing the sauce.
Put the egg yolk in the bowl and mix it well.
After this, add the egg, salt, and lemon juice.
Mix continuously until you homogenize the ingredients.
Now, add the melted butter over the eggs. Pour the melted butter as little as possible, and mix continuously without stopping. When you finish adding all the ingredients, continue to steam the sauce until you get the desired consistency.
Quick Note: Be careful not to cook it for too long because you risk separating the sauce. Also, be careful not to undercook the egg, because to be safe to eat, the eggs should reach a temperature of 160F.
The classic egg yolk sauce recipe is ready to be served.
Move it into some small sauce plates and it is ready to be served!
After you made the base sauce, here are two more ideas on how to vary the egg yolk sauce.
The initially obtained sauce is quite dense, being optimal to be served with eggs benedict. But if you want a lighter consistency to serve with fish or meat, consider adding 3 teaspoons of water and mixing it well.
If you have decided to serve it next to meat or fish, I recommend you try the version with granulated mustard.
For this, add 3 teaspoons of granulated mustard to the base sauce to obtain an addition of texture and taste.
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
The egg yolk sauce will pair very well near meat dishes like grilled or roasted meats such as steaks, pork, or chicken. Also, it is a great accompaniment to seafood dishes lime shrimp or salmon.
If you want to use it for veggies then you can use it as a dip for cooked vegetables such as asparagus, carrots, or artichokes.
And of course, this egg yolk sauce is great to pair with sandwiches or burgers to add an extra rich flavor to them.
😻 Other Sauce Recipes You May Enjoy
- White BBQ Sauce (Alabama White Sauce)
- 4 Ingredient Sweet And Sour Sauce
- Rosatella Sauce (Pink Sauce)
- Marinara Tomato Sauce From Fresh Tomatoes
- Homemade Sweet Chili Pepper Sauce
🏆 Expert Tips. What to Pay Attention To?
- Use good quality butter that melts well. It will be easier for you to combine it with egg yolks.
- Mixing continuously. You should make sure to whisk the yolks and butter together continuously to ensure that you will get a smooth and emulsified sauce.
- Don’t heat the sauce for too long. If you will leave it for too long on the heat, it will curdle. As soon as you got the desired consistency, remove it from the heat and serve.
♻️ Make Ahead, Storage and Heating:
Can I Prepare It Ahead?
It is not recommended to prepare the egg yolk sauce ahead of time because the butter solidifies and it will be difficult for you to serve it. If you still decided to prepare it ahead of time, you will have to heat it using the same “Bain Maire” method. Alternatively, you could cook it and store it in a thermos that keeps the heat well. This way you will have a few hours to serve the sauce.
How Long Does It Last in the Fridge?
Do not keep it in the fridge for more than 2 days because it contains eggs.
Can You Freeze the Egg Yolk Sauce?
Do not freeze the egg yolk sauce because it will separate.
How to Reheat It?
If the sauce becomes hard, you will have to use the same “Bain Maire” technique to melt the butter and make it liquid again.
📋 Recipe Card:
Egg Yolk Sauce (3 Variations)
Ingredients
- 2 Egg Yolks
- ⅓ cup Lemon Juice
- ⅗ cup Butter 5 oz
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a sauce pan on the stove.⅗ cup Butter
- Use the "Bain Marie" technique to prepare the sauce.
- Pour 2" of water in the bottom sauce pan and cover with a bowl in which we will prepare the sauce.
- When the water started to boil, reduce the heat to low and in the top bowl, put the egg in it and mix well.2 Egg Yolks
- Add salt and lemon juice into the bowl. Homogenize everything well.⅓ cup Lemon Juice, ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- Add the melted butter little by little and mix continuously until you finish the butter.
- After that, continue to steam the sauce (don't forget to mix continuously) until you get the desired consistency.
Quick Note
I highly recommend reading the entire recipe to find more tips and notes about this recipe. Read Full Recipe ⇑
Notes
- Serve the sauce as quickly as possible because the longer you leave it, it will cool and get a thicker consistency.
Rachel Harrison
The egg yolk sauce is a culinary gem! I love how versatile it is, and the three variations take it to a whole new level.