Clear Tarragon Sauce is a traditional British recipe, based on Charles Elmé Francatelli's recipe of 1861, for a classic sauce of hard-boiled egg yolks, anchovies and herbs with tarragon vinegar and olive oil that's flavoured with capers and Dijon mustard and mixed with raw egg yolks, like mayonnaise. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: The Prince of Wales' Sauce.
(click this button to prevent the screen from sleeping so Cook Mode is 'ON')
This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of The Prince of Wales' Sauce that's derived from the chef, Charles Elmé Francatelli' 1861 volume, The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
Original Recipe
No. 81.—THE PRINCE OF WALES' SAUCE
First, prepare the following ingredients, viz.: four hard yolks of eggs, four anchovies washed and wiped, a handful of tarragon, chervil, burnet, chives; these to be well parboiled, and afterwards pressed in a cloth to extract all the water: a tablespoonful of capers, the same of French mustard, and three raw yolks of eggs; place all these in a mortar, bruise them together with a pestle, and then proceed to work in nearly half a pint of salad-oil, and half a gill of tarragon vinegar by degrees. When this is done, rub the sauce thus produced through a hair sieve or tammy.
Note.—This sauce is used for broiled fish or meats à la Tartare; also for all kinds of salads of fish, poultry, or game.
Bring a pan of water to a boil, add the herbs and blanch for 3 minutes. Drain in a sieve then wring out the excess moisture in a cloth.
Combine the blanched herbs, hard-boiled eggs and anchovy fillets in a mortar and pound to a paste then add the capers and pound in. Now mix in the Dijon mustard and raw egg yolks.
To this base, add the olive oil and tarragon vinegar a little at a time, beating to incorporate until you have a thick, mayonnaise-like sauce. Pass through a fine-meshed sieve and serve with grilled fish or meats or meat served à la Tartare.
