Mrs Beeton's Dutch Sauce is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic method for creating a sauce from vinegar, egg yolks, lemon juice and flour that is typically served with white fish. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Mrs Beeton's Dutch Sauce.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook. This is actually Hollandaise sauce by another name, a sauce intended to be served with white fish.
Original Recipe
405. INGREDIENTS — 1/2 teaspoonful of flour, 2 oz. of butter, 4 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, the yolks of 2 eggs, the juice of 1/2 lemon; salt to taste.
Mode.–Put all the ingredients, except the lemon—juice, into a stew—pan; set it over the fire, and keep continually stirring. When it is sufficiently thick, take it off, as it should not boil. If, however, it happens to curdle, strain the sauce through a tammy, add the lemon—juice, and serve. Tarragon vinegar may be used instead of plain, and, by many, is considered far preferable.
Average cost, 6d.
Note.–This sauce may be poured hot over salad, and left to get quite cold, when it should be thick, smooth, and somewhat stiff. Excellent salads may be made of hard eggs, or the remains of salt fish flaked nicely from the bone, by pouring over a little of the above mixture when hot, and allowing it to cool.
THE LEMON.–This fruit is a native of Asia, and is mentioned by Virgil as an antidote to poison. It is hardier than the orange, and, as one of the citron tribe, was brought into Europe by the Arabians. The lemon was first cultivated in England in the beginning of the 17th century, and is now often to be found in our green—houses. The kind commonly sold, however, is imported from Portugal, Spain, and the Azores. Some also come from St. Helena; but those from Spain are esteemed the best. Its juice is now an essential for culinary purposes; but as an antiscorbutic its value is still greater. This juice, which is called citric acid, may be preserved in bottles for a considerable time, by covering it with a thin stratum of oil. Shrub is made from it with rum and sugar.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
50g butter
4 tbsp vinegar
2 egg yolks
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp plain flour
salt, to taste
Method:
Combine the butter, vinegar, egg yolks, flour and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly (but ensure it does not boil) and cook until the sauce has thickened. If the sauce does curdle then strain through a tammy sieve, add the lemon juice an serve.
As a variant tarragon vinegar can be used instead of plain vinegar and this makes an excellent sauce for strongly-flavoured fish. If desired, as well as being used for fish the sauce can also be poured over a salad then left to get completely cold when it should be thick, smooth and slightly stiff in texture.
