Chicken Breasts with Bearnaise Sauce

The picture above shows Grilled Chicken Breast with Bearnaise Sauce, Grilled Asparagus, Sauteed Crimini Mushrooms, and Roasted Potatoes. The sauce is rather thin because, as an experiment I tried to cheat and get by with less butter. Not surprisingly it wasn't as good as the heart-attack classic recipe. A Bearnaise Sauce should have one egg yolk for every one stick of butter, for every tablespoon of cold water, as I understand...

INGREDIENTS: (serves two)

2 boneless, skinless, Chicken Breasts
Salt and Pepper to taste

Vinegar Terragon Reduction:

• 1/2 cup Kimberley Champagne Vinegar
• Terragon Stems from Jacobs Farm 3/4 oz. package
• Terragon Leaves from Jacobs Farm 3/4 oz. package
• 1 large shallot
• ~1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

2 sticks unsalted butter, clarified

Sabayon:

• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons cold water

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) This step may be done in advance. Defrost, cut up chicken, skin, debone, clean, whatever necessary so that you end up with 2 chicken breasts ready for grilling. NOTE TO SELF: If you're going to buy whole chickens, and don't plan on roasting them whole, quarter them before freezing. This makes defrosting a lot easier :)

2) This step may be done in advance. Prepare Vinegar Reduction. Wash tarragon and let dry in the bottom of a colander. Once dry, separate the terragon leaves from stems. Add stems to saucepan. Reserve a portion of the leaves to add to the sauce later. The rest may be used to make Compound Butter. Add finely chopped shallot, peppercorns, and vinegar to saucepan. Reduce until only a tablespoon of liquid is left. Strain reduction. NOTE TO SELF: Turn on the range fan before the vinegar fumes get too heady.

3) This step may be done in advance. Clarify butter by melting the 2 sticks in a medium sized saucepan. After ten minutes or so the butter will no longer be frothy and milk solids will have started to settle on the bottom of the pan. Strain through a metal strainer lined with cheesecloth.

4) Preheat cast-iron grill. The chicken breasts should be at room temperature by now. Dab a folded paper napkin with oil and with tongs rub onto the grill. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place chickens, presentation side down, on the grill. After eight or ten minutes or so, flip the breasts.

5) Prepare the Sabayon. Preheat a range burner at medium heat. Put 2 egg yolks and 2 teaspoons of cold water in a mixing bowl. Whisk for about a minute until the yolks are frothy. Take a folded up paper napkin and use this to hold the mixing bowl. Place the mixing bowl directly over the hot range burner, whisking constantly. After a minute or so the egg yolks will suddenly thicken. Remove from heat and continue whisking, a minute or so, until the mixing bowl has cooled somewhat. The sabayon should be smooth and airy. If it is grainy, start over again with another batch of egg yolks.

6) Slowly drizzle clarified butter, then the terragon-vinegar reduction in the sabayon, whisking all the time. Chop reserved terragon leaves and add to the sauce. The Bearnaise sauce is done and may be spooned over Chicken breasts as soon as they are done grilling.