How do you save a sauce that has split?
You’re lovingly whisking mayonnaise or making a beurre blanc and before you know it, the sauce has split. Shit. Don’t throw your sauce away just yet—there’s a solution!
Many (French) sauces are made by emulsifying fat and liquid ingredients: the two bind together and form a beautifully thickened sauce. In mayonnaise, for example, the mustard and egg yolk act as stabilizers. Slowly pour in the oil while whisking, and you’ll get a thick, glossy sauce. When your sauce splits, the fat separates from the liquid and the sauce effectively breaks apart again. What a waste. Instead of a beautiful sauce, you’re left with a substance that looks unappetizing and gives you a greasy mouthfeel. Yuck. Here’s what to do about it.
Prevention is better than cure
In any case, you should always add the fat very slowly. That way, you prevent your sauce from splitting in the first place. But okay, it’s already too late and your sauce has split. We’re going to save it.
Add liquid
If the sauce has only just started to split, you can still save it by stopping adding fat and adding some liquid instead. Lemon juice, wine or water, for example—whatever is already in your sauce. Whisk vigorously with a whisk and within a few seconds the sauce should become thicker and emulsified again. If the sauce is still too thin, you can slowly add fat again to make it thicker.
Whisk it again
Has the sauce completely split? Then there’s nothing for it but to emulsify it all over again. Put an egg yolk and liquid of your choice in a bowl and stir with a whisk while gradually pouring in the broken sauce. Really slowly, otherwise it will split again in no time. If all goes well, a new emulsion will form that stays nice and firm.
Beyond saving
Is it a warm sauce that split because the eggs coagulated? Then there’s no way back. Sorry.
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