Miso Beurre Blanc
October 12, 2026
About this Recipe
While I love all the shades of miso and the depth and flavors it brings to ingredients, I often feel like miso recipes have been done to death. Like, I get it, add it to anything and call it the best. It’s true, but sometimes I feel like it’s a gimmick for clicks (it has really great SEO). It feels like every miso recipe in the world already exists. After over a decade in this industry, welcome to my first miso recipe!
A while back, I was enjoying a dinner at Theodora in Brooklyn. I love this spot, but it can be so impossible to get into. One solo night out, I was able to slip into the last counter spot. I enjoyed my entire meal, but afterward, my thoughts would often linger back to my entree of a dry-aged black cod, prepared over the wood-fired grill and served with a miso beurre blanc. I always know that if I get to my second or third dish of a meal and inhale it as ravenously as my first dish, that means something in the dish has taken me to the upper echelon of palate joy that supercedes any satiated state. I achieved that elation on that evening.
In this iteration of beurre blanc, I add white miso paste to the classic recipe. It adds complexity and depth to the classic flavor profile. I found it was best to add half the butter first to get the emulsification process going, then whisk in the miso to give it time to warm and dissolve, then finish with the remaining butter.
Serves 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar, plus more if needed
- One medium shallot, minced
- 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons white miso
- Kosher or sea salt
- Freshly ground black or white pepper (optional)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine wine, vinegar, and minced shallot and cook over medium heat until simmering. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture almost fully evaporates with 1 or 2 tablespoons remaining. Turn heat off.
- Working with a few cubes of butter at a time, whisk butter into the wine mixture, whisking constantly, until it melts and emulsifies. Once you’ve added half the butter, whisk in 2 tablespoons white miso. It will break apart, warm, and eventually emulsify into the sauce. Continue adding butter, whisking until the mixture has turned into a cohesive sauce. If the mixture gets cool, turn the heat on the lowest setting and continue to whisk in butter. Do not bring the butter mixture to a simmer; it will break the sauce. Heat the mixture just enough to continue the melting process and to heat the sauce enough to be served alongside warm food. You can choose to serve as-is or run the sauce through a fine mesh strainer to remove the shallot.
Learn about beurre blanc
