Gribiche Sauce Origins
Gribiche sauce dates back to the early 20th century when the mother sauces were established by French chefs Marie Antoine-Carême and Auguste Escoffier. Although gribiche sauce is not considered a foundational sauce in French cuisine, it originates as a variant of the egg-based mother sauce hollandaise. It has been adapted and modified by chefs, but the true essence of gribiche remains finely chopped hard-boiled eggs mixed with mustard, herbs, and capers for an added bit of tanginess.
How to use Gribiche Sauce
I’ve run a variation in the past called Asparagus Mimosa, which uses champagne vinegar, orange juice, and orange zest among the ingredients. Gribiche Sauce is great with cured meats, broiled fish as well as vegetables, as shown here. I’ve even seen gribiche as an informal dip served with warm baguettes. If you’re a fan of batter-fried fish, this sauce also makes an upscale version of tartar sauce. The famous Chef Thomas Keller often serves sauce gribiche with duck fat roasted oven potatoes. In this version, I’m serving the gribiche sauce with steamed asparagus.
A typical dinner scene at my house. Fresh heirloom tomato and basil (Caprese salad) from the yard with steamed Asparagus with Gribiche, broiled Alaskan sablefish in lemon, butter, and white wine.
Easy peeled hard-boiled eggs are pretty simple to master. Check out the post (of the same name) in this blog.
To make the sauce separate the lightly cooked yolks from the egg whites. Tip* It’s easiest to quarter the hard-boiled eggs to get the yolks out.
Place the egg yolks in the work bowl of a food processor or a mortar and pestle. Reserve the egg whites to add to the sauce at the end!
From my garden, I clipped some parsley, tarragon, and scallions. Of course, you can use chives as well.
Mince the fresh herbs and reserve. Also, I finely chopped some pickled French cornichons and large caper berries.
While any good quality dijon mustard will do, and at times I do like to make my own, but In a pinch, anything made by Edmond Fallot is good. Add the ingredients to the bowl of a food processor, except for the oil. While the food processor is running, slowly add the oil into the mixture. Check the seasonings and place the sauce gribiche into a serving dish.
I like to serve some of the sauce on the side so anyone can dab it on a piece of fish or meat as well. The sauce will last in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Keep the gribiche sauce in a container with a tight-fitting lid.
Tender young stalks of steamed asparagus with gribiche sauce. Delicious!
Give gribiche sauce a try!
Asparagus with Gribiche Sauce
Equipment
- mixing bowls
- whisk
- food processor (optional)
- measuring cups and spoons
- sharp chef knife
- wire rack (optional) for pushing eggs through to dice
- cutting board
- medium-sized pot with a tight-fitting lid
- steam rack (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 bunch asparagus, steamed with a woody lower part removed
- 4 whole eggs yolks cooked from hard-boiled eggs
- 2 whole egg whites, cooked from hard-boiled eggs, diced and reserved (Add the boiled egg whites to the sauce at the end.)
- 1 tsp mustard, dijon or pommeray style
- 1 cup oil, grapeseed (Any neutral oil will work avocado, canola, vegetable, sunflower)
- 1 tbsp vinegar, white wine (Some recipes prefer red wine vinegar or champagne vinegar)
- 2 tbsp capers, drained and chopped
- 2 tbsp cornichons, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp chives, fresh, finely minced
- 1 tbsp tarragon, fresh, finely minced
- 1 tbsp parsley, fresh, finely minced
- ¼ tsp salt, kosher or sea
- ⅛ tsp pepper, black freshly ground
Instructions
Prepare the Boiled/Steamed eggs
- I have a post on properly making boiled or steamed eggs in this blog. Follow the link HERE.
- Peel and separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Add the egg yolks to the bowl of a food processor. Finely dice the egg whites and reserve. (Tip* If you have a wire cooling rack, you can pass the egg white through by using the palm of your hand. It will quickly dice the eggs. Be sure to have a bowl or surface underneath to catch the chopped egg.)
Prepping the Ingredients
- Gather and measure the ingredients you need. Set up a food processor to incorporate them together.
- Using a knife and cutting board, chop the herbs and vegetables (capers, cornichons, chives, tarragon, and parsley). Add these to the work bowl of the food processor along with the egg yolks, vinegar, and dijon mustard.
- Turn on the food processor and slowly add the oil in a thin stream to the mixture. (Don't rush the emulsification with the oil. Too much fat, too quickly, and the sauce will break.) Once all the oil is incorporated, remove the sauce from the work bowl into a mixing bowl. Add the reserved diced egg whites and stir to combine. Add the salt and pepper to taste. For a slight spicer, the product adds a dash or two of Tabasco-style hot sauce, optional.
- You can serve the sauce immediately or store it in a container with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator. The sauce is great on steamed vegetables, fish, chicken, or beef. The sauce will keep fresh for 4-5 days sealed in the refrigerator.