Content

• Ingredients
• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Making the Hollandaise sauce
• Part 2 of 3: Making eggs Benedict
• Part 3 of 3: Variations
• Necessities
• Tips
• Warnings

Eggs Benedict is a classic at Sunday brunch, on a New Year's morning or a morning with that special someone in your life. The hollandaise sauce can make or break this dish. If you master the sauce, you will certainly impress your family or guests with your culinary talent.

Ingredients

For 2 servings

• For the hollandaise sauce:
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) of freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 piece (½ cup / 115g) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
  • salt
  • Cayenne pepper
• For the Eggs Benedict:
  • 4 slices of bacon
  • 2 English muffins, in half
  • 1 teaspoon (5ml) white wine vinegar (optional)
  • 4 eggs
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3-4 sliced ​​green olives with chilli or black olives
  • Paprika for powder
  • Fresh parsley, for garnish

To step

Part 1 of 3: Making the Hollandaise sauce

1. Melt the butter. Heat the butter in a large pan until there are only a few small pieces of butter left. Remove the pan from the heat to allow it to cool while you move on to the next step.
   • If you want to do it extra fancy, prep the butter by skimming some or all of the milk solids. This will make the sauce thicker, but less full of flavor. Alternatively, let it settle to the bottom of the pan and decide what to do with it when you need to pour it.
2. Prepare an aubainmarie pan. If you don't have such a pan, fill a pan to ⅓ with water and heat it up until you see thin streams of bubbles appear. Then place a pan or heat-resistant bowl (metal or glass) snugly on top of the pan, without touching the water. This indirect heat reduces the risk of your sauce burning and curling.
3. Beat the egg yolks and lemon juice together. Add four egg yolks and 1 tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice to the aubain marie. Beat vigorously and continuously until the mixture becomes foamy and lighter in color and the whisk leaves traces in the mixture. An experienced chef can do this in a minute or two, but 5-10 minutes is common on a first try.
   • Also scrape the bottom sides of the bowl every now and then. Any egg left behind can solidify.
4. Watch for signs that the mixture will curdle. If the egg mixture gets too hot, it will curdle or "split" into solid and liquid. If it starts to feel too hot or steams too hot or heavily, remove the bowl from the heat with an oven mitt or dry towel. Beat vigorously for 30 seconds to cool the eggs, then return the mixture to the heat.
   • The first few times you make hollandaise, it can be difficult to maintain the right temperature. To be on the safe side, check this every minute for a few seconds.
   • If the mixture starts to curdle, immediately scrape it into another bowl and quickly beat it with 1 tablespoon (15ml) of ice water.
5. Add the butter gradually. Pour in the butter in a small, steady stream, beating constantly and vigorously. The sauce should thicken easily at first, then become more difficult to stir. If this happens, pour more slowly as too much butter can cause the sauce to curdle. This step can take 2–5 minutes.
   • Once you are more experienced you can spoon in the butter, or even in two large batches. This can cause the sauce to curdle, but if it succeeds you will have a hollandaise faster that is also lighter.
6. Add spices and moisture as desired. Stir in salt and cayenne pepper to taste. You can also something add more lemon juice if you want to make the taste a bit more sour. If the sauce is thicker than desired, stir in some warm water.
7. Keep the sauce in a warm place. Cover the bowl and put it in a warm place until you are done with the other ingredients. Cooling it can cause the sauce to curdle more quickly.
   • If the sauce is getting too thick, stir in a few drops of warm water before serving.

Part 2 of 3: Making eggs Benedict

1. Fry the (Canadian) bacon. Heat the bacon in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Let it bake (turning occasionally) for a few minutes, until it starts to brown. Once done, leave it in the skillet to keep it warm.
   • You can also use English bacon.
2. Toast the English muffins. Cut each English muffin in half and place on a baking tray, cut side up. Lightly butter the open sides and roast them in the oven until lightly browned.
3. Bring water to a boil and reduce heat. Fill a wide cast iron skillet or shallow pan half full with water. Heat until bubbles form or until the cooking thermometer reads 71 ​​- 82ºC.
   • Optionally, add 1 teaspoon (5ml) of white wine vinegar to the water. This helps keep the protein whole, rather than separating in the water, but it can affect texture and flavor.
4. Add the eggs. Break an egg into a bowl, but be careful not to break the yolk. Lower the rim of the bowl gently into the water so that some water can flow into the bowl. Tilt the bowl to slide the egg into the water. Quickly repeat this with the remaining eggs.
   • If the water is already brought to a full boil, "stir" the water once with a spoon to cool it slightly before adding the egg. Do not do this if the egg is already in the water.
   • If the pan is small, only cook two or three eggs at a time. Eggs that press against each other can become a mass.
5. Poach the eggs. Let the eggs cook for 3½ minutes until the egg white is set but the yolk is still soft. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain the egg.
6. Combine everything. Place one or two half muffins on each plate. Place a slice of bacon on top of each muffin, followed by a poached egg. Spoon Hollandaise sauce generously over the eggs. Sprinkle with paprika and one or two olive wedges. Garnish the plate with parsley on the side.

Part 3 of 3: Variations

1. Make vegetarian eggs Florentine. Instead of the bacon, sauté the spinach until it softens, then top the English muffin with it. You will need about 4 cups (960ml) of raw spinach for this recipe.
2. Serve with asparagus. Steamed asparagus combines perfectly with Hollandaise sauce. Serve it as a side dish and drizzle the sauce all over the plate. Sprinkle with the finely chopped basil for a more summery flavor.
3. Use American bacon and tomatoes. "Eggs Blackstone" is made with crisp, fatty American bacon (streaky bacon) instead of Canadian bacon. Combine this with a slice of raw, juicy tomato between the muffin and bacon.
4. Replace the meat with smoked salmon. The taste of lemon works wonders with seafood. Top the salmon with a handful of finely chopped dill, and finally stir it into the Hollandaise sauce.

Necessities

• Aubainmarie or a pan and a heat-resistant bowl
• Whisk
• Baking pan
• Shallow, wide pan or a deep, wide frying pan

Tips

• Use fresh eggs for poaching - the fresher the better. When an egg is nearing the expiration date, the quality of the egg white is less good and the poached does not look as good.
• If your sauce curdles and you can't beat it back into shape, put the sauce in a blender. It's tricky to scrape the sauce out again, but that's better than throwing it away from your hollandaise sauce.

Warnings

• When making the hollandaise sauce, don't let the eggs get too hot, or you'll end up with scrambled eggs.