What’s Better Than a Benny? An Introduction to Hollandaise.

One of my favorite breakfast foods happens to be eggs benedict or any variation of a benny, but what would an eggs benedict be without hollandaise sauce? The richness of the butter, velvet-like mouth feel that makes this sauce irresistible, and a slight acidity from the lemon juice, perfectly balanced to be used with more than just breakfast.

Hollandaise sauce is the fourth French mother sauce we will be covering in this series, and can be constructed with only a few simple ingredients. This recipe is similar to the original recipe presented by the infamous Chef Auguste Escoffier, who single handedly reinvented the way that food was prepared and served.

Today we will learn how to prepare a hollandaise, and as a bonus, I am also going to include an easy way to poach your egg for the perfect eggs benedict.

Hollandaise Sauce

-What We Need-

• 2 Egg Yolks

• 8 Ounces Unsalted Butter

• 5 Tablespoons of Filtered Water

• 2 Tablespoons of White Vinegar

• 1/2 of a Fresh Lemon

• Salt and White Pepper to Taste

• Cayenne Pepper to Taste

-Let’s Make It-

1) Let’s start out by placing our butter in a small saucepan, turn the heat on low, and let it sit there for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until you see the milk solids separate from the oils in the butter(It will look a bit foamy). Once separated gently pour the clarified portion of the butter into a bowl or ramekin, clean the milk solids from the sauce pan, and return the newly clarified butter back to the saucepan and return to low heat to keep at 125 degrees Fahrenheit.

2) It is time to make a double boiler, which is simple. Fill a medium saucepan with water about an inch off the bottom. Grab a metal mixing bowl(very important, not glass or plastic, I’ve made that mistake) and place it on top of the saucepan, and make sure the water is not touching the bottom side of your mixing bowl(We are essentially setting it up to slowly cook using steam. If the water touches the bottom of the bowl, the hollandaise will cook too fast, and end up separating or turning into scrambled eggs). Don’t start the heat just yet.

3) Combine the egg yolks, filtered water, and vinegar in the metal bowl and whisk together. Turn the heat on low to medium low, and cook the mixture while constantly stirring with your whisk until the egg yolks lighten in color and start to ribbon off the whisk. Remove your mixture from the heat.

4) Once you pull your egg yolk mixture off the heat, start introducing your clarified butter slowly while whisking constantly, until you have incorporated all of your butter. If the sauce begins to thicken too much while adding the butter, add a few drops of lemon juice to loosen your sauce.

5) Season your hollandaise sauce with salt, white pepper, lemon juice and cayenne pepper to taste. Enjoy.

*Your hollandaise sauce won’t keep long, typically only an hour or two, so use an insulated bottle or a thermos that has been pre heated to hold your sauce for up to four hours.

Easy Eggs Benedict

-What You Need-

• 2 Fresh Eggs(Size doesn’t matter in this case, but freshness will affect how your egg turns out.)

• 2 Tablespoons of White Vinegar

• 1 English Muffin

• 2 Thick Slices of Ham or Canadian Bacon(Use the open end of a large rimmed, straight walled glass to cut a perfect circle out of your ham.)

• Freshly made Hollandaise Sauce.

-Let’s Make It-

1) First thing’s first, preheat a medium pot filled 3/4 of the way up with water and bring to a boil. Split and place your English muffin in the toaster, or toaster oven to your desired doneness. Prepare the Ham by preheating a small frying pan and frying each side of the ham until it it hot, and has a little bit of color to it.

2) Once your water has started to boil, kick the heat down a little bit so that it is barely simmering, and add your vinegar to the water(Both the freshness of the eggs and the vinegar help prevent the egg whites from getting string like in the poaching bath).

3) Crack your eggs one at a time into a ladle, and slowly lower the ladle into the poaching bath and gently tip the egg into the water, and repeat for the second egg. The egg should roll out of the ladle and not spread in the poaching bath.

4) Poach your eggs for about five minutes, or until the whites have firmed up, but the yolks are still soft. you can check the doneness by gently touching the egg white with the ladle than you used to place the egg in the bath.

5) Once fully cooked, gently remove your poached egg from the water bath with your ladle, and place in a regular bowl that has been chilled with ice(The cold bowl will halt the cooking of the egg, and keep the yolk from solidifying, without sucking all of the heat out of the egg).

6) Place your toasted English muffin Halves, split side up on your plate, followed by the ham, your poached egg, and a generous helping of the hollandaise sauce you prepared. Enjoy.

*You can substitute the ham for some cooked spinach, a slice of tomato(always salt your tomatoes, trust me), and a little pancetta or small bits of bacon for a fresh tasting benny. Also try substituting for a little corned beef hash, or just about any veggie combo you can think of.

Now that we know how to make hollandaise, and a very quick and easy eggs benedict, I hope you will try this sauce on other dishes. There are other ways of preparing a hollandaise with wine, or different herbs and spices, so if you love the original, try one of the variations on it. Thank you all for getting this far, and as always…

Stay Healthy. Stay Happy. Stay Cooking.