There are a lot of eggs benedict videos out there. All of them can show you how to poach
an egg and emulsify a sauce, but eggs benedict is more than the sum of its parts. It’s
not only about the technique, but also about the strategy to get it all to the table hot
for all those friends and family that you invited for brunch. With the eggs, the challenge
is scaling up. How do you poach a dozen eggs as easily as 2? And with the hollandaise the
challenge is scaling down. Making this sauce for 2 servings is really tricky. So today
we’ll solve all those problems and turn you into a brunch master whether you are cooking
for 1 or 12.
Let’s go through each component in detail first and then we’ll put it all together
into a few different game plans depending on how many people you are serving.
There are 2 key techniques here. Strain the runny white and use a skillet instead of a
pot. The less the egg travels, the more intact it stays.
Your eggs have 2 types of white. The jelly white and the runny white. The runny white
tends to cause a huge mess in your pot. You were hoping for poached eggs, but instead
you got the egg drop soup. We don’t want that. That’s why it’s best to strain it.
The fresher your eggs, the more jelly white you have. If your eggs are really old, all
the white will be runny and the eggs won’t poach well. But you really don’t need to
stress out about the freshness. As long as your eggs haven’t been in your fridge for
more than a couple of weeks, they should work fine. It’s also good to keep in mind that
some egg varieties, like the blue eggs tend to have somewhat runny whites no matter how
fresh they are, so I would avoid them for poaching.
You have 2 options for straining the runny white. A regular colander, that you probably
already have and a Chinese colander, that you probably don’t have, but can get on
amazon. The Chinese colander is slightly easier to use because it allows you to get all the
eggs in and out of the skillet at the same time, but either tool will produce perfect
eggs.
Bring 1 and a third inches of water to a simmer in a 12 inch skillet. It doesn’t need to
be a non-stick skillet. Stainless works fine. No need for vinegar. In small quantities vinegar
doesn’t help, and in large quantities it tastes bad. Just put in the salt so that your
eggs are well seasoned.
Wiping the Chinese colander with an oiled paper towel will make it easier to wash, but
it’s not a biggie if you forget. The eggs will come out just fine. If you are using
a regular colander, no need to oil it since you won’t be cooking the eggs in it. Place
the colander on a plate. I’ll elevate mine with this thingy to make it easier for you
to see what’s happening, but for most plates that’s not necessary since the rim of the
plate will elevate the colander enough for the runny white to drain. If you are worried
about the plate overflowing, do it in the sink.
How you crack the eggs makes a huge difference. Tap the egg on the counter until you get a
little indent and then hold it right on top of the bowl where it’s going. We want to
disturb the egg as little as possible. Then hold the bowl very low over the colander and
place the egg in. This temporary bowl is only for people who are nervous about breaking
the yolks. If you are pretty good with eggs, you really don’t need the temporary bowl.
Just don’t shove your thumbs into the egg, and your yolks will come out intact. I go
straight into the colander. If one of the yolks breaks, it’s not a biggy, just add
another egg. If you want to get good at this, buy a dozen of cheap eggs and crack all twelve
in a row.
Shimmy the colander gently to let the runny white run off and you are ready to poach.
You don’t need to wait for every last drop to drain. The eggs can sit like this for about
an hour before you cook them assuming your colander holes are not huge. If they are huge,
this method probably won’t work anyway, so I would just crack your eggs into a bowl
and trim the runny white after cooking.
Bring the water to an active simmer and lower the Chinese colander right into the water.
As soon as the eggs are in, set the timer for 3 minutes and regulate the heat to maintain
a bare simmer (the water should barely quiver and you shouldn’t see any big bubbles).
The eggs will be done after 3 to 5 minutes depending on their size and the exact heat
intensity. But I’d rather check too early than too late. While the eggs are cooking,
line a baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels.
To test them for doneness, use the oven mits or towels to lift the whole colander out of
the skillet. Be careful, it will be hot. Rest it on the rim of the skillet and tough the
eggs. The yolks should give you no resistance when you press -- they should feel completely
liquid. But the whites should feel set.
Get the colander out onto a paper towel and they are done.
If you are using a regular colander, bring its lip to the very surface of the water and
gently tip all the eggs in. Wait a couple of minutes for the eggs to start setting and
then gently separate them. Start with the outside eggs since they will be more set.
If one of the eggs gives you trouble, just work on the other ones and come back to it
later. To get them out use a slotted spoon and work quickly so that the eggs don’t
overcook.
Depending on your game plan, you can either serve your eggs immediately, or put them into
a bowl of cold water to cool. Then get them out of the water, place into an airtight container
and refrigerate overnight.
If you think you’ll be ready to serve within an hour and don’t want to dirty another
bowl, dump the water from the skillet, run it under cold water for a bit to cool it off,
fill it with fresh cold water and return the eggs to it. This way they can wait until you
are ready. This could be a good chance to tidy them up a bit. Though under the hollandaise
sauce no one will ever know if your egg is not perfectly oval.
When you are ready to serve them, bring your skillet back up to 130 to 140 degrees and
let your eggs sit like this for 15 minutes. At 140, neither the white nor the yolk will
change in texture at all. If you don’t have a thermometer, the water should feel barely
hotter than your hot tap water. The exact temperature doesn’t matter. If your water
cools off, just turn on the heat for a minute and cover the pan to keep in the heat.
A watery egg is no fun, so make sure you remove them to a paper towel to absorb the excess
moisture before serving.
My hollandaise requires no water bath, or blender, or a food processor. I mean you could
make it in a college dorm. But it does require a certain level of comfort with heat management,
so it’s not for everyone. You can always use my recipe in a blender if you aren’t
comfortable with that risk. The downside of the blender is that it needs at least one
and half sticks of butter, but ideally 2. Regular blenders don’t work for small quantities.
An immersion blender could work with 1 stick of butter, but it always results in a lukewarm
sauce for me and rewarming a hollandaise is asking for trouble because it will likely
break. My method allows you to go down all the way to half a stick of butter and still
end up with a warm sauce.
Instead of plain water, I use a shallot wine reduction. I got this idea from ChefSteps
years ago and the flavor of the sauce is incomparable to a regular hollandaise. When I made a video
about it in 2017, I got a lot of comments calling me a liar, because it’s not a hollandaise,
it’s a bearnaise. That’s like saying that it’s not a rectangle, it’s a square. Any
square is also a rectangle, and any bearnaise is also a hollandaise. It’s a more specialized
version of hollandaise with the addition of vinegar, shallots, and tarragon. There is
no need to show off your ability to google for the definition of the French mother sauces.
Oh look my google home knows how to do that too.
But that doesn’t mean that google home can make me brunch.
You can call this sauce whatever you want, it’s still the most delicious thing you
can put on poached eggs.
In a small pot, cover one sliced shallot with half a cup of dry white wine, give it a pinch
of salt, and simmer it very gently for about 10 minutes. When the shallots are completely
limp, strain this mixture, keeping the liquid and discarding the shallots. Measure out 3
tablespoons and return back to the pot. Of course, you can always replace it with 3 tablespoons
of water if you want a classic less interesting hollandaise. If you over-reduce, and don’t
have 3 Tablespoons, compensate with water.
This step can be done way ahead. Before you start making the sauce there are a few things
you need to get ready. Separate 2 egg yolks and let them sit at room temperature for 20
minutes. Keeping them near the stove will help them warm up. If multitasking is not
your strong suit or you are serving a lot of people, you want to be prepared to keep
your sauce hot. The safest way to do it without breaking your sauce is a little thermos. Fill
it with boiling water to warm it up for at least 10 minutes and up to 2 hours. And have
some hot water handy to thin out your sauce in the end if necessary. You’ll only need
a few tablespoons so if you have some water leftover in your kettle that’s perfect.
By the time you finish your sauce, the water will be hot, but not boiling, which is what
we want. Also have a lemon half nearby.
Cut up a stick of butter and add it to your shallot reduction. Set it over medium heat.
When the butter gets close to melting, whisk vigorously. Season to taste with salt and
whisk until there is absolutely no separation between the butter and the water. This mixture
should be hot, but not boiling, between 170 and 180 degrees. If this is your first time,
a thermometer is not a bad idea, though I don’t normally use it. When the butter is
all melted, that’s your hint that it’s time to proceed.
Take the pot off the burner and turn it off. Even if you are on a gas stove, it’s important
that it comes off since the grates will be hot. Whisk your mixture to make sure it doesn’t
start separating. Immediately add a ladleful to your eggs while whisking constantly. Add
another ladleful while whisking, and pour this egg mixture back into the pot while whisking.
Put it on low heat and whisk constantly until the sauce starts to thicken. If you are not
getting any thickening after 1 minute, raise the heat a tiny bit. After you do this once,
you’ll have a much better idea what heat setting is right for your stove and will be
able to get this sauce done very quickly. As soon as you see this texture, take it off
the burner, but keep whisking for another 30 seconds to give a pot a chance to cool
off slightly. The only reason I am still on the burner is that I can’t move my camera
and stir the pot at the same time, but I turned my heat off.
Add a few drops of lemon juice and then taste and adjust the salt and acidity. In case your
sauce ends up too thick to your liking, add the hot water a few teaspoons at a time until
you get the texture you want. Don’t forget to taste and adjust for salt. If your eggs
aren’t all plated and ready to go at this point, pour the water out of the thermos and
pour your sauce into it to keep it warm. Hollandaise is almost impossible to rewarm, but a thermos
can keep it nice and hot for 30 to 60 minutes.
Although I love this method and feel that it dirties less dishes, you could certainly
double all the ingredients and go the blender route if you are making 8 to 12 eggs. This
will give your blender plenty of volume to work with and will avoid that lukewarm sauce
situation. You just put the yolks, warm shallot reduction or warm water, lemon juice and salt
into a blender. Melt 2 sticks of butter on the stove top and get them to about 180F.
Pour the butter into a glass measuring cup. Start the blender running and slowly drizzle
in the butter. Taste and adjust for salt and acidity.
Now that we’ve learned about the big and scary components of eggs benedict, we can
learn about the fun and easy one. Mine is not the traditional ham. Instead I like to
use creamy leeks and smoked salmon. Normally I make the leaks the day before since they
taste just as good rewarmed. Trim the root ends and the green parts and rinse the outside
of the leeks really well. Cut them into 3 to 4 inch lengths, cut them in half, and if
you barely feel any sand inside, run them under water while flipping through the layers.
But if you encounter a noticeable amount of sand, cut them all up
and submerge into a bowl of cold water. Agitate them with your hands to help the sand fall
out and let them sit for a minute so that the sand can sink. Set a 10 inch skillet over
medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and wait for it to get hot. Scoop out the
leeks with a slotted spoon without disturbing the sand on the bottom and add to the skillet.
It’s ok that the leeks are wet. We are not trying to brown them. Sprinkle them with salt,
add a ¼ cup of dry white wine. Stir, cover and let them cook for about 10 minutes or
until tender. Uncover and let all the liquid evaporate. When you get a hint of browning,
add ¼ cup of heavy cream and simmer for a couple of minutes. Take off heat and adjust
for salt.
To serve the eggs, you toast the bread of your choice in a bit of butter. Top it with
leeks, smoked salmon, a poached egg, hollandaise and ta-da. Works like a charm in a video,
but how do you actually do it in real life? Let’s have a moment of silence for our food
porn shot and then I’ll tell you.
Ok, here is our first scenario. This is a good place to start. You are only cooking
for yourself and maybe one other person, so that you can get comfortable with all the
components. If you want to cut the sauce recipe in half that’s completely fine.
You can either skip the leeks or cook them the day before.
Make your shallot reduction and get all your ingredients ready for hollandaise. Bring a
small skillet to a simmer for the eggs, and strain them in a regular colander or using
a slotted spoon or don’t bother with straining if you don’t mind tidying up your eggs after
cooking. Set your oven on the lowest temperature (like
150F). Get your bread toasting and warm up the leeks.
Drop your eggs in the water. While they are poaching, assemble your toasts with leeks,
but no smoked salmon and place in the oven to keep warm. Start heating up the butter.
Get the eggs out. Put on a paper towel and put in the oven to keep warm. Finish your
sauce. And put it all together.
Now let’s talk about a more challenging scenario: a brunch for 4 to 12 people. Don’t
worry, we can do this. Here is the plan. Cook the leaks the day before.
An hour before your company arrives: Make the shallot reduction, Cut up the butter,
Squeeze the lemon, Warm up the thermos, Fill the skillet for poaching eggs with water,
Prep a baking sheet with paper towels, Separate 2 yolks for the hollandaise, Strain all the
eggs in the colander.
When your friends arrive, turn on the oven to 150 degrees. Heat up the water for eggs.
While you are waiting for it, warm up the leeks in a microwave or in a small pot. Give
one of your friends a job. Ask them to toast the bread, place it on a baking sheet, top
each toast with leeks and put it in the oven to keep warm. While they are working on that,
you make the hollandaise and put it into a thermos to keep warm. Drop the eggs into the
water. Get the toasts out of the oven and ask your helper to top each toast with smoked
salmon and put them on plates. Meanwhile your eggs should be done, so you can get them out
and dry them off. Start placing them on plates and give your helper the thermos with the
sauce so that they can follow right after you.
That’s what’s so great about eggs benedict. You don’t have to do it alone. It’s a
perfect dish to make with company and to eat with company.
Here are more very detailed culinary tutorials for you to check out and if you are ever in
the Boston area, maybe I’ll see you in one of my classes.