Eggs Benedict with Classic Hollandaise
A poached egg and warm butter sauce doing all the work — the only real skill is timing three things to land at once.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Written
Method
-
Bring a wide, deep skillet of water to a bare simmer and stir in the white vinegar.
-
Melt the butter in a small saucepan and keep it warm without letting it brown.
-
Set a bowl over a pot of barely simmering water and whisk the egg yolks with the lemon juice until pale, thick, and doubled in volume.
-
Off the heat, drizzle in the warm butter a few drops at a time, whisking constantly, until the sauce turns glossy and holds a ribbon; season with cayenne and salt and set it somewhere warm, not hot.
-
Crack each egg into a small cup, swirl the simmering water into a gentle whirlpool, and slide the egg in; poach 3 minutes, until the white is fully set and the yolk still wobbles.
-
Lift each egg out with a slotted spoon and rest it on a paper towel while you finish the rest.
-
Toast the muffin halves and sear the Canadian bacon in a hot dry pan until the edges color, about 2 minutes.
-
Stack muffin, bacon, and a poached egg, spoon the hollandaise over the top, and finish with chives.
Notes
Hollandaise is just an emulsion, and it only breaks two ways: butter added too fast, or the bowl gone too hot. If it splits into puddles of fat, pull it off the heat, whisk in a teaspoon of hot water, and it usually comes back together. If it doesn’t, start a fresh yolk in a clean bowl and drizzle the broken sauce in the same way you did the butter.
Poach the eggs up to a few hours ahead and hold them in a bowl of ice water — a 30-second dunk back in the simmering water at assembly time reheats them without pushing the yolk past soft. Canadian bacon is the classic, but a handful of wilted spinach or a few folds of smoked salmon underneath works just as well.