How to Make Eggs Benedict (with Pictures)

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

In the United States, eggs Benedict are a must for brunches, New Year's morning, or for breakfast with someone special. The secret to preparing them well is hollandaise sauce, which can make a difference. Learn to cook this dish: you will impress friends and family with your great culinary talent.

Ingrediants

For 2 servings

• Hollandaise sauce:

  • 4 yolks
  • 15 ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 115 g of butter, cut into cubes
  • salt
  • Cayenne pepper

• Benedict eggs:

  • 4 slices of Canadian bacon (if you can't get it, use 4 slices of pork loin)
  • 2 English muffins cut in half
  • 5 ml of white vinegar (optional)
  • 4 eggs
  • Salt and pepper to your liking
  • 3-4 green olives stuffed with sliced allspice or 3-4 sliced black olives
  • Paprika to sprinkle
  • Fresh parsley to garnish the dish

  Steps

  Part 1 of 3: Making the Hollandaise Sauce

  

  Step 1. Melt the butter

  Heat it in a large skillet and let it melt almost completely. Take it off the heat so it cools down as you work on the next step.

  If you want to create a slightly more elaborate dish, prepare the ghee by skimming partially or totally the milk solids. Removal will make the sauce thicker, but less rich. Alternatively, let them settle to the bottom of the pan and decide what to do with them when it comes time to drain the butter

  

  Step 2. Prepare the water bath

  If you do not have a special saucepan for the bain marie, you just need to fill a classic saucepan with about 1/3 of water and heat it until you see bubbles forming. The water should just boil. Place a heat-resistant metal or glass bowl on top of the pot, without it touching the water. The bowl should fit the size of the pot perfectly. Indirect heat reduces the risk of the sauce burning or losing its texture.

  

  Step 3. Beat the egg yolks and lemon juice

  Pour 4 egg yolks and 15ml lemon juice into the double boiler bowl. Whip them constantly and vigorously until you get a frothy and lighter colored compound; during the process, the whip should leave trails in it. A skilled cook can accomplish this in a couple of minutes, but a first attempt usually takes 5-10 minutes.

  Occasionally, scrape the sides of the bowl. Egg pieces that remain fixed in one place may get scrambled

  

  Step 4. Look for signs of separation

  If the egg mixture gets too hot, it will congeal or split into solid and liquid parts. If it starts to heat up too much or a lot of steam comes out, grab the bowl with an oven mitt or tea towel. Whisk the mixture vigorously for 30 seconds to cool the eggs, then put it back on the heat.

  • The first few times you make hollandaise sauce, it can be difficult to know what the correct temperature is. To be on the safe side, do this once a minute for a few seconds.
  • If the mixture starts to clot, immediately transfer it to another bowl and quickly whip it with 15ml of ice water.

  

  Step 5. Gradually add the butter

  Pour it into the mixture, beating it constantly and vigorously. The sauce should thicken easily at first, then become more difficult to mix. When it gets to this point, pour in the butter more slowly, as overdoing it can alter its consistency. This step can take 2-5 minutes.

  Once you have gained more experience, you can add butter by ladle or even divide it into just 2 parts. You run the risk of altering the consistency of the sauce, but if you do this well, you will prepare it faster, plus it will have a lighter consistency

  

  Step 6. Measure out the spices and liquids

  Add salt and cayenne pepper to your liking. If you want the sauce to have a more pungent flavor, you can add a few more drops of lemon juice and whisk the mixture. Is it denser than you would like? Pour in some hot water and whip it.

  

  Step 7. Leave it warm

  While you prepare the rest of the dish, cover the bowl and store it in a warm place. Cold can alter the consistency of the sauce.

  If it gets too thick, add a few drops of warm water and whisk the mixture before serving

  Part 2 of 3: Prepare the Eggs Benedict

  

  Step 1. Fry the Canadian bacon or pork loin slices

  Cook the meat in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook it for a few minutes, turning it occasionally. When it starts to turn golden, it will be ready. Leave it in the pan to keep it warm.

  Other types of cured meats, such as ham, are also good

  

  Step 2. Toast the English muffins

  Cut each scone in half and lay it on a baking sheet, with the cut sides facing up. Grease them lightly, set the oven to grill and let them toast until golden brown.

  

  Step 3. Simmer the water

  Fill a large non-stick saucepan or shallow pan with water halfway. Just bring it to a boil or wait for the thermometer to reach a temperature of around 70-80 ° C.

  If you want, add 5ml of white vinegar to the water. This helps the egg white to stick together instead of dispersing into the liquid, but this can alter its texture and flavor

  

  Step 4. Add the eggs

  Break an egg into a small bowl, trying not to split the yolk. Gently lower the rim of the bowl into the water, letting some liquid enter the bowl. Turn the bowl over to slide the egg into the water. Repeat quickly with the remaining eggs.

  • If the water is boiling, before adding the egg, stir it once with a spoon to dampen it. Don't do this once you've already put the egg inside.
  • If the pot is small, only cook 2-3 eggs at a time. By putting too many of them, they will unite into one cluster.

  

  Step 5. Prepare the poached eggs

  Let them cook for 3 and a half minutes: the egg white will have to thicken, while the yolk will remain soft. Remove the egg from the water with a slotted spoon, letting it drain.

  

  Step 6. Compose the dish

  Place 1 or 2 muffin halves on each plate. Spread a slice of bacon on the surface of each half, then add a poached egg. Generously pour the hollandaise sauce over the egg with a spoon. Complete with a sprinkle of paprika and 1-2 slices of olive. Garnish the dish by placing parsley on one side of the plate.

  Part 3 of 3: Variants

  

  Step 1. Prepare vegetarian Florentine eggs

  Instead of bacon, sauté the spinach until wilted, then lay it on the top of the English muffins. For this recipe, you'll need about a pound of raw spinach.

  

  Step 2. Serve the eggs with the asparagus

  Steamed asparagus goes perfectly with hollandaise sauce. Place them under the egg or on one side of the plate and pour the sauce over the entire dish. For a more summery flavor, season with finely chopped basil.

  

  Step 3. Use American style bacon and tomatoes

  The recipe called Eggs Blackstone involves using a crunchy and fatty bacon (also called striped bacon), instead of the Canadian one. Place a slice of raw ripe tomato between the muffin and bacon.

  

  Step 4. Replace the meat with smoked salmon

  Lemon goes very well with fish. Season the salmon with a handful of finely chopped dill, to incorporate into the ready-made hollandaise sauce.

  Advice

  • Use fresh poached eggs for a better result. As an egg approaches its expiration date, the quality of the egg white decreases, so when poached it doesn't look the best.
  • If the sauce loses its texture and you can't whisk it back to its original shape, pour it into a blender. Scratching it off the bowl will be annoying, but it's better than losing it.