Eggs Benedict: Classic, Delicious, Surprisingly Challenging

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An English muffin topped with cooked ham, two poached eggs and a generous portion of hollandaise sauce: this is the classic recipe for the Eggs Benedict, a ubiquitous savory dish that can be found on brunch menus all around the world, and often enjoyed alongside a delicious and more-or-less adult beverage.

What makes the Benedict truly unique is the crazy combination: humble eggs, ham and bread, topped with a fancy hollandaise, one of the five mother sauces in traditional French cuisine, consisting of an emulsion of egg yolk, melted butter and lemon juice, seasoned with salt, pepper and Cayenne pepper. Slightly tricky to master; this silky, creamy sauce gives a luscious feel to the otherwise simple list of ingredients – and that’s the beauty of it.

A little history. Sort of.

The origin of the indulgent dish is unclear, as several claims have been made by different “Benedicts”, without historians agreeing on a particular one. They all, however, place the birth of ‘eggs benny’ in the United States, more precisely in New York, between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.

The restaurant Delmonico‘s, located in Manhattan, New York since 1837, states on their menu that the Eggs Benedict Recipe was created “at [their] stove.” According to them, in the 1860’s, a regular patron of the restaurant, Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, finding nothing to her liking and wanting something new to eat for lunch, discussed this with Delmonico’s Chef Charles Ranhofer (1836-1899), Ranhofer came up with Eggs Benedict.

There are lot’s more stories revolving around this iconic dish… here’s my favorite: Eggs Benedict was a fancy cure for some rich dude’s really bad hangover, made by the Waldorf Astoria Hotel for retired Wall Street Broker Lemuel Benedict back in the ’40s.

Now let’s cook.

Whatever the source, Eggs Benedict is amazing. It does require a couple of tricky steps to get it right though: poaching an egg perfectly and making one of the five mother sauces: Hollandaise. Don’t worry. Step-by-step recipes are here.

Eggs Royale

Variations

One Last thing before we jump into the process: if you can get the basic version of Eggs Benedict right, you can make so MANY fantastic variations. Here are just a few:

11 of the Hundreds of Eggs Benedict Variations
  • Add spinach and you get Eggs Florentine
  • Replace the ham with smoked salmon and you get Eggs Royale
  • Replace the ham with a crab cake and you get Eggs Chesapeake
  • Replace the ham with thick bacon and a slice of tomato (my favorite) and you get Eggs Blackstone
  • Replace the Hollandaise with Bechamel and you get Eggs Blanchard
  • Add some sliced avocado, replace the ham with chorizo sausage, and finish it with a generous dollop of Salsa? Huevos Benedictos

How to do it.

To put the dish together… all you will need is a toasted english muffin and some thick-sliced canadian ham, lightly sauteed, right before service. The real challenge is to poach the eggs correctly and to make a creamy hollandaise that will pull the whole thing together.

Here’s how you do both:

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How to poach an egg

Keyword Culinary 2, Eggs

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then reduce to low.
  • Crack the egg in a fine mesh sieve (over a small bowl) and remove the liquidy whites.
  • Transfer the egg to a small ramekin or bowl.
  • Add one tablespoon of neutral vinegar to the pot. If only cooking one egg at a time, stir to create a vortex.
  • Carefully pour the egg into the middle of the water, stir water gently to create a slight current, and set a timer for 3 minutes.
  • Once the egg is done, use a slotted spoon to remove the poached egg.
  • Dab with a paper towel to remove excess water and eat immediately.
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Hollandaise Sauce

Course Breakfast, Sauces
Cuisine French
Keyword Cooking Methods, Culinary 2, Eggs, Mother Sauce

Ingredients

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
  • Pinch cayenne
  • Pinch salt

Instructions

  • Vigorously whisk the egg yolks and lemon juice together in a stainless steel bowl until the mixture is pale yellow, thickened and doubled in volume.
  • Place the bowl over a saucepan with barely simmering water; the water must not touch the bottom of the bowl.
  • Continue to whisk rapidly. Be careful not to let the eggs get too hot or they will scramble.
  • Slowly drizzle in the melted butter and continue to whisk until the sauce is thickened and doubled in volume. Remove from heat, whisk in cayenne and salt.
  • Cover and place in a warm spot until ready to use. If the sauce gets too thick, whisk in a few drops of warm water before serving.

Notes

Troubleshooting:

A tell-tale sign of a broken hollandaise sauce is if it’s grainy in texture, the butter is pooled on top, or it’s thin in consistency. Broken sauces happen typically because the emulsion never formed in the first place, due to various causes.
  • Adding in the butter in too quickly
  • The egg yolk heated up too much and the emulsifying properties are lost
  • The yolks are overcooked and the sauce is curdled and grainy
  • The butter is too hot when it was added in

Variations:

  • Noisette Melt the butter over medium-low heat and continue to cook until it has a nutty fragrance and the milk solids have fallen to the bottom and turned golden, about 7 minutes. Skim the surface but use the golden milk solids from the bottom. Continue with the hollandaise recipe. The subtle nutty notes of the brown-butter pair beautifully with sole or flounder.
  • Béarnaise Simmer 1/4 cup white wine vinegar and 2 Tbs. dry white wine with 2 Tbs. minced shallot and 2 sprigs of fresh tarragon until reduced to 1 Tbs. of liquid. Remove the tarragon sprigs. Continue with the hollandaise recipe, using the vinegar reduction instead of the lemon juice. Finish with 2Tbs. chopped fresh tarragon instead of the lemon zest. This is a classic served with a pan-seared filet mignon.