Hollandaise Sauce

Tags: sauces

A Little Personal History:

One of my favorite brunch dishes is Eggs Benedict. While you can get store bought packages of Hollandaise mix, I really like making the sauce from scratch, it’s always so much better. Here’s my personal favorite with a couple different ways to prepare it.

Description:

Hollandaise is a warm sauce of melted butter and lemon juice using egg yolk to bind them. This sauce is not your classic Hollandaise but tastes the same and has yet to let me down. Another plus, no double boiler is required.

Categories:	Sauce
Servings:	1 cup
Time:	– Preparation:   10 minutes – Cooking:         20 minutes
Equipment:	Measuring cups & spoons, whisk; medium sauce pan, OR blender OR large sauce pan and medium glass or metal mixing bowl
Difficulty:	Stove Top = Easy, Blender = Easy, Classic = Takes a little practice

Ingredients:

• 3 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• ¾ cup Clarified Butter

Procedure (Stove Top – Preferred Method):

1. Separate egg yolks from whites, add to medium sauce pan (refrigerate or freeze whites for other uses)
2. Put lemon juice, milk, sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper into saucepan and whisk thoroughly
3. Place saucepan on low heat, whisking constantly
4. When streaks form with your whisk in bottom of pan add clarified butter, a tablespoon at a time as it melts
5. Sauce will thicken as butter is added, when sauce is desired thickness, remove from heat and serve.

Procedure (Blender):

Ingredient Substitutions: Use the above ingredients but substitute unsalted butter for clarified butter and cold water for milk.

1. Combine egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, pepper , cayenne pepper, sugar and water in blender. Blend 10 seconds at high.
2. Melt butter over medium low heat. Don’t let it burn.
3. As blender is running, add hot butter in a steady stream until mixture thickens (20 seconds). Serve immediately.

Procedure (Classic):

Ingredient Substitutions: Use the above ingredients but substitute unsalted butter for clarified butter and cold water for milk

1. Pour about an inch of water into a large saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium heat, and reduce the heat to low.
2. While water simmers, place egg yolks and water in a medium glass/metal mixing bowl and whisk until mixture lightens in color (1-2 minutes). Add the sugar, salt, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper and whisk for another 30 seconds.
3. Place the mixing bowl over the simmering water and whisk for 3 to 5 minutes, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
4. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and gradually add the butter one small piece at a time, and whisk until the butter is incorporated. Place the bowl back over the simmering water occasionally to the melt the added butter.
5. when sauce is desired thickness, remove from heat and serve immediately.

Advanced Preparation:

• Step 1 – 2 (stove top method) can be prepared up to a couple hours in advance.

Tips, Notes, and Variations:

• If any indication of burning starts, remove pan from heat and whisk rapidly. If that is not enough, dunk the pan into cold water.
• Why add milk to stove top version? Using clarified butter will allow for a better (easier) emulsion. However, much of the flavor in butter comes from milk solids. Ergo, for our preferred stove top version, I add some milk, rather than water, to get flavor back.
• This sauce should NOT be stored or refrigerated as it’s an ideal medium for bacterial growth.
• If the Hollandaise separates, it’s not a complete loss. Providing you haven’t overcooked the yolks, whisk an egg yolk in a bowl and gradually whisk “broken” Hollandaise sauce back into it. Server immediately.