Hello again, my friends! It's been a few days since my last food tirade, but this one is well worth the wait. After a busy week at work, house projects, and getting ready for yet another busy week, I thought it was time to push the Pause button on life and settle down for a nice, warm, classic breakfast with my wife. Besides, it's cool and rainy today, so the timing was just perfect for one of my absolute favorite comfort breakfasts: Eggs Benedict.
Now, I'm well aware that some of you may be saying "wow, I love that, but it's gotta be a nightmare to make!" Not so, my friends, not so. If you break it down to the basics, Eggs Benedict is just a delicious combination of English muffins, ham or Canadian bacon, poached eggs, and Hollandaise sauce. If it helps ease your mind further, Hollandaise is just egg yolks, lemon juice, butter, hot sauce, and salt & pepper...basically.
There's really something to be said about waking up to the smell of coffee and walking into the kitchen to see a heaping plate of Benedict waiting for you, and when you sink your fork into that first gooey bite of awesomeness, it's well worth the wait.
Ok, let's get to the good part. Now, about the Hollandaise. There are a lot of different variations, but we're going to be making the basic recipe. There are a few components that are up to your individual taste, but you can certainly use too much of them. I'll attempt to steer you clear of some of the mistakes I've had to endure. Also, successfully making Eggs Benedict is all about having everything laid out ahead of time so you aren't a hot mess while you're trying to cook.
You'll need the following for 2 servings of Eggs Benedict:
-7 eggs
-1 whole lemon
-2 English muffins, sliced into halves
-4 slices of smoked or honey ham (your choice) or Canadian bacon
-A bottle of Tabasco sauce or your favorite hot sauce
-One whole stick (1/2 cup) of butter plus an extra tablespoon or two
-Salt and white pepper
-Vinegar (white or cider; I use cider)
-A double-boiler or medium saucepan/glass bowl combo; I use a saucepan with an appropriately-sized glass bowl.
-A wide-shallow pan for poaching eggs
-A slotted spoon
Ok, that's the majority of what you need. Now, before you do anything, fill the wide, shallow pan with 2 to 3 inches of water and add 2 tablespoons of the vinegar. Set it over medium heat and just forget about it while you do other stuff. This is the water for poaching your eggs, and it should be just below a simmer when you put the eggs in (bubbles on the bottom, but barely any rising to the surface). The vinegar is to make sure that the egg whites tighten up quickly and don't spread througout your water. Again, just put it on the heat and forget about it for now.
Now take your saucpan and fill it with about 2 to 3 inches of water and place your glass bowl in it. The bowl should fit so that it does NOT touch the water. If you need a bigger bowl, get one. If the water touches the bowl, you're in for scrambled eggs instead of a velvety Hollandaise. Trust me. Place this pan over medium-high heat and bring to a light simmer.
While your pans with water are heating up, take the glass bowl and crack three egg yolks into it. Doesn't matter if there's a tiny bit of white, but keep as much of the white out as you can. Then add about a tablespoon and a half of cold water. Whisk this until it's nice and frothy, about a minute or two. After you've got a nice, frothy mix, set it aside for a moment. In a heatproof bowl or measuring cup, melt your butter in the microwave. Use 20 second increments to keep it from popping all over the inside. Once it's liquid, remove and let it cool to what you'd call "warm" but not "hot." With a spoon, remove the top layer of white-ish butter funk. You want the butter as clear as possible, but it doesn't need to be 100% perfect.
As the butter cools, take the bowl with the egg mixture and place it over the saucepan with the simmering water. You want to avoid a full-on boil or you'll have trouble with your eggs thickening too quickly. While over the heat, whisk your eggs quickly and continuously until they thicken up to almost the consistency of shaving cream, about 3 to 4 minutes. Don't let them get that firm...just a little looser than that. Once the eggs are there, remove from the heat and keep whisking to dissipate the heat. If you're not careful, the residual heat with just scramble the eggs anyway.
Now take your butter, hopefully it's "warm" by now, and very slowly add it while continuing to whisk. The mixture will begin to get smooth and creamy. You're almost there! Once all the butter is incorporated, cut your lemon and squeeze the juice into a bowl. DO NOT ADD THE JUICE TO THE MIX YET!!! Trust me, I've had to take too many mulligans because I put too much lemon juice in. This is one of the ingredients that can definitely be overdone. Start with one TEASPOON, and work up from there, tasting as you go. DON'T ADD MORE THAN 3 TEASPOONS TO THIS AMOUNT OF SAUCE (or you'll be sorry). Next, add about 5 to 7 shakes of your hot sauce (again, to taste). The whole point of the hot sauce is to add just a little saltiness, and have a touch of heat on the end of each bite. If the sauce is spicy, you've overdone it. Now, add salt and white pepper (about two shakes) to taste and stir it all together. That's your Hollandaise. It'll take you a little longer the first few times you do it, but once you get the hang of it, it'll go a lot faster.
Now to the poached eggs. Hopefully you have your water just below a simmer right now. What I like to do is crack the eggs individually into a custard cup and slide them into the water. Within a couple seconds, you should see the whites start to turn...you guessed it...white. If they sink to the bottom, just leave them alone. Not a big deal. Let them sit in their hot water bath for about 5 minutes, or until they are white and relatively firm all the way around. Give the pan a shake to test the firmness of the yolk. Once you're satisfied, use a slotted spoon to CAREFULLY remove them from the water and onto a plate lined with paper towels. If the yolk breaks, you can always do one over. This is definitely more of an art than a science. You'll probably wreck a few eggs before you get the hang of it. I did :)
Once you're ready to put together the breakfast of the century, toast your English muffins, add a folded slice of ham to each half, CAREFULLY place an egg on each, and top with Hollandaise sauce. Then pour yourself a hot cup of coffee, proudly strut around in front of your spouse or significant other to fish for compliments, and then dig in.
That's it! As with anything, this one gets better with practice. There are a lot of things to keep track of, but this one's well worth the effort. Enjoy your breakfast, my friends, and please feel free to share comments of your experience, or things you think make this gem better.
Until next time!
~Aaron
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