Eggs Benedict

I always thought Eggs Benedict were so fancy and almost impossible to make at home. For many years, I didn’t even consider making it. One day, I decided to give it a try, just to see what it tasted like. It was either my husband’s birthday or our Anniversary and I wanted to make something special for breakfast. It was so much easier than I had imagined! Most of all, the taste blew me away. I had never had poached eggs before that. They are velvety and smooth, and much softer than hard boiled eggs. The hollandaise sauce is a dream – so luscious and creamy. It really is a perfect match for poached eggs. 

Fill a large, deep skillet almost to the rim with water. You want there to be enough water to completely cover the eggs and they do not stick to the bottom of the pan.  Add 1 Tablespoon of regular white vinegar. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce it to a simmer before adding the eggs. Carefully break each egg into a separate custard cup or small mug. Drop carefully into the simmering water. Keep the water at  a gentle simmer. I usually cook 4 eggs at a time. Try to remember which ones you put in first, so you can take them out in the same order you put the eggs in the water. Take off the heat, cover and cook the eggs for about 5 minutes, depending on how you like your yolks. Scoop the eggs out with a slotted spoon. This is an easy way to check for doneness – tap the egg with your finger and you’ll be able to tell if the yolk is runny, medium or hard.

When I made this dish for my family when they were visiting, I made all types of eggs, since they all like them different. Half of my family members don’t want to see even a smidge of runny yolk, so I cooked the yolk until it was hard. The eggs will still be pretty soft, even though they are completely cooked. My dad and youngest sister like their yolks runny and Sergi and I like them medium. Ha ha. This was so easy to adjust to everyone’s liking, though.

Place the cooked eggs on a paper towel to drain. Use a small spoon to trim the edges so the eggs look neater.

Poached eggs can be refrigerated in water for up to 8 hours, then reheated in hot water.

Don’t boil the eggs. You only need about 30 seconds to a minute to reheat.  Very convenient. This will make Eggs Benedict so easy for a relaxing weekend or even when serving this to guests.

You do need to serve the Hollandaise Sauce as soon as you make it, though. I usually have the eggs poached, and have my husband or whoever’s visiting toast the muffins and top them with Canadian Bacon while I make the sauce. If you’re making a large batch, split the English muffins and broil them for a few minutes in the oven on a baking sheet. This is the fastest and most convenient way. By the way, Canadian Bacon is not technically bacon. It tastes more like ham. It is salted and smoked pork loin, and is very lean. I love Canadian Bacon and have it all the time for sandwiches. You can substitute ham or any other deli that you like. You can also use sliced avocado or steamed or roasted asparagus. It’s a great addition to poached egg.

This Hollandaise sauce is from an America’s Test Kitchen cookbook, and it’s basically foolproof. It’s so easy, takes only a few minutes to make and turns out perfectly every time I make it.

Blend the egg yolks and lemon juice in a blender until the mixture is frothy, about 10 seconds. Keep the blender running and slowly pour in half of the warm, melted butter. Cover up the top of the blender with a towel, so you and your kitchen don’t get splattered. At this point the sauce should be thick. Add a few teaspoons of hot water and continue to slowly pour in the rest of the butter, while keeping the blender running, about 1 minute. Add more hot water, about a teaspoon at a time, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Season with salt and pepper. (I like my sauce to be on the thinner side, so I add a bit more water. If you like your Hollandaise to be luscious and creamy add less water.) If you need to keep the sauce warm, pour it into a heatproof bowl, cover with aluminum foil and place it into a larger bowl full of very hot water. Don’t keep the sauce for more than an hour – it will separate and won’t be very tasty. Place the poached eggs on top of the toasted muffins and Canadian bacon and spoon sauce over the eggs. Garnish with chives or minced parsley. 

Eggs Benedict
 
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Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • Full skillet water
  • 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
  • 8 eggs
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 8 slices Canadian bacon
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 sticks butter, melted and still warm
  • 1-2 Tablespoons hot water
  • salt, pepper
  • chives, parsley, minced, for garnishing, optional
Instructions
  1. Fill a large, deep skillet almost to the rim with water. You want there to be enough water to completely cover the eggs and they do not stick to the bottom of the pan. Add 1 Tablespoon of regular white vinegar. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce it to a simmer before adding the eggs.
  2. Carefully break each egg into a separate custard cup or small mug. Drop carefully into the simmering water. Keep the water at a gentle simmer. I usually cook 4 eggs at a time. Try to remember which ones you put in first, so you can take them out in the same order you put the eggs in the water.
  3. Take off the heat, cover and cook the eggs for about 5 minutes, depending on how you like your yolks. Scoop the eggs out with a slotted spoon. This is an easy way to check for doneness - tap the egg with your finger and you'll be able to tell if the yolk is runny, medium or hard.
  4. Place the cooked eggs on a paper towel to drain. Use a small spoon to trim the edges so the eggs look neater.
  5. Make the sauce:
  6. Blend the egg yolks and lemon juice in a blender until the mixture is frothy, about 10 seconds.
  7. While you are making the sauce, have someone else toast the English muffins and top with 2 slices of Canadian bacon on each muffin half.
  8. Keep the blender running and slowly pour in half of the warm, melted butter. Cover up the top of the blender with a towel, so you and your kitchen don't get splattered. At this point the sauce should be thick.
  9. Add a few teaspoons of hot water and continue to slowly pour in the rest of the butter, while keeping the blender running, about 1 minute. Add more hot water, about a teaspoon at a time, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
  10. Place the poached eggs on top of the toasted muffins and Canadian bacon and spoon sauce over the eggs. Garnish with chives or minced parsley.

22 Comments

  • olviya

    Olga you are AWESOME! My husband loves EB and I’ve been too scared to make it. Thanks for the photos/wonderful instructions. I look forward to giving this a whirl over the weekend. P.S. I just made your egg muffins a few weeks ago & they were a hit:)

    Keep up the great work! It’s appreciated.

      • Natasha

        I wanted to make the sauce the night before, will that work? And for some reason my sauce didnt thicken, I was using immersion blender and maybe the butter was to warm?

        • olgak7

          Hi Natasha,
          The sauce should not be made in advance. When you reheat it, it will most likely separate. Most of the time, when the sauce doesn’t thicken, it’s because the melted butter isn’t added slowly enough. Hollandaise sauce is not the easiest of sauces, so it may take a bit pf practice to get it to turn out correctly. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you this time.

  • Milana

    These are so amazing! Can’t wait to cook for my hubby! Thank you Olga for the step-by-step recipes! You’re the best!

  • Natalie

    Olga,
    This recipe makes EB making look easier than I thought. My only question is if you don’t keep the blender running (mine’s a Ninja I have to keep pressing the lid (more like pulsing kind of thing and it has a small opening at the spout only) but more like pulsing would be it enough? I printed your oladii recipe and the black bread today. Yummo! I don’t eat American bread, it’s been 18 years and we don’t have a Whole Foods or a nice European style bakery to satisfy my cravings. So, I’ve been baking my own bread for years. But I am on a new baking spree now!

    • olgak7

      Hi Natalie,
      For the sauce, you can mix it by pulsing, just add the butter a little bit at a time, not all at once.
      Good for you that you’re baking your own bread. I love homemade bread, although I bake it a lot less often since I work full time:(.

  • Nelli

    Hello Olga, thank you for this simple recipe. i am hesitant to serve raw egg yolks though. do you know if the recipe could be modified to exclude raw ingredient? many thanks for your advice.

    • olgak7

      Adding a splash of vinegar to the poaching water will help the egg whites set quicker; vinegar encourages the proteins (egg whites) to coagulate more quickly. You can skip this step, but it’s more likely that more of your egg whites will disperse int he water before setting.

  • Molly

    I’ve been making the blender Hollandaise from ATK for several years now. It is money! My two tips are:

    1. Use quality butter. My husband picked up cheap butter once & the sauce was bitter. Ruined it. I think it was actually the blender Bearnaise, but same principle.

    2. Don’t take the “plug” off the top of the blender. I pull mine out & then turn it so the tabs that lock it in place are holding it up. That leaves two small holes. I slowly pour the butter onto the lid at one of the holes & it slowly drizzles into the blender. There are two benefits to this. A slow incorporation of the butter and no mess!! I figured this out after a few messes.

  • Molly

    Another comment! We use the leftover hollandaise & Bearnaise on vegetables, chicken or burgers. Just smear it on like butter. We don’t reheat because it would break.

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