There’s something exciting about having a day of absolutely nothing to do. It means taking your time getting out of bed, drinking your coffee slowly, savoring the bits of the early morning sun. It also means spending time cooking the breakfast you really want. And this weekend, I was craving eggs benedict.
My love for eggs benedict starts with my father—the unofficial king of eggs benedict. His hollandaise sauce is so good, that every time my brothers and I would be out at a restaurant, we couldn’t order eggs benedict because the sauce would honestly never come close to Dad’s. His hollandaise is perfectly creamy, perfectly buttery. So I tried to do him justice by making a sauce similar (but not identical—that recipe is safe with him).
However, making hollandaise sauce is no easy feat. I always thought eggs benedict would be impossible to make—mostly because of the hollandaise sauce. Dad likes to make it using a double broiler, and he says it took him many times to perfect his sauce. If you don’t whisk the eggs fast enough, they will cook and create a chunky sauce.
I don’t own a double broiler (and I’m sure not many 20-somethings do), so instead, I used a food processor.
What you need to make perfect hollandaise sauce
Don’t let the hollandaise sauce scare you—it’s actually incredibly easy to make. You’ll actually blend up egg yolks with some lemon juice in a food processor, then slowly pour in melted butter through the holes in the top as you pulse. This also can work well with a blender, if you have one.
This is the food processor I used to make the hollandaise. It’s compact, so you don’t have to worry about it taking too much space!
Canadian bacon? Nah, use pork roll.
Or Taylor Ham, as my family likes to call it. We’re a family of Jersey folk, and we love our pork roll. So I decided to use it for this recipe instead of Canadian ham. But traditionally, this dish is served with one or two slices of Canadian ham below the poached egg.
If you want to keep it vegetarian, use something else! Maybe some sautéed spinach or other kinds of vegetables? Or simply serve it on an English muffin.
Eggs Benedict
Ingredients
Hollandaise Sauce
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 stick butter 1/2 cup melted
- 1/8 tsp paprika
- 1/8 tsp salt
Eggs Benedict
- 8 eggs
- 8 pork roll slices
- 4 English muffins sliced in halves
Instructions
For the hollandaise sauce
- If you haven' already, sepearate the four egg yolks from their egg whites. Save the egg whites in your fridge for an egg white scramble tomorrow!
- Melt the butter in a bowl using the microwave, or on the stove with a small pot.
- Place the egg yolks in a food procssor (or blender) with the lemon juice.
- Pulse a few times, or blend for a few seconds.
- While pulsing, slowly pour in the butter from the top. Once fully mixed in, pulse 2 or 3 more times.
- Sprinkle in the paprika and salt and mix with a spoon.
For the eggs benedict
- Fill a large skillet halfway with water, cover and bring it to a boil.
- While waiting for it to boil, toast the English muffin halves. Place two halves on each plate.
- Heat a medium-sized skillet. Once warm, cook the pork roll slices—two minutes on each side. Place one slice of pork roll on each English muffin half.
- Once the water is boiling, remove the lid. Crack an egg and slowly slip it into the boiling water. Do this for all 8 eggs. Turn off the heat, cover the skillet again, and wait 5 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the eggs and place each one on a prepared muffin half.
- Pour the hollandaise sauce on top. Serve with salt and pepper cracked on top if desired.
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