This easy eggs Benedict recipe has all the tips and tricks you need to make this classic brunch staple, from the poached eggs to the hollandaise sauce.
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00:00What's up guys, it's Brooke in the Delish Kitchen studios.
00:03I'm really, really hyped because I get to make my favorite brunch item ever,
00:07eggs benedict. That toasty English muffin, fried Canadian bacon, perfectly poached egg,
00:13and the dreamiest, creamiest hollandaise that you've ever seen in your life.
00:17It might seem like one of those things that you can only order at a restaurant, but
00:20this is really easy to make at home. I've got some tips and tricks to help you nail it.
00:24Let's get into it.
00:25One of the main reasons people don't really make eggs benedict at home that much
00:29is because of the hollandaise sauce. That's that creamy, buttery, egg yolky,
00:33bright yellow sauce that goes on top of the whole eggs benedict.
00:37That's because it's a little bit difficult to make.
00:38But it doesn't have to be. We're going to simplify this a ton.
00:41The way I learned to make hollandaise sauce in culinary school involves some simmering water,
00:45a double boiler, and about 15 minutes of whisking.
00:49Save your forearm some time and some pain.
00:52We're going to use my special secret tool, which is just an immersion blender.
00:56You could also use a regular blender, but overall,
00:58this is going to make the hollandaise making process a lot easier and a lot less scary.
01:02We're going to start by blending together the egg yolk, lemon juice, salt, and water in a tall cup.
01:10If you do opt for an immersion blender,
01:12the cup that you use with that immersion blender is very important.
01:16You want a cup that has a bottom circumference that's about the same as the immersion blender.
01:21It's okay if it's a little bit bigger, but you don't want it to be insanely bigger.
01:25That'll really interrupt your ability to get that nice smooth emulsion,
01:28which is the whole reason we're using this immersion blender.
01:30Then we're going to melt some butter on the stove
01:33and slowly stream that butter into our egg yolk mixture
01:36while blending until it gets nice and fluffy and airy and creamy and dreamy.
01:41Y'all, look how easy that was.
01:43We have nice creamy hollandaise and my forearm muscles are still intact.
01:46This does not have to be super complicated.
01:48To keep this hollandaise warm,
01:50we're going to put this whole container inside a vessel that has a little bit of warm water.
01:54You want it to have just enough to reach up to the same height as the hollandaise
01:57so it stays nice and warm and emulsified and ready to use
02:01when you've got the rest of your eggs benedict ready.
02:02Poaching eggs is one of those things that does take a little bit of practice,
02:06but once you've got the hang of it, you can do it in your sleep.
02:09To get started, you're going to need a skillet or a saucepan that has high sides,
02:12high enough to pour at least two inches of water in.
02:15We're going to bring that to a simmer,
02:17and then instead of cracking the eggs directly into the pan,
02:20we're going to crack them into a small bowl first.
02:22What that's going to let us do is gently lower the egg into the water,
02:26gently slide it out so that we have a nice uniform poached egg when we're all done.
02:30Another thing that's going to help you get the egg to not spread out all over the pan,
02:35especially if you're poaching a lot of eggs at once,
02:37before you drop the eggs into the pan,
02:39take your spoon, create a little whirlpool in the pan,
02:44and what that's going to do is create enough force
02:46to bring the egg whites together in one cohesive ball
02:49instead of having your egg whites flop all over the pan.
02:52Some people do like to add a little bit of vinegar to their egg poaching water,
02:55but that can do a couple of things.
02:57One, it'll leave you with a slightly vinegary taste,
02:59so if you're not into that, avoid it.
03:01Two, vinegar is an acid, which means that it can cook.
03:04So that means it's going to start cooking your egg whites
03:07as the water is also cooking your egg whites,
03:09which is going to result in whites that are a little bit on the tougher side.
03:12They'll be a little bit more rubbery, a little bit more bouncy
03:15instead of soft and silky smooth.
03:17Ultimately, it is up to you if you want to use vinegar or not.
03:19I recommend you try it without.
03:20Last thing to note, before you start poaching your eggs,
03:23your water should only be simmering.
03:24You don't want a rolling boil or even a gentle boil.
03:27You want a true simmer so that your eggs don't rip apart.
03:31Cracking the egg in this little bowl first before you poach
03:34also helps you not get eggshell in your poaching water.
03:37I'm going to make my whirlpool.
03:39That helps the egg come into a nice little ball in the center.
03:42Slide my egg right in.
03:44Then as soon as you get the egg in,
03:45use your spoon to sort of separate the egg from the bottom of the pot
03:49so that it doesn't stick there while it poaches.
03:52And then we wait.
03:53What we're looking for to determine if this egg is done
03:56is for the whites to be completely set,
03:58but for that middle yolk part to still be a little bit soft and jiggly.
04:02It should take about three minutes.
04:04Then we're going to lift this out of the water
04:05and put it on a plate that's lined with paper towel
04:08to let that excess water drain off before we start building our eggs benedict.
04:12Now it's time for my personal favorite part of eggs benedict.
04:15Start crisping up our Canadian bacon.
04:17To do that, we're just going to get a large skillet
04:20and we're going to put it over medium-high heat.
04:22To that, we'll add a little bit of butter until it melts.
04:25Then we'll add our Canadian bacon.
04:27This size pan could fit about four slices.
04:29You just want to cook that for a couple of minutes
04:31until we start to see a little bit of color on both sides.
04:33Only thing we have left to do is toast up our English muffins.
04:37Instead of just turning to a regular old toaster,
04:39I've got a hot pan here already,
04:41so I'm just going to add them face down to this hot pan.
04:44So there's a little bit of butter left.
04:45We're going to get these toasted until they're nice and golden brown.
04:49Brunch is by far my favorite meal of the week
04:52and eggs benedict is my favorite thing to eat at brunch.
04:54This is my time to shine right here.
05:00That's it, y'all.
05:01I've had a lot of eggs benedict in my life,
05:03but there's something really special about this one.
05:05For starters, I think it's because we toasted that English muffin
05:09in that leftover ham fat and butter.
05:11And then that hollandaise was not only easy,
05:13but this is also the creamiest hollandaise that I've ever had.
05:16This is just like a 10 out of 10 upgraded eggs benedict right here.
05:19To crank this up just another notch,
05:21I added a dash of paprika on top because I love the color,
05:24but I also like that hint of smokiness.
05:26And then, of course, chives.
05:27That's such a classic topping for eggs benedict.
05:30It gives you a good bit of color,
05:31but it also gives you a kind of a little tiny bit of onioniness
05:34that something like this absolutely needs.
05:36This is the kind of thing that you can easily knock out
05:38on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
05:40So don't be afraid.
05:41Give it a try.
05:42If you want more easy Sunday recipes just like this one,
05:44keep it right here at delish.com.