Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict, made easy! Featuring my no-compromise Easy Method for Poached Eggs and a 90-second Foolproof Hollandaise Sauce.

But if it all sounds too daunting for a sleepy Sunday morning, take the easy way out and prepare the poached eggs and Hollandaise Sauce up to 2 days ahead. They both reheat perfectly!

Eggs Benedict

The great brunch favourite has finally arrived! Truthfully, I didn’t want to publish this without also sharing Poached Eggs and Hollandaise Sauce at the same time, and it’s a LOT of work to do all three which is why I’m releasing this months later than I promised.

Logic would prevail that I should have shared the Poached Eggs and Hollandaise Sauce separately. And while both are what I call Life Essential recipes, they don’t exactly make you jump up and down with excitement on their own, do they?

At least, not compared to seeing THIS:

*Knees, weak*

And so, I persevered. All 3 must go out together – and they have arrived!

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Eggs Benedict – The four parts

Here are the 4 components that make up Eggs Benedict:

1. Poached Eggs – while this recipe contains the directions for poached eggs, for an explanation of specific things I call for in the recipe (such as using fridge cold eggs, straining the eggs), see the separate Poached Eggs recipe for details;
2. Hollandaise Sauce – this is one of the great classic sauces of the world that’s notoriously hard to make by hand, even for seasoned chefs. I use a really easy blender stick method that takes 90 seconds flat with exactly the same quality! 90% faster and foolproof;
3. Ham, bacon or smoked salmon – traditionally, Eggs Benedict were made with what’s called “Canadian Bacon” in the US, which is the eye of bacon sold in Australia (ie the oval part, not the streaky, fatty part). However, over the years, all sorts of variations have evolved and here in Australia, the ham version is more common than bacon (bonus: it’s easier to cut through and eat). Smoked salmon is very popular (my personal favourite!). More variations: crab or lobster meat for very fancy options, bound together with a bit of mayonnaise and perhaps a squeeze of lemon. 
4. English muffin – this is the traditional bread used for Eggs Benedict, but nowadays, especially with the evolution of the trendy bistro crowd, all sorts of fancy bread is used. Currently, brioche is all the rage – and not just yellow brioche, I’ve had it with jet black-coloured charcoal brioche too! (Which BTW, tastes exactly the same – it just looks cool, I suppose!).

How to make Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict isn’t hard, it’s just about the order in which things are cooked so it all comes together while everything is warm. So here’s the order in which I make things:

1. Prepare all the ingredients and get the water boiling for the poached eggs;
2. Heat the oven on low to keep the English muffins and cooked bacon warm;
3. Cook bacon – If using bacon, cook the bacon at this stage then place in the oven to keep warm in a small baking dish covered with foil. If using ham, just put into the oven to warm up – nobody wants cold ham with warm-everything-else for their Eggs Benedict!
4. Toast the muffins then place in the oven to stay warm;
5. Make Hollandaise Sauce – my method takes 90 seconds flat, and it will stay warm for 15 minutes. Even at room temp is fine – you just don’t want it cold;
6. Poach the eggs using my Easy Method so you can make 8 eggs in 2 batches (so there will be no need to reheat). If you want to use the traditional Whirlpool Method, you will find the directions in my Poached Eggs recipe, but just be mindful that it takes experience to make multiple eggs at the same time with this technique!
7. Assemble – place muffins on serving plates, top with ham/eggs/smoked salmon, then a poached egg. Spoon over Hollandaise sauce and serve!

Also, both the poached eggs and Hollandaise Sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead and reheated – directions are in the recipe card notes.

How to make EASY Hollandaise Sauce

So, first up – Hollandaise sauce – my easy foolproof way! You will need a tall glass, jug or similar that the blender stick head fits in – it must reach all the way down to the base. I’m pretty sure most blender sticks come with a jug or milkshake-maker cup – but I have no idea where mine is!

Then here’s what you need to make Hollandaise Sauce, and how to make it:

1. Separate eggs;
2. Melt butter;
3. Blitz yolks with cayenne pepper, lemon juice, salt and water (for thinning);
4. Pour in butter slowly over 45 seconds while blitzing constantly;
5. After the butter is in, move stick up and down to blend thoroughly for another 10 seconds;
6. Voila! Perfect Hollandaise Sauce for your poached eggs!

BONUS: Can be made ahead and reheated.

How to make poached eggs – my Easy Method

The steps explained below are for my Easy Method for making poached eggs that even beginners can use. For the traditional Whirlpool Method, please see the Poached Eggs recipe. The Whirlpool Method will make more “perfect” poached eggs shape, but it does take practice to perfect, it’s difficult to make more than one at a time, and you need eggs < 4 days old max.

For a full explanation of the why for the steps explained below, see the Poached Eggs recipe. If I explain everything here, it will take too much reading for you to get on with making your Eggs Benedict! 😂

A. Poached Eggs Preparation – key step

1. Strain the eggs in a small strainer to drain off watery whites which are the biggest offender in poached egg disasters – they cause the ghostly wispy whites.
2. Jiggle about and let the watery whites drip out for about 30 seconds;
3. Teacup – transfer the egg to a teacup for ease of slipping into the hot water. Much safer than using small bowls!
4. Repeat for as many eggs as you plan to make in the first batch – 4 at a time is easily manageable, 6 is for experienced, 8 is for poaching pros! (Oh, and you’ll need an extra big pot for 8!)

B. Right water temperature

Getting the right water temperature is key. If the water is too rapid, then the egg will jiggle about too much and get those untidy wisps. But if it’s not hot enough, the egg might not set and the whites just dissolves into the water.

I’ve found that the best way to get the right temperature is to bring the water to a boil first (to get enough heat in it), then turn the stove down until you get tiny bubbles rising from the base of the pot but no big bubbles breaking the surface of the water.

C. Poaching the Eggs

There’s a few key tips in these steps here to ensure poached eggs success!

1. Roll the eggs out of the teacup onto the base of the pot while submerging the teacup into the water. Reason: The shorter the distance the eggs fall, the better shape they will hold;
2. Continue with all eggs, spreading them out across the base of the pot;
3. Roll before they set – after 20 seconds, the eggs should be barely starting to set but manageable enough to roll over – this will form the poached eggs’ shape;
4. Poach 2 minutes for set whites and runny yolks, turning once more to make a nice poached egg shape;
5. Remove with slotted spoons – poke to check it’s done to your taste;
6. Drain and serve!

Whirlpool Method

The Poached Eggs recipe also contains directions for the Whirlpool method of poaching eggs but it takes experience to do more than one at a time (successfully!). However, if this your preferred method, feel free to use it – directions (including video) are in the Poached Eggs recipe

Breakfast in PJ’s!

Poached Eggs and Hollandaise Sauce done, now the rest is a cinch! Toast the bread, cook the bacon (if using), then assemble.

Yes, making Eggs Benedict at home has a few components and yes, it might be daunting the first time you try your hand at it, especially if you want to make 8 eggs to serve 4 people.

But I promise you, if you read the recipe from start to finish and follow the steps in the order I’ve written them, you will be fine. So what if some of the eggs are a bit cool by the time you serve? So what if they are a bit wonky, and some have firmer yolks than you’d like? You’ve just made Eggs Benedict at home, you’ve saved a bucket of money (it’s expensive to have them out – north of $20 for a plate in my neck of the woods!), and you haven’t even had to get out of your PJ’s! 

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