Easy Recipe for Egg Benedict

People who know me must be aware for my craze for egg benedict - ever since my Summer Job at a cafe three years ago I have been fascinated by this simple yet beautiful egg-based dish. It looks simple to make yet restaurants charge >$50 on average.


The best way is to actually cook your own egg benedicts. :) I have been searching online for a easy recipe which uses ingredients that can be easily found in a local kitchen - so here it was. I tried it out, and It was effective, easy and beautiful.

Ingredients (serves 2)
Hollandaise Sauce
2 egg yolks
25 ml lemon juice
few shakes ground white pepper
0.3 ml Worcestershire sauce
8 ml water
100 g butter, melted
0.8 g salt
Poached Egg
4 eggs
3 ml distilled white vinegar
4 strips Canadian-style bacon/salmon/spinach/grilled mushroom
2 English muffins, split
15 g butter, softened

Directions:

• To Make Hollandaise: Fill the bottom of a double boiler part-way with water. Make sure that water does not touch the top pan. Bring water to a gentle simmer. In the top of the double boiler, whisk together egg yolks, lemon juice, white pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tablespoon water.
  


• Add the melted butter to egg yolk mixture 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time while whisking yolks constantly. If hollandaise begins to get too thick, add a teaspoon or two of hot water. Continue whisking until all butter is incorporated. Whisk in salt, then remove from heat. Place a lid on pan to keep sauce warm.
  


• Preheat oven on broiler setting. To Poach Eggs: Fill a large saucepan with 3 inches of water. Bring water to a gentle simmer, then add vinegar. Carefully break eggs into simmering water, and allow to cook for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Yolks should still be soft in center. Remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon and set on a warm plate.
  


• While eggs are poaching, brown the bacon in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and toast the English muffins on a baking sheet under the broiler.
  


• Spread toasted muffins with softened butter, and top each one with a slice of bacon, followed by one poached egg. Place 2 muffins on each plate and drizzle with hollandaise sauce.
  


• Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve immediately.

I used only egg white in the poaching process as I wanted to utilize the whites that's left behind in the Hollandaise sauce. I simply mix 3 egg whites without beating and poured the thing directly into the simmering water with vinegar. It coagulated quite quickly and i waited for around 2 minutes before I took them out after separating them into 3 serves. Remember to wriggle and drain the eggs dry before putting them onto the muffin or else you could end up having really wet and soggy benedicts.

It does not matter what toppings you use-as a matter of fact I am thinking of experimenting with Chaa-Siu flakes next time. :P

And oh the recipe for the Hollandaise sauce is not very accurate - you could make the sauce for at least 6 benedict with 3 yolks and 100g butter...

Oh, just one last word - you usually serve egg benedict by two instead of one...so you use one muffin and two eggs for one serving. :)

Enjoy!