How to make homemade Hollandaise Sauce

 All you need to know in order to make the best Hollandaise Sauce within minutes - drizzle on top of a poached egg for the ultimate breakfast at home!

❓ What is Hollandaise Sauce?

Hollandaise sauce is an emulsion of egg yolks, melted butter, and lemon juice. At the end of this process, it is usually seasoned with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper as well!

Hollandaise is one of the five French "Mother Sauces" that is incredibly delicate and flavorful. This is due to the fact that the primary ingredients, egg yolk and butter are two fats, forced to blend together with the help of an immersion blender.

Hollandaise is implemented on a number of dishes. Of course, we have Eggs Benedict, a classic breakfast or brunch menu comprised of poached eggs on English muffins slathered in hollandaise. It's used as a dipping sauce or poured on top of vegetables adding a punch of flavor and mouthfeel that can elevate any plate in seconds.

📖 Step by Step Instructions

• Place the room temperature yolks into a shallow container with tall sides. These sides will prevent your mixture from sputtering all over the countertop and creating quite a mess.

• Melt butter in a saucepan or in a microwave and allow to cool. Using the immersion blender, blend yolks for a couple of seconds. Then continue blending while drizzling in melted butter VERY slowly in a steady stream until fully incorporated.

• Add cayenne, lemon juice and salt to taste - then blend one more time Use immediately or place in the fridge to store. As it will firm in the fridge, make sure to slowly and carefully reheat for the best texture.

❓ My Hollandaise Broke! What happened?

If you're seeing that there is a distinct separation between the egg yolks and butter, that they're not emulsifying despite using the immersion blender.... your hollandaise is broken. There are a number of reasons why your hollandaise could have broken - let's dive into them.

• One reason could be that the fat, in this case, the butter, was added too quickly. There was not enough time for the yolks and butter to incorporate due to the immersion process so they separated from each other. Make sure to add butter in very small amounts while constantly using the immersion blender for the best results.

• Another reason could be that the butter was too hot while blending into the egg yolks. If the sauce starts to coagulate while the ingredients are blending, this means that your eggs are starting to cook and scramble! Eggs start to cook around 180 degrees, so make sure to take the time to let your butter cool for a bit before adding to the yolks to prevent this from happening.

• Once the hollandaise is placed in the fridge, the butter will solidify. When you're ready to use it again, be extra careful! Too much heat can potentially break your sauce. Using the defrost setting on your microwave, slowly heat and intermittently stir in order to bring back to "room temperature". Alternatively, using a double broiler, gently heat while stirring.

🥚 How to Quickly Poach an Egg

Years ago, I would never attempt the daunting task of poaching an egg. Then, one morning... it happened! I felt compelled to create my first poached egg and satisfy the Eggs Benedict breakfast of my wildest dreams. Here's how I whip up my poached eggs!

• Bring a pot of water to a simmer, making sure to have at least 6 inches of depth
• Grab an egg or two and strain off the excess whites by using a small strainer. There is a rather watered-down portion of egg whites that you want to get rid of when poaching eggs. Otherwise, these watered-down whites will solidify into little wispy bits that I prefer not to have.
• Place each egg into a separate small bowl
• Add one tablespoon of vinegar into the water and create a swirling vortex in the water with a spoon or utensil of some time
• Taking the small bowl filled with one egg, place the edge of the bowl in the middle of the water vortex. Let the egg gently drop into the water
• The egg should then be caught in the vortex, forcing the egg white to wrap around the yolk while cooking
• After letting the egg cook for three minutes, remove from the water gently using a slotted spoon. Place on a plate lined with a paper towel to remove any excess water and enjoy!

❄️ Storing

Hollandaise does not last long once you've made it fresh - once it's placed in an air-tight container it will last for 2-3 days.

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