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Hollandaise Sauce
The silky, lemony butter sauce that makes eggs Benedict legendary.
Ingredients
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- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and hot
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp warm water (if needed)
Instructions
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- Whisk egg yolks and lemon juice in a heatproof bowl until slightly thickened.
- Set bowl over a pot of barely simmering water (don't let bowl touch water).
- Whisk constantly until yolks are warm and slightly thickened, about .
- Remove from heat. Very slowly drizzle in hot melted butter, whisking constantly.
- Add butter drop by drop at first, then in a thin stream as sauce emulsifies.
- Whisk in cayenne and salt. Add warm water if too thick.
- Serve immediately or keep warm over barely simmering water up to .
Notes
- Temperature is everything: Too hot = scrambled eggs. Too cool = won't emulsify. Keep it gentle.
- Slow with the butter: Add it drop by drop at first. Rushing causes breaking.
- Broken sauce fix: Whisk a fresh yolk in a clean bowl, slowly whisk in the broken sauce.
- Blender method: Blend yolks and lemon juice, then slowly stream in hot butter with blender running.
- Don't hold too long: Best served immediately. It doesn't reheat well.
Adapted from Serious Eats