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Hollandaise Sauce
The silky, lemony butter sauce that makes eggs Benedict legendary.
retest scheduled Adapted from Serious Eats — being retested to the rcpbx spec, one dinner at a time. how we test
Ingredients
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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 the yolks are thick, leave ribbons and reach 160°F. Lift the bowl off the steam if it starts to scramble.
- 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.
- Food safety: for the blender method the yolks are only warmed by the butter. Use pasteurized eggs for anyone young, older, pregnant or immunocompromised.
Adapted from Serious Eats · original