Hollandaise Sauce Recipe
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Simple ingredients come together to make magic in this classic Hollandaise Sauce Recipe that is the perfect addition to Eggs Benedict, asparagus, chicken and salmon, to name a few.
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a bright, crisp morn at a rambling plantation house turned bed and breakfast in rural South Carolina. We wandered into the formal dining room to what would be our first breakfast as a married couple. There was no menu to choose from. No mind. We happily enjoyed what was skillfully prepared: Eggs Benedict with fresh Hollandaise. What a glorious and delicious start to our union.
While Eggs Benedict is one of our regular favorites, I recall being in awe of that Hollandaise itself. It was perfect. Hollandaise Sauce sounds so fancy schmancy, but actually the ingredients are quite simple: clarified butter, egg yolks, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and a bit of water. When properly prepared, Hollandaise can elevate even a simple piece of toast to something spectacular.
How to Make Hollandaise Sauce
Begin by placing a stainless bowl over pot of boiling water or set up a double boiler. Add egg yolks, cold water and lemon juice. Vigorously and continuously whisk together until mixture thickens and doubles in volume. Next, continue whisking while gradually drizzling in warm clarified butter, salt and cayenne. Whisk until mixture thickens and doubles again in volume. Remove the sauce from heat. Finish by adding salt and pepper to taste. Keep sauce in a warm spot until ready to serve. If the sauce gets too thick, whisk in a couple of teaspoons of warm water at at time until desired consistency is reached.
Recipes to serve with Hollandaise Sauce
Classic Eggs Benedict, topped with homemade Hollandaise, is an over-the-top start to the day. Rise and shine!
This easy Roasted Asparagus is super quick to make and is the perfect nutritious side dish to serve with steak, chicken, fish or pork.
Roasted Broccoli, with delicious crispy browned edges and hints of lemon and garlic, is an easy side dish to serve with any meal and can be ready in 15 minutes.
Hollandaise Sauce Recipe
Hollandaise Sauce Recipe
A delicious classic sauce for serving over many dishes like Eggs Benedict, asparagus and salmon.
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cold water
- 3 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/3 cup clarified butter, warm
- pinch salt
- pinch ground cayenne/red pepper
- hot water, as needed
Instructions
- In a stainless bowl over simmering water or in top of a double boiler, vigorously and continuously whisk together egg yolks, cold water and lemon juice until mixture thickens and doubles in volume.
- Continue whisking; gradually drizzle in warm clarified butter, salt and cayenne. Mixture should thicken and double again in volume.
- Remove from heat. Salt and pepper to taste. Keep in warm spot until ready to serve. If sauce gets too thick whisk in a couple of teaspoons of warm water at at time until desired consistency is reached.
What a beautiful, rich hollandaise sauce! Love all things eggs benedict and asparagus. Thanks for this classic recipe!
This may be a dumb question but how do you make clarified butter?
Hello Karin. It’s easy! To make clarified butter, heat unsalted butter in a saucepan stovetop over low heat to a gentle simmer for a few minutes. Foam will rise to the top. Let simmer and sputter a bit. When no more foam is rising to the top, remove from heat and let sit a few minutes; skim off the foam, then pour through a cheesecloth or superfine mesh strainer to remove remaining foam/solids.
Thank you I was wondering the same thing ????
Thanks for the explanation on how to make clarified butter !! The only difference in clarified butter and ghee is that ghee is allowed to simmer longer so the milk solids begin to char on the bottom and gives a richer flavor to the result !! Happy Clarifying !!
Is this hollandaise sauce good if you make it the day before serving it? I’m not a morning person, so I’d like to make it the night before breakfast.
In the restaurants I worked at, we never saved this sauce from one day to the next. It is possible, apparently, to make it the night before and bring it back the next morning. But, the procedure is about as complicated as that of making it from scratch and there’s a risk of having the butter separate, which complicates things even more. See, for example, https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-to-store-hollandaise-sauce/. The butter can be clarified beforehand, however.
I make it and put it in a baggy, remove the extra air and seal. I refrigerate it then when ready to use run the bag under warm water in the sink a few seconds and knead. I keep repeating the process until it’s ready to use. It takes a few minutes. My husband actually likes it even better the second time.
I made this hollandaise sauce as part of Eggs Benedict with prosciutto. It was so easy to make this sauce in the blender and it turned out absolutely delicious.
What can I use in place of butter? Sinc butter is ridiculous unhealthy & receipe calls for a 1/3 cup and not a teaspoon or so.
Who said butter is unhealthy? I have lost 65 lbs on a diet that encourages butter consumption. Plus it’s trans fats that are really terrible for you (like what’s in margarine)
This sauce was so very easy to make, and just delicious! Thank you for this easy-to-follow and execute recipe!