Written by Heather Zubiate
L.O.V.E. Eggs Benedict! And what's not to love? This pallet pleasing dish has all four of the basic food groups, thus making it one of the most perfect meals! I don't know about you dear reader, but I could eat this delish dish any time of the day, and be totally happy!!!
As with all classic dishes, Eggs Benedict does have a purist following. Any deviation from the classic components can be considered to be culinary heresy by devotees. The sacred components are: English muffin, Canadian bacon or ham, poached egg, and the best part of all, the luscious lemony hollandaise sauce! But this iconic recipe is not without its controversy. Debates still wage as to who first came up with it, and what the first ingredients really were. And that, my dear reader, is partly what makes Eggs Benedict so great, both its mystery, and versatility!
It's a Sandwich?!
Yes! Eggs Benedict is really a sauced open faced sandwich. For the purists, there are NO substitutions, but they are severely limiting themselves from all of the delicious possibilities. But to be fair, in order to be legally called "Eggs Benedict" the dish in front of you should have at the very least, some sort of bread base, a pork product, an egg, and the most important thing of all, a generous anointing of a good hollandaise. I said a GOOD hollandaise, because I have had the misfortune to taste some really awful ones. Took thick, too thin, not enough lemon, and so on. But one establishment had the audacity to serve, I kid you not, chicken gravy with lemon juice in it!!! Blasphemy!
I was SO tempted to go back to the kitchen and teach that clueless cook how to make a GOOD hollandaise. It's not that hard, especially if you can operate a blender.
I was SO tempted to go back to the kitchen and teach that clueless cook how to make a GOOD hollandaise. It's not that hard, especially if you can operate a blender.
Wait. Did you hear that? It must have been the gasps of horror coming from the French. But seriously, blender hollandaise is fast, easy, and it will change your life! Okay, maybe it's not that amazing, but it IS AMAZING! This dish gets put together fairly quickly, and really, it's made to order. I suppose you can keep them warm in the oven, but you run the risk of hard cooked eggs - es no bueno.
Proper Ingredients & Proportions
The Bread Base
Eggs Benedict should have a bread base, be it toast, or the traditional, English muffin. As long as the toast is no thicker than 3/8", then I'm okay with that substitution. I ( and any self respecting eater should) abhor that white cottony stuff from the super market. Sour dough is a far better option than that garbage. Because of my current condition (thyroid cancer) and the treatment I'm on (Hoxsey tonic) I cannot have any refined bleached white flour, or vinegar. Some baked goods contain vinegar, so I have to read the labels. If you want to make your own English muffins, be my guest, but I'll just search for a brand that I can eat. What ever base you choose, just make sure it's lightly toasted, and well buttered!
Eggs Benedict should have a bread base, be it toast, or the traditional, English muffin. As long as the toast is no thicker than 3/8", then I'm okay with that substitution. I ( and any self respecting eater should) abhor that white cottony stuff from the super market. Sour dough is a far better option than that garbage. Because of my current condition (thyroid cancer) and the treatment I'm on (Hoxsey tonic) I cannot have any refined bleached white flour, or vinegar. Some baked goods contain vinegar, so I have to read the labels. If you want to make your own English muffins, be my guest, but I'll just search for a brand that I can eat. What ever base you choose, just make sure it's lightly toasted, and well buttered!
The Meat
Some form of slab pork breakfast meat is a MUST! As you can see, there are different kinds of bacon out in the world, and any of them will do nicely. And ham is always a good choice, even some turkey hams [wince] are decent, but I put my foot down at turkey bacon, it's just not natural! Sausage is a no no. In my current health condition, I'll have to substitute with salmon, or low salt gravlox ( if they even have such a thing), because there is just NO WAY I can have any pork product while I'm on the Hoxsey protocol. For now, my Eggs Benedict will have to be substituted for Eggs Royale, which is just fine by me!
Some form of slab pork breakfast meat is a MUST! As you can see, there are different kinds of bacon out in the world, and any of them will do nicely. And ham is always a good choice, even some turkey hams [wince] are decent, but I put my foot down at turkey bacon, it's just not natural! Sausage is a no no. In my current health condition, I'll have to substitute with salmon, or low salt gravlox ( if they even have such a thing), because there is just NO WAY I can have any pork product while I'm on the Hoxsey protocol. For now, my Eggs Benedict will have to be substituted for Eggs Royale, which is just fine by me!
The Egg
To poach, or not to poach, that is the question! I don't poach my eggs. Sorry, but it's just a HUGE pain in the derriere -- excuse my French -- to poach eggs! Then you have to keep them warm, or chill them to store them and then heat them up -- uhhhhh! Such agony!!! Eggs cooked over easy, on a low flame are just as good and MUCH less work and not nearly as stressful. For the braver souls out there, sunny side up is a good option too. If you start with a room temperature eggs, and cook them on low heat, then the white will cook before the yolk gets hard. But if you insist on being traditional (anal) and want to poach your eggs, then be my guest.
To poach, or not to poach, that is the question! I don't poach my eggs. Sorry, but it's just a HUGE pain in the derriere -- excuse my French -- to poach eggs! Then you have to keep them warm, or chill them to store them and then heat them up -- uhhhhh! Such agony!!! Eggs cooked over easy, on a low flame are just as good and MUCH less work and not nearly as stressful. For the braver souls out there, sunny side up is a good option too. If you start with a room temperature eggs, and cook them on low heat, then the white will cook before the yolk gets hard. But if you insist on being traditional (anal) and want to poach your eggs, then be my guest.
The Hollandaise
This sauce is the BEST part of Eggs Benedict! Traditional hollandaise apparently has a vinegar and shallot base to it. Why? I don't know! I personally feel it is not necessary, and that it takes away from the lemony goodness. And besides, I'm not allowed to have vinegar, so ixnay on that tradition. Hollandaise is basically, a lemon flavored mayonnaise, and for someone who loves lemon and mayonnaise like I do, this is a match made in heaven! So, can't you just add lemon juice to mayonnaise and be done with it?
No! The fat in hollandaise is butter, not any of the veggie oils. I'm not, nor will I ever be, a vegetarian! So I'm not even going to discuss veggie substitutes for butter, as they are unnatural and therefore, highly processed. As for the method of making the sauce, you could go traditional (anal) and pull out the double boiler and whisk, if you want to, but I'm all for innovation, especially when it makes things easier, and doesn't ruin the taste of something. And in this case, the blender method fits those criteria. And hey, if it's good enough for Martha Stewart, then it's for darn sure good enough for me!
This sauce is the BEST part of Eggs Benedict! Traditional hollandaise apparently has a vinegar and shallot base to it. Why? I don't know! I personally feel it is not necessary, and that it takes away from the lemony goodness. And besides, I'm not allowed to have vinegar, so ixnay on that tradition. Hollandaise is basically, a lemon flavored mayonnaise, and for someone who loves lemon and mayonnaise like I do, this is a match made in heaven! So, can't you just add lemon juice to mayonnaise and be done with it?
No! The fat in hollandaise is butter, not any of the veggie oils. I'm not, nor will I ever be, a vegetarian! So I'm not even going to discuss veggie substitutes for butter, as they are unnatural and therefore, highly processed. As for the method of making the sauce, you could go traditional (anal) and pull out the double boiler and whisk, if you want to, but I'm all for innovation, especially when it makes things easier, and doesn't ruin the taste of something. And in this case, the blender method fits those criteria. And hey, if it's good enough for Martha Stewart, then it's for darn sure good enough for me!
Recipe Assembly
Here's the recipe for the hollandaise, and the method of assembly I use.