Eggs Benedict

Ingredients:

Poached Eggs:

4 quarts water

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

8 large eggs

Hollandaise Sauce:

3 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon water

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne, divided

3 to 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice strained, divided

8 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces

1/4 teaspoon sugar

8 slices Canadian bacon (or your choice of meat.. I used salmon cakes.)

Directions:

Poached Eggs:

Put 4 (6-ounce) custard cups in a 6-quart deep, straight-sided saute pan or rondeau. Add 4 quarts of water or enough to cover the cups by at least 1/4-inch. Add the vinegar and salt to the water and put the pan over high heat. Heat just until the water begins to boil and the cups clatter against the bottom of the pan, 20 to 25 minutes.

Adjust the heat to maintain a water temperature of 205 degrees F outside the cups. Break the eggs, 1 at a time, into another custard cup or ladle. Pour the eggs slowly into each of the cups, timing them about 10 seconds apart. Cook for 5 minutes each.

Serve immediately or remove eggs from cups and transfer to an ice bath to stop cooking. Refrigerate for up to 6 hours in the ice bath.

To reheat, bring water to a simmer, turn off the heat and add the eggs. Wait 1 to 2 minutes or until warmed through.

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Hollandaise Sauce:

Whisk together the egg yolks, water, salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the cayenne in a 2 quart saucier for 1 minute. 

Put the saucier over low heat and whisk vigorously, moving the pan on and off the heat every 10 to 15 seconds, bringing the mixture to 140 to 145 degrees F, on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 3 minutes. Add 1 piece of butter at a time, every 30 seconds, while continually whisking and moving the saucier on and off the heat. Maintain temperature around 120 to 130 degrees F throughout the remainder of the cooking process. Once half of the butter, or 8 pieces, have been added, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Add the remaining 8 pieces of butter, 1 at a time, every 30 seconds, while continuing to move the saucier on and off the heat and maintaining 120 to 130 degrees F. After the last piece of butter has been added, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, and the sugar and whisk for 1 to 2 minutes. 

Taste and add more lemon juice, as desired. Move immediately to a short, wide-mouthed thermos to hold for up to 2 hours. Reheat over low heat for 45 seconds. 

Yield: 1 1/4 cups sauce

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 to 20 minutes

To build Eggs Benedict:

Put the julienned Canadian baconin 10-inch saute pan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until heated through and beginning to turn lightly brown around the edges, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, but leave the bacon in the pan to keep warm until serving.

For each serving, put 2 small dollops of hollandaise on a plate and set 1/2 an English muffin on top of each dollop. Put a small amount of Canadian bacon on top of each half and top with 1 warm poached egg and drizzle with hollandaise. Repeat with remaining ingredients and serve immediately.