What’s Cooking in Kelli’s Kitchen - Demystifying Hollandaise

One of the biggest bonuses about having an education in the culinary arts is feeling confident about making dishes in my home kitchen that less experienced and adventurous home cooks might only order in restaurants. Some dishes require special ingredients or lengthy cooking methods; others call for techniques that can be intimidating or have recipes that include unfamiliar terms. My mission with this weekly missive is to demystify things that, on the surface, seem complicated and to equip you with the tools that you need to tackle hard things in your home kitchen.

So, this week, I want to talk about hollandaise. Let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room right at the start: making hollandaise can be hard. Hollandaise is an emulsification of melted clarified butter and lemon juice held together by egg yolks. It has a reputation for being difficult to make. It’s finicky! Brunch cooks bemoan all the whisking required in best-case scenarios and lament the broken sauces or scrambled eggs that result from slight temperature variations in worst-case scenarios.

Fortunately, there is a simple way to make hollandaise at home that requires no whisking and is mostly foolproof, enabling home cooks to enjoy a myriad of iterations of eggs benedict without shedding tears or going gray. The key is to reverse the traditional hollandaise technique by flipping your hot and cold ingredients—first, a little history.

Hollandaise is one of the five mother sauces in traditional French cuisine, as defined by famed French chef Auguste Escoffier. While the name translates to “from Holland,” the sauce likely traces its origins to the region of Normandy, where it was first called sauce Isigny after the town Isigny-sur-Mer, famed for its high-quality butter. Hollandaise sauce is traditionally served with fish or over asparagus and is the signature ingredient in Eggs Benedict, created at Delmonico’s in the late 1860s.

In theory, the traditional preparation of Hollandaise sauce is simple. Whisk together egg yolks and lemon juice over low heat until the yolk lightens, thanks to the vigorous whipping of air into the mix. Then, slowly add softened butter by the tablespoon while continuing to whip the mixture, controlling the temperature by moving the bowl between baths of warm and cool water. So, if you are interested in the forearm equivalent of running a marathon and have top-notch temperature control skills, this classic method is for you. Be warned, however, that if your hollandaise gets a little too warm you will scramble your egg yolks; a little too cold and the sauce will break.

For all the rest of us, there is a foolproof method to make hollandaise without breaking a sweat.

Serious Eat’s Quick Immersion Blender Hollandaise Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 t water
• 1 t lemon juice from 1 lemon
• Kosher salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• Pinch of cayenne pepper or hot sauce (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a cup just wide enough to fit the head of an immersion blender, combine egg yolks, water, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. In a small saucepan, melt butter over high heat, swirling constantly, until the foaming subsides. Transfer melted butter to a 1-cup liquid measuring cup.
2. Place the head of the immersion blender into the bottom of the egg mixture cup and turn it on. With the blender constantly running, slowly pour hot butter into the cup in a thin stream. It should emulsify with the egg yolk and the lemon juice. If needed, tilt the blender up slightly to help the emulsification process. Continue pouring until all the butter is added. The sauce should be creamy and thick enough to coat a spoon. You can thin out your sauce by blending in a small amount of warm water until you have reached your desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper or hot sauce if you want. Serve immediately. Hollandaise cannot be cooled and reheated.

This sauce can also be made in a blender. Blend your yolks, water, lemon juice and salt. While the blender is running, slowly drizzle in the melted butter. Season to taste.

Kelli Kelly - Slinger of Produce. Slurper of Dumplings. Person of the Bean.