Eggs Benedict is a notoriously difficult thing to make. I’ve screwed it up countless times and have come up with a few tricks I want to share here. This recipe focuses on the core elements of eggs Benedict (the Hollandaise and the poached eggs) but you can also mix up the English muffins (try a bagel or buttery biscuit) and the protein (I actually used arugula here but avocado and/or bacon also works great).
Feeds 3
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 6 eggs + 3 eggs yolks
- 3 english muffins
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp water
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika + more for garnish
- 1 cup arugula (or avocado or bacon or whatever you’re feeling like)
Directions
- Bring a small pot of water to a consistent simmer and carefully drop your first two eggs into the water (I find releasing the eggs into the water as close to the water surface as possible helps to prevent the yolks from breaking).
- Once the egg whites have become opaque the entire way through, remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and set aside. Continue like this until all 6 eggs are poached.
- In a separate, smaller sauce pan, whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice, and water.
- While still stirring, heat the sauce pan over medium heat until the mixture starts to thicken (stirring consistently throughout this step is extremely important, otherwise you’ll end up with scrambled eggs).
- Slowly begin adding the melted butter, stirring it in as you go, until all of the butter is mixed in.
- Continue stirring the mixture over medium heat until it thickens and starts to almost hold its shape.
- Assemble the Eggs Benedicts by placing arugula on top of each halved, toasted, and buttered english muffin. Then add a poached egg on top of each muffin half.
- Finally, drizzle the Hollandaise sauce over each poached egg and sprinkle with paprika. (NOTE: If the hollandaise has thickened up too much while sitting, add another tablespoon of water and mix).
Pro tip: Timing is super important when making Eggs Benedict. Ideally, you want everything to finish cooking at the same time so it’s all still hot while assembling. If you can, try to start the Hollandaise sauce before the eggs are done poaching.