December’s Daring Cook: Eggs Benedict and How to Poach and Egg

 

I am usually not a big fan of eggs. I mean they are fine in cookies and stuff, but for breakfast? They make me queasy. I can stomach scrambled eggs every once in a while and hard boiled eggs on Easter. For me, omelets are the worst. I feel nauseas at the thought of omelets. I know, I’m weird.

However, thanks to this month’s Daring Cook’s challenge, I have found a way to make breakfast eggs that I absolutely love!

Jenn and Jill have challenged The Daring Cooks to learn to perfect the technique of poaching an egg. They chose the Eggs Benedict recipe from Alton Brown, Oeufs en Meurette from Cooking with Wine by Anne Willan, and Homemade Sundried Tomato & Pine Nut Seitan Sausages (poached) courtesy of Trudy of Veggie num num.I picked the Egg’s Benedict and I am very glad that I did!

Eggs Benedict is basically an open-face sandwich starting with an English muffin and layered with Canadian Bacon, poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. It is pretty rich, but I love rich food. So today I will teach you how to make this decadent breakfast/brunch, including the technique of poaching an egg. All poaching means is cooking something in simmering, but not boiling, water.

Hollandaise is a delicious yellow sauce made from… “melted butter which has been whipped into a frenzy with egg yolks until it has died and gone to heaven. And let me say this: Is there anything better than butter? Think it over: Anytime you ever taste anything that’s delicious beyond imagining and you say ‘What is in this?’ the answer is always going to be butter. The day there’s a meteorite heading toward the earth and we have 30 days to live, I’m going to spend it eating butter. Here’s my final word on the subject: you can never have too much butter."—Julie and Julia

 Ingredients:

Hollandaise (Makes 1/5 Cups):

• medium sauce pan half way full of water
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 tsp. water
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 12 TBSP. butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

Eggs Benedict (Makes 4):

• 4 eggs
• medium pot of water ( use the one from the hollandaise sauce)
• splash of vinegar (for poaching)
• 2 English Muffins
• 4 slices of Canadian bacon (or just plain bacon)
• Chives, for garnish

Directions:

1. Fill a medium sauce pan half way with water and bring to a simmer. Cut the chilled butter into small pieces and set aside.

3. In a bowl large enough to rest on top of the saucepan without touching the water (or in the top portion of a double boiler), whisk the egg yolks and 1 tsp. water. Whisk for 1-2 minutes, until egg yolks lighten. Add the sugar and whisk for thirty seconds more.

4. Place the bowl over the sauce pan of simmering water and whisk steadily for about 3-5 minutes until the yolks thicken to coat the back of a spoon.

5. Remove from heat (but continue to let the water simmer) and whisk in the butter 1 or 2 pieces at a time. If needed, move the bowl to the pan again as needed to melt the butter, making sure to whisk constantly.

6. Once all the butter is incorporated, remove from heat and whisk in the salt, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper. Keep the hollandaise warm while you poach your eggs.

To Poach an Egg:

7. Use the same pan of simmering water that you used for the sauce, but add water if it has gotten low so that you have 2-3 inches of water and bring it back to a simmer (but not a boil).

8. Add a couple of sprinkles of salt and a splash of any kind of vinegar. The will help stabilize the eggs and cook the white faster, while still keeping the water just below boiling point (190F).

9. Crack your egg into a small bowl first, but be careful not to break the yolk. Gently slide the egg into the water close to the surface of the water. Some people will also suggest swirling the water into a small vortex before sliding the egg in, in order to help keep the egg whites together. I tried this and my eggs worked fine with and without the vortex.

The whites will be invisible at first, but when they start to cook they will swirl around the yolk until it is completely surrounded by cooked egg whites. Its pretty cool. These pictures are from half way through the poaching process.

10. Cook for about 3 minutes for a viscous but still runny yolk. You will know it is done when the whites are fully cooked. You can go a little longer if you like your egg yolks more firm (like I do), but the yolks are supposed to be runny.

11. While you are waiting for the eggs to cook, quickly fry your bacon and toast the English muffins. Remove each egg with a slotted spoon. Top each half of muffin with a piece of bacon. Set an egg on top of that and drizzle (or drench) the hollandaise sauce over top. Sprinkle chives on top to make it look pretty.

Note: You can poach eggs ahead of time (about a day). Just immerse them in ice ware after poaching, and then keep them in a bowl of ware in the fridge. When you are ready to use them, place them in hot (not boiling) ware until they are warmed through.

Recipe adapted from Alton Brown.