Escoffieronline

What can we say about hollandaise sauce that everyone else doesn’t know? It’s delicious. It’s incredibly rich. It’s something you wish you could have for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day but probably shouldn’t because it could quite possibly kill you. And it’s for good reason. With a delicate but scrumptious composition of some protein-packed egg yolks, gobs of melted butter, a touch of lemon and a smidgen of salt and pepper, it’s what we’d call totally loaded in the culinary world. Throw it on potatoes, some ham, poached eggs and English muffin a la eggs benedict or smother your choice of veggies in its glowing golden gloriousness. Whatever your choice, hollandaise sauce will be sure to compliment it. It’s also one of Escoffier’s five mother sauces, the ones that all sauces from the 1800s out were based off of. So you know it’s an important recipe to have in your arsenal. The only slight downside is the process of making it, which is very temperature and time sensitive and can be ruined in a blink of an eye. However, we’ve got a solution for that.

• ½fl oz white vinegar
• ½fl oz water
• 2egg yolks
• 12oz clarified butter (heated to 125°F)
• Lemon juice to taste
• Cayenne pepper to taste.

Combine yolks, water and vinegar.

Cook quickly over a double boiler until yolks are lighter in color and a ribbon consistency, then remove from heat.

Heat clarified butter to 125°F.

Slowly add butter to yolks, whisking constantly. Add a few drops of lemon juice is sauce seems to thick.

Season to taste with salt, cayenne and lemon juice.

Hot hold at 125°F for 1.5 hours maximum

.