Classic Hollandaise Sauce: Chef Jon Mortimer
By: Shara Mortimer
Published: Thursday, February 18, 2010 - 10:50am

Ingredients




3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon water
1 cup clarified butter *
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of cayenne pepper

Preparation

1 Use a small, thick ceramic bowl set in a heavy-bottomed pan, or a heavyweight double boiler. 

 
 
 2 Off the heat, put the egg yolks and water in the bowl or upper section of the double boiler and stir with a wire whisk until well-blended — the mixture should never be beaten but stirred, evenly, vigorously and continually.



 3  Place the container over hot water (if you are setting the bowl in water, there should be about 1 1/2 inches of water in the pan; in a double boiler, the water should not touch the top section). Stirring eggs continuously, bring the water slowly to a simmer.

 4  Do not let it boil. Stir, incorporating the entire mixture so there is no film at the bottom.

 5 When the eggs have thickened to consistency of very heavy cream, begin to add the cooled melted butter with one hand, stirring vigorously with the other. Pour extremely slowly so that each addition is blended into the egg mixture before more is added. 6 When all the butter has been added, add the lemon juice or vinegar a drop at a time and immediately remove from heat. 
 7 Add salt and a mere dash of cayenne.

About


A perfect Hollandaise sauce is hard to come by. This recipe is derived from years of trial & error.  There are tons of Hollandaise recipes out there with additional ingredients, but my motto is always "simple is best".  
Here are a few tips to assure success:
I prefer brown eggs, but white shelled eggs are perfectly fine. One thing I do not budge on is "cage free".  It's worth the extra cost for humanity sake.  European Butter Blend is higher in butter fat & easier to clarify.  Regular butter is fine.  Margarine is not fine.
* For clarified Butter: Cut butter into 1-inch pieces and melt in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and let stand 3 minutes. Skim froth and slowly pour butter into a measuring cup, leaving milky solids in bottom of pan. Discard milky solids.
Please use patience.