Classic Hollandaise Sauce: Chef Jon Mortimer
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.
Total Steps
8
Ingredients
6
Tools Needed
6
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 cup clarified butter
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- dash cayenne pepper
Instructions
Step 1
Prepare 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 the froth from the top and slowly pour the melted butter into a measuring cup, being careful to leave the milky solids at the bottom of the pan. Discard the milky solids. Allow the clarified butter to cool slightly before use, as step 5 requires 'cooled melted butter'.
Step 2
Set up a small, thick ceramic bowl in a heavy-bottomed pan, ensuring the bowl fits securely over the pan to create a double boiler setup, or use a heavyweight double boiler.
Step 3
Off the heat, combine the egg yolks and water in the bowl (or upper section of the double boiler). Stir vigorously and continually with a wire whisk until well-blended, ensuring the mixture is stirred, not beaten.
Step 4
Place the bowl or double boiler over hot water. If using a bowl in a pan, ensure there is about 1 1/2 inches of water in the pan. If using a double boiler, make sure the water in the bottom section does not touch the top section. Continuously stir the egg mixture while slowly bringing the water to a simmer.
Step 5
Do not allow the water to boil. Continue stirring constantly, ensuring the entire mixture is incorporated to prevent any film from forming at the bottom of the bowl.
Step 6
When the egg mixture has thickened to the consistency of very heavy cream, begin to slowly add the cooled clarified butter in a thin stream with one hand, while vigorously stirring with the whisk with the other hand. Pour extremely slowly, allowing each addition to be fully blended into the egg mixture before adding more.
Step 7
Once all the clarified butter has been incorporated, add the lemon juice (or vinegar, if preferred) a drop at a time. Immediately remove the sauce from the heat.
Step 8
Season the sauce with salt and a dash of cayenne pepper.