At Kathey Jo’s Kitchen, today is the day to enjoy that delicious meal of eggs and Canadian bacon, smothered in hollandaise sauce, on a bed of English muffins. They were created in New York City at the end of the 19th century. I was surprised to learn that not a lot of people have had Eggs Benedict. Ask around, and see how many of your friends or family members can tell you what’s in it. If you’ve never had it before, see what restaurant t near you has them. You should be an intermediate to advanced level cook to make Eggs Benedict from scratch. There’s a bit of a learning curve when it comes to making them, as we know at Kathey Jo’s Kitchen.
Alton Brown’s Eggs Benedict
Ingredients
- English Muffin, recipe follows
- Poached Eggs, recipe follows
- Hollandaise Sauce, recipe follows
- 8 slices Canadian bacon, julienned
English Muffin base:
- 12 ounces all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 ounces nonfat dry milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 envelope active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 ounces water
- 1 tablespoon shortening
- Nonstick spray
- 8 teaspoons rolled quick oats
Poached Eggs:
- 4 quarts water
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 large eggs
Hollandaise Sauce:
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne, divided
- 3 to 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice strained, divided
- 8 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
Special equipment:
- 8 (3 3/4-inch diameter by 2-inch tall) cans with tops and bottoms removed or 8 English muffin rings
Directions
English Muffin base:
- Combine the flour, nonfat dry milk, sugar, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low for 10 seconds using the paddle attachment.
- Put the water and shortening in microwavable container and heat to 120 to 130 degrees F, approximately 2 minutes. Stir until the shortening is thoroughly melted. Add the water mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until well combined, stopping to scrape down the bowl halfway through mixing, about 3 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator, uncover and mix on medium speed, using the paddle attachment, for 3 minutes.
- Position the 8 cans on a half sheet pan and generously spray the rings and pan with nonstick spray. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of oats in the bottom of each ring. Scoop the dough, with a 2-ounce ice cream scoop or disher, into the rings, dividing the dough evenly between the rings. Sprinkle each top with 1/2 teaspoon of oats. Cover with parchment and let sit in a warm place for 60 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Leave the parchment in place and set a second sheet pan on top. Bake for 20 minutes then remove the top half sheet pan. Continue to bake until the muffins reach an internal temperature of 210 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, and are lightly browned, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan with the muffins still in the rings, to a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Slide a knife around the perimeter of the ring to loosen. Cool completely before splitting with a fork. To serve, toast under broiler for 3 to 4 minutes.
Poached Eggs:
- Put 4 (6-ounce) custard cups in a 6-quart deep, straight-sided saute pan or rondeau. Add 4 quarts of water or enough to cover the cups by at least 1/4-inch. Add the vinegar and salt to the water and put the pan over high heat. Heat just until the water begins to boil and the cups clatter against the bottom of the pan, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Adjust the heat to maintain a water temperature of 205 degrees F outside the cups. Break the eggs, 1 at a time, into another custard cup or ladle. Pour the eggs slowly into each of the cups, timing them about 10 seconds apart. Cook for 5 minutes each.
- Serve immediately or remove eggs from cups and transfer to an ice bath to stop cooking. Refrigerate for up to 6 hours in the ice bath.
- To reheat, bring water to a simmer, turn off the heat and add the eggs. Wait 1 to 2 minutes or until warmed through.
Hollandaise Sauce:
- Whisk together the egg yolks, water, salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the cayenne in a 2 quart saucier for 1 minute.
- Put the saucier over low heat and whisk vigorously, moving the pan on and off the heat every 10 to 15 seconds, bringing the mixture to 140 to 145 degrees F, on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 3 minutes. Add 1 piece of butter at a time, every 30 seconds, while continually whisking and moving the saucier on and off the heat. Maintain temperature around 120 to 130 degrees F throughout the remainder of the cooking process. Once half of the butter, or 8 pieces, have been added, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Add the remaining 8 pieces of butter, 1 at a time, every 30 seconds, while continuing to move the saucier on and off the heat and maintaining 120 to 130 degrees F. After the last piece of butter has been added, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, and the sugar and whisk for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Taste and add more lemon juice, as desired. Move immediately to a short, wide-mouthed thermos to hold for up to 2 hours. Reheat over low heat for 45 seconds.
To build Eggs Benedict:
- Put the julienned Canadian bacon in 10-inch sauté pan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until heated through and beginning to turn lightly brown around the edges, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, but leave the bacon in the pan to keep warm until serving.
- For each serving, put 2 small dollops of hollandaise on a plate and set 1/2 an English muffin on top of each dollop. Put a small amount of Canadian bacon on top of each half and top with 1 warm poached egg and drizzle with hollandaise. Repeat with remaining ingredients and serve immediately.
Eggs Benedict with Asparagus and Bacon
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick cut bacon
- 1 bunch of asparagus, cleaned and trimmed
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 4 eggs
- 2 English muffins, cut in half (optional)
- Hollandaise Sauce
- salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400º F. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Place bacon and asparagus on a fully rimmed baking sheet (edges on all four sides) that has been topped with a cooling rack. Drizzle olive oil over asparagus. Bake until bacon is cooked through and browned and asparagus is tender, about 15 minutes.
- Add 2 tablespoons of water to each indention of the muffin tin. Crack an egg into each individual indention, taking care not to break the yolk of the egg. Place in the oven along with the bacon the last 9-10 minutes of cooking.
- Place English muffins on another baking sheet. Spread with butter and place in oven at the same time as adding eggs.
- As your bacon, eggs, and muffins are baking, prepare your hollandaise sauce. Pour into a serving container.
- To assemble Eggs Benedict, place English Muffins on each plate (if using), top with some asparagus and one slice of bacon. Using a silicon spatula, gently remove a poached egg from the muffin tin, draining on a thick kitchen towel before placing on top of the bacon. Drizzle with hollandaise sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
