{"id":204926,"title":"Classic Eggs Benedict","modified":"2026-11-06T17:03:22+01:00","plain":"The classic American brunch: toasted English muffins, Canadian bacon, poached eggs and homemade hollandaise sauce whisked over a double boiler.\n\n\n\nSome mornings, brunch lasts until noon, and there\u2019s one plate you look forward to more than any other. The tip of the knife pierces the poached egg, and the warm yolk runs over the slice of bacon and mingles with the still-glossy hollandaise. \n\n\n\nUnderneath, the toasted muffin crunches, then soaks up the sauce in its nooks and crannies. The lemon and the pinch of cayenne pepper wake up the butter, and the first bite immediately calls for a second.\n\n\n\nAt brunch, a stack of American pancakes on the side is always welcome\n\n\n\nWhat Is Eggs Benedict?\n\n\n\nEggs Benedict is the great brunch classic of American cuisine. Each toasted English muffin half is topped with a round slice of Canadian bacon, a poached egg, then a spoonful of hollandaise sauce, and each plate gets two halves. Hollandaise is an emulsion of egg yolks and melted butter, seasoned with lemon juice, salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper. With spinach in place of the bacon, the dish becomes eggs Florentine; with smoked salmon, eggs Royale.\n\n\n\nThe name comes from a New York customer named Benedict, but two stories disagree on who that customer was. In France, the name is usually kept as is, and in Quebec, the dish is called \u0153ufs b\u00e9n\u00e9dictine.\n\n\n\nA spinach and mushroom version: skillet eggs Florentine\n\n\n\nDelmonico\u2019s or the Waldorf: Two New York Stories\n\n\n\nThe first story is set at Delmonico\u2019s in the 1860s. A regular, Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, grew tired of the menu and asked for a new dish for lunch. Chef Charles Ranhofer served her poached eggs and ham on toasted muffins, topped with hollandaise, and published the recipe in 1894 in his book The Epicurean, under the name \u201cEggs \u00e0 la Benedick.\u201d\n\n\n\nNothing like an English muffin: blueberry muffins are little cakes\n\n\n\nThe second story comes from broker Lemuel Benedict. In 1942, he told The New Yorker that one morning in 1894 he had walked into the Waldorf, nursing a hangover, and ordered buttered toast, poached eggs, crispy bacon and hollandaise. Headwaiter Oscar Tschirky is said to have put the dish on the menu, made with an English muffin and ham. No one has ever settled the question, and the assembly hasn\u2019t changed since.\n\n\n\nThe Main Ingredients for Eggs Benedict\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAn English muffin is a small, round yeast roll cooked on a griddle. Split and toasted, it stays firm under the egg and holds the sauce in its air pockets. The recipe calls for whole wheat muffins, but plain ones work too; in Germany, Toastbr\u00f6tchen do the job very well, and elsewhere, toasted brioche rolls.\n\n\n\nCanadian bacon, or back bacon, is lean pork loin, cured and sometimes smoked, cut into round slices. Its texture is closer to ham than to pork belly. If you can\u2019t find it, cooked ham sliced 3 to 5 mm thick makes a good substitute. Diced bacon, on the other hand, doesn\u2019t work: the egg slides right off it.\n\n\n\nThe 8 eggs for poaching should be very cold, and a splash of vinegar in the water helps the whites set faster. The hollandaise calls for 3 yolks, 115 g of butter, lemon juice, salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper or dry mustard. The lecithin in the yolks binds the butter to the lemon juice. The cayenne goes into the sauce: nothing is sprinkled on top.\n\n\n\nTechnique Tips for Getting Eggs Benedict Right\n\n\n\nThe poaching water should barely simmer. Crack each egg into a small cup, then slide it into the water without swirling, which lets you poach several at once. With large eggs, 3 minutes gives you a runny yolk. Draining them briefly on paper towels keeps the muffin from getting soggy.\n\n\n\nFor the hollandaise, the bottom of the bowl shouldn\u2019t touch the water in the double boiler. Whisk the yolks until they turn pale and thicken, then pour in the melted butter in a thin stream, off the heat. If the sauce breaks, you can rescue it with a fresh yolk or a tablespoon of water in a small bowl, whisking the sauce into it a little at a time.\n\n\n\nHollandaise sauce also goes very well with asparagus soup\n\n\n\nIf you\u2019re serving brunch for four, you can poach the eggs up to two days ahead: cook them for 90 to 100 seconds, chill them in an ice bath, then keep them in cold water in the fridge. When it\u2019s time to serve, 30 to 60 seconds in simmering water warms them back up. Assemble the plates at the last minute, while the sauce is still glossy, with American cinnamon rolls on the table. The 3 leftover egg whites keep for a few days in the fridge, or you can freeze them.\n\n\n\n\n\n\tClassic Eggs Benedict\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\tHollandaise Sauce150 g butter4 egg yolks1.5 tablespoons lemon juice1 pinch cayenne pepper, (or dry mustard)1 pinch saltPoached Eggs8 eggs, (well chilled)Water1 dash vinegarMuffins and Bacon4 English muffins (whole wheat)8 slices lean back bacon ((Canadian bacon))\t\n\t\n\t\tHollandaise SauceMelt the butter.In a glass or stainless steel bowl, whisk the egg yolks until frothy.Add the lemon juice, cayenne pepper and salt while whisking.Pour about 4 cm of water into a saucepan.Bring the water to a simmer.Set the bowl over the saucepan, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.Heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture turns pale yellow, thickens slightly and increases in volume.Remove the bowl from the heat.Pour in the melted butter in a thin stream, a little at a time, whisking constantly, until the sauce is smooth and thick.Keep the sauce warm while you cook the eggs.Poached EggsFill a saucepan with about 8 cm of water.Add the vinegar.Heat until the water is gently simmering.Crack a cold egg into a small cup or saucer.Hold the cup just above the simmering water.Gently slide the egg into the water.Repeat with the remaining eggs.Cook in barely simmering water for 3 to 5 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks are cooked to your liking: 3 minutes for a runny yolk with large eggs.Lift out the eggs with a slotted spoon.Drain them thoroughly on paper towels.Muffins and BaconWhile the eggs are cooking, split the English muffins in half.Toast the muffin halves.AssemblyPlace the 8 toasted muffin halves on the plates, cut side up.Top each half with a slice of back bacon.Place a poached egg on the bacon.Spoon about 2 tablespoons of hollandaise sauce over each egg.Serve immediately.\t\n\t\n\t\tCanadian bacon and English muffins in Europe: Canadian bacon is lean pork loin, cured and sometimes smoked, cut into round slices; British \u201cback bacon\u201d is the same cut. You can replace it with cooked ham sliced 3 to 5 mm thick. In this recipe the bacon goes on the muffin as is; you can also sear it briefly in a frying pan over medium-low heat, just long enough to warm it through and lightly brown the edges. If you don't have English muffins, Toastbr\u00f6tchen (in Germany) or toasted brioche rolls make a good base. The recipe uses whole wheat muffins, but plain muffins work too.\nAmount of sauce: the recipe makes about 240 ml of hollandaise, or 2 tablespoons for each of the 8 eggs. For lighter plates, spoon on a little less sauce.\nBroken sauce: hollandaise can break if it is overwhisked or if the butter is poured in too quickly. There are two ways to rescue it: whisk a fresh egg yolk in a small bowl, then gradually whisk in the broken sauce; or put 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl and add the broken sauce a little at a time, whisking vigorously, until it is smooth again.\nMicrowave hollandaise (variation): in a 1-liter glass measuring cup, whisk together the yolks, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and salt. Gradually whisk in the melted butter. Microwave on medium power (50%) for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until the sauce thickens, whisking after 30 seconds and again at the end.\nStoring and freezing hollandaise: the sauce freezes well. Thaw it in the refrigerator, then reheat it in a double boiler over hot but not boiling water, stirring constantly. If it breaks, rescue it as described above. To keep it warm while serving, you can pour it into a thermos preheated with boiling water.\nPoaching ahead: for a stress-free brunch for 4, poach the eggs up to two days ahead, no more than 4 at a time so you don't overcrowd the pan, cooking them for only 90 to 100 seconds. Plunge them straight into a bowl of ice water, then keep them in the cold water in the refrigerator. When you're ready to serve, return them to simmering water for 30 to 60 seconds to reheat, then blot them on paper towels before placing them on the muffins. With 8 eggs, also poach them in two batches if your saucepan is small.\n\t\n\t\n\t\tPetit d\u00e9jeunerAm\u00e9ricaine","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}