Hollandaise
Cooking Skills: Eggs 2
Chapter 8 · Hollandaise
Skill goal
Make a smooth, warm hollandaise without scrambling or splitting it, and rescue it if it does.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Hollandaise is a warm emulsion of egg yolk and melted butter, brightened with lemon. It's the same idea as mayonnaise, but the yolk is warmed, so the sauce is thicker, and a little temperamental: too hot and the egg scrambles, too cool and the butter separates.
- Temperature is everything. The yolks cook gently to thicken, at around 60 to 65°C. Over about 70°C they scramble. Keep the heat low, or use a bowl above, not in, simmering water.
- Hot butter, not boiling. The butter should be melted and hot (bubbling gently), because the heat helps cook the yolk, but let it stop sizzling before pouring.
- Add the butter slowly, especially at first. Pour in a thin stream while whisking or blending.
- Serve straight away, or keep warm in a flask or a bowl over barely warm water, for no longer than an hour. Don't reheat it.
- Lemon at the end, to taste. It cuts the richness.
- Fat: hollandaise is rich. Treat it as a special sauce, and serve a little with lots of vegetables.
Barely cooked egg
Hollandaise yolks are only lightly cooked, which isn't enough to guarantee safety for everyone. Use Lion-marked eggs, and avoid serving it to anyone pregnant, elderly, very young or unwell. A shop-bought or pasteurised-yolk version is safer for them.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Blender hollandaise
The blender does the whisking and the hot butter does the cooking. It's the easiest way to a good hollandaise and doesn't need hot water.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 3 medium egg yolks
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 125 g butter
- Pinch of salt and a pinch of cayenne or white pepper
- Melt the butter in a small pan until it is hot and bubbling.
- Put the yolks, lemon juice and seasoning in a small blender or a tall jug with a stick blender. Blend for 10 seconds.
- With the blender running, pour in the hot butter in a thin stream. Leave behind the milky white solids at the bottom of the pan.
- Blend until thick and pale, about 20 seconds. Taste, add more lemon or salt, and serve straight away.
Too thick?
Add a teaspoon of warm water and blend again.
Level 2 · Classic
Whisked hollandaise
The traditional method. You control the heat and watch the sauce change from foam to a thick ribbon. This is where the skill is.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 3 medium egg yolks
- 1 tbsp cold water
- 125 g butter, melted and warm
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Pinch of salt and a pinch of cayenne or white pepper
- Half-fill a pan with water and bring it to a bare simmer. Put the yolks and cold water in a heatproof bowl that sits above the water without touching it.
- Whisk constantly for 3 to 4 minutes, lifting the bowl off the heat every so often if it feels hot, until the yolks are thick, pale and leave a trail (the ribbon stage).
- Take the bowl off the heat. Add the melted butter a few drops at a time, whisking, then in a thin stream as the sauce thickens. Leave the white solids behind.
- Whisk in the lemon juice and seasoning. Serve at once.
Bowl on and off
Keep it moving, and keep lifting the bowl off the heat. If you see the edge of the yolks turning solid, take the bowl off at once and whisk in a teaspoon of cold water.
Level 3 · Variation
Béarnaise
Hollandaise with a tangy herb reduction instead of lemon. Classically served with steak and roast beef.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 6 black peppercorns, crushed
- 1 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped (stalks kept for the reduction)
- 3 medium egg yolks
- 125 g butter, melted and warm
- Pinch of salt
- Put the vinegar, shallot, peppercorns and tarragon stalks in a small pan with 2 tbsp water. Simmer until reduced to about 2 tbsp, then strain.
- Whisk the yolks with the strained reduction over a bowl above simmering water (as in the whisked hollandaise) until thick and pale.
- Off the heat, add the butter slowly while whisking.
- Stir in the chopped tarragon and a pinch of salt. Serve immediately.
Level 3 · The reward
Eggs Benedict
A classic brunch that uses nearly every skill in the course: poaching from Eggs 1, hollandaise from here, and good timing.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 2 English muffins, split
- 4 slices thin ham or back bacon (or a handful of wilted spinach for a lighter version)
- 4 very fresh medium eggs
- A dash of vinegar for the poaching water
- 2 medium egg yolks (for the sauce)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 75 g butter
- Make a half-size blender hollandaise (2 yolks, the lemon juice and 75 g hot butter, as above). Keep it warm in a small bowl set over a pan of barely warm water.
- Toast the muffin halves and warm the ham or bacon (or wilt the spinach).
- Poach the 4 eggs together in gently simmering water with a dash of vinegar, for 3 minutes (see Cooking Skills: Eggs 1, chapter 5).
- Assemble: toasted muffin, ham, a poached egg, then a spoonful of hollandaise.
The timing
Make the sauce first and keep it warm. The eggs only take 3 minutes. Do everything else beforehand, and plate while the eggs drain on kitchen paper.
Experiments
Experiment
Heat levels
Find the edge of scrambling.
- Make the whisked hollandaise yolk base over three different heats: a bare simmer, a gentle simmer and a boil. Use one yolk and 1 tsp water each.
- Whisk for the same time and note how fast each thickens or turns grainy.
Look for: On the highest heat the yolk scrambles within seconds. The gentle heat gives a smooth, thick base. That's the margin you're aiming for.
Experiment
Blender or whisk
Is the extra effort worth it?
- Make half a batch by each method.
- Taste them side by side while still warm.
Look for: The blender sauce is smoother and sturdier. The whisked one is lighter and a little more delicate. Many people can't tell the difference.
Experiment
Rescue a split sauce
Bring it back from the edge.
- Overheat a small batch of hollandaise, or add the butter too fast, so it splits into a greasy, curdled mixture.
- Try two fixes on halves: whisk in a teaspoon of cold water or an ice cube; or start a new yolk in a clean bowl and whisk the split sauce into it slowly.
Look for: Cold water often works for a mild split. The second method works for a bad split, and gives you a stable sauce again.
Tasting notes
| Item | Method | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blender hollandaise | ||||
| Whisked hollandaise | ||||
| Béarnaise | ||||
| Eggs Benedict | ||||
| Heat levels | ||||
| Blender vs whisk | ||||
| Rescued sauce |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Sauce split (oily and curdled) | Too hot, or butter added too fast | Whisk in a teaspoon of cold water, or start a fresh yolk and add the sauce slowly |
| Scrambled bits | Yolks overheated | Strain through a sieve, then whisk in cold water; or start again |
| Too thick | Too much reduction or heat | Whisk in a teaspoon of warm water |
| Too thin | Not enough butter, or yolks not thick enough | Cook the yolks longer before adding the butter |
| Tastes greasy or flat | Needs acid or salt | Add lemon juice and salt to taste |
| Sauce set solid while waiting | Left too long | Don't reheat it. Whisk in a spoon of warm water or make a fresh batch |
| Egg whites come out stringy when poaching | Eggs not fresh | Use the freshest eggs, and strain off the thin white in a sieve |
Food safety: hollandaise
Hollandaise is only lightly cooked, so use Lion eggs and make it fresh. Don't keep it for more than an hour in a warm place, and don't keep leftovers. Avoid serving it to anyone vulnerable; pasteurised yolks are an option.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can make a blender hollandaise.
- I can make hollandaise by whisking over simmering water without scrambling it.
- I can rescue a split sauce.
- I can make a béarnaise.
- I can time Eggs Benedict so everything is hot at once.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Eggs 2, chapter 9 is Curds, Soufflés and Putting It Together: lemon curd, a cheese soufflé and a lemon pudding, then a whole menu with a timing plan and a table of everything you have learned.