Who doesn't love eggs benedict? A fatty, salty, (a bit) tart sauce drizzled with reckless abandon over two perfectly poached eggs and a slice of grilled canadian bacon and crunchy english muffin that can make your head spin. When executed well, it's the perfect bite. But things can go sideways fast so I brought in an expert on this week's episode of The Grub Up podcast to walk us through. Executive Chef Matthew Dolan from 25 Lusk in San Francisco shares chef tips and tricks to help you nail your Benne for your next brunch! Don't be intimidated by the recipe(scroll down), it's easier than it looks! Just take it slow and enjoy!
Chef Dolan's Eggs Benedict For Four
Mise en Place aka Stuff You Need
· Pot for boiling water
· Shallow pot for poaching eggs
· Small baking tray with lint free linen for placing poached eggs or a bowl of ice water for the same reason
· Slotted kitchen spoon, or a medium sized spoon with holes, or just a big spoon
· Toaster
· Medium sized stainless steel mixing bowl
· Whisk
· Tongs
· Frying pan
· Cereal bowl or Marcus’ thermos
· Spoon to sauce the finished product
· Knife to spread butter
· Fork to split english muffins
· 12 Eggs
· ½ Pound Butter
· 1 Lemon
· 8 slices of Canadian bacon
· 4 english muffins
· ½ bunch of chives, diced
· 1 bottle of champagne
Hollandaise
Ingredients:
· 4 egg yolks
· 1 cup of water
· 1 Tablespoon of red wine vinegar
· 2 sticks of butter, melted, and warm
· ½ teaspoon of salt
· 1 teaspoon of tabasco
· 1 lemon, zest and juice
· 1 Tablespoon sliced chives
Directions:
· Pour 1 cup of water into a large saucepan; over medium heat, bring to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low.
· Place egg yolks, 1 Tablespoon of water, and vinegar in a stainless steel mixing bowl and whisk, approximately 1 to 2 minutes, or until it becomes frothy. It should almost double in volume eventually. Have a potholder or kitchen towel as this bowl is going to get hot.
· Place the mixture over the simmering water and whisk constantly for 5-8 minutes, it should almost double in size and look like a foam (or a Sabayon if you are a kitchen dork like me).
· While whisking aggressively, into your foamy egg yolk awesomeness, gently and patiently drizzle in the melted butter. Take your time, the slower this happens, the better the end result will be. If you are too fast, this will break and you’ll have to start over. Sorry.
· Once the butter is fully incorporated, add the salt, lemon juice, and tobacco sauce.
· Now taste it. More salt, lemon, or Tabasco? Well, that’s up to you.
· Store in a non-metal container, near the stove so slightly warmer than room temperature, and now go cook those eggs!
Poaching the Eggs:
Ingredients:
· 2 quarts of water
· A pot
· ½ cup red wine vinegar
· 1 Tablespoon salt
Directions:
· Bring water, vinegar and salt to a boil
· Set slotted spoon
· Set baking tray with linen, or a plate, or bowl of ice water…whatever
· Crack eggs into a small bowl
· Once the water has reached a boil, reduce to a simmer
· Swirl the water to make an egg jacuzzi
· While swirling the water with a spoon, add the eggs one by one
· Once all eggs are in the water, let them hang out for a minute
· Then swirl them again
· 2-3 minutes in, check them. If the whites are cooked and wrapped around the yolks, you’re killing it
· Cook for another 30 seconds and remove. If you’re going ice water, hang on to this egg water – you’ll use it later to reheat the eggs
The Canadian Bacon
Ingredients
· 8 slices of Canadian bacon
· Frying pan
· Butter
Directions
· Melt butter in the pan
· Fry the slices of Canadian bacon
· Brown each side, leave them in the pan and set aside
Assembly:
· Toast the English muffins
· Dice your chives and set aside
· Spread butter on the toasted muffins
· Place the toasted and buttered English muffins on plates
· Put the Canadian bacon on the muffins
· Place your poached eggs or reheated eggs atop the Canadian bacon
· Tell everyone to sit down
· Pour everyone a glass of champagne
· Spoon a generous amount of your hollandaise over the eggs, and finish with diced chives
Stuff to consider:
· If you don’t eat the pig, use crab!
· Wild arugula is an awesome addition
· Lobster doesn’t suck either
· If you’re vegetarian, sauté some veggies add some fresh herbs, and use that in place of meat or fish
· Grilled Shrimp works here too
· Adding chopped tarragon, basil, or parsley (or all three) is just great
Beverage Pairings
· Blanc de Blanc Champagne
· Light and crisp pilsner – North Coast Scrimshaw for example
· Marcus’ Prosecco
· Gruener Vetliner
· Sparkling Lemonade if day drinking isn’t your thing
· And of course, a beautiful Bloody Mary