Eggs Benedict (New York)

american-newyork-eggsbenedict Eggs Benedict is an American breakfast or brunch dish that consists of two halves of an English muffin topped with a poached egg, bacon or ham, and hollandaise sauce. The dish was first popularized in New York City. There are conflicting accounts as to the origin of Eggs Benedict. Delmonico's in lower Manhattan says on its menu that "Eggs Benedict was first created in our ovens in 1860." One of its former chefs, Charles Ranhofer, also published the recipe for Eggs à la Benedick in 1894. This recipe is the classic version.

Hollandaise Sauce:
3 large egg yolks
1 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
12-16 Tbsp. butter, very soft (6-8 oz)
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Poached Eggs:
2 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar, per 2 qts (1.9 L) water
4 large eggs

Assembly:
2 English muffins, cut in half
butter
4-8 slices boiled or baked ham, trimmed to be same size as muffin
4 warm poached eggs
1 cup Hollandaise sauce
black pepper, freshly ground

Make the Hollandaise Sauce:
Whisk the yolks, water, and lemon juice in a saucepan that’s off the heat for a few moments, until the mixture is thick and pale. (This prepares them for what is to come.)

Place the pan over moderately low heat and continue to whisk at a reasonable speed, reaching all over the bottom and insides of the pan where the eggs tend to overcook. To moderate the heat, frequently move the pan off the burner for a few seconds, and then back on. (If, by chance, the eggs seem to be cooking too fast, set the pan in the bowl of cold water to cool the bottom, then continue.) As they cook, the eggs will become frothy and increase in volume and then thicken. When you can see the pan bottom through the streaks of the whisk and the eggs are thick and smooth, remove the pan from the heat.

Add the soft butter in spoonfuls, whisking constantly to incorporate each addition before adding more. As the emulsion forms, you may add the butter in slightly larger amounts, always whisking until fully absorbed. Continue incorporating butter until the sauce has thickened to the consistency that you want.

Season the hollandaise sauce lightly with salt and a dash of cayenne pepper, whisking it well. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding droplets of lemon juice if needed. Serve lukewarm.

Poach the Eggs:
Fill the pan with of 2-3" of warm water, add the vinegar, and bring to a slow boil.

Rapidly crack and open each egg into the water, holding the shell as close to the surface as possible. The eggs will cool the water; adjust the heat to maintain a slow simmer. After a few moments, when the whites have just begun to set, drag the back of the slotted spoon gently across the top of the eggs, to move them off the pan bottom so they don’t stick. Cook the eggs for about 4 minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary.

To test for doneness, lift 1 egg from the water with the slotted spoon and gently press both white and yolk. The whites should feel fully set but not too firm, and the yolks very soft. If you prefer firmer eggs, poach the eggs longer.

When the eggs are set the way you like them, remove the eggs from the saucepan with the slotted spoon or strainer and immerse them in a bowl of warm tap water to wash off the vinegar. Set the spoon on a clean towel (or folded paper towels) for a moment to remove excess water. Immediately assemble the eggs Benedict.

Assemble the Eggs Benedict:
Just before serving, toast the bread circles or muffins lightly, butter both sides, and warm the ham or prosciutto in a frying pan with a tablespoon butter.

Center a toast round on each warm serving plate. Drape a slice of ham, prosciutto, or bacon over the toast and top it with a poached egg. Spoon some hollandaise sauce generously over each egg and top with a few grinds of black pepper.

Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

Several variations of Eggs Benedict exist:

Eggs Blackstone substitutes streaky bacon for the ham and adds a tomato slice.
Eggs Blanchard substitutes Béchamel sauce for Hollandaise.
Eggs Florentine substitutes spinach for the ham or adds it underneath. Older versions of eggs Florentine add spinach to poached or shirred eggs.
Eggs Chesapeake substitutes a Maryland blue crab cake in place of the ham.
Eggs Mornay substitutes Mornay (cheese) sauce for the Hollandaise.
Eggs Trivette adds Creole mustard to the Hollandaise and adds a topping of crayfish.
Eggs Omar (also known as a steak benedict) substitutes a small steak in place of the ham, and sometimes replaces the hollandaise with béarnaise.
Eggs Atlantic, Eggs Hemingway, or Eggs Norvégienne (also known as Eggs Royale and Eggs Montreal in New Zealand) substitutes salmon or smoked salmon for the ham. This is a common variation found in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom, and in Kosher restaurants that cannot serve bacon or any pork products. This is also known as "Eggs Benjamin" in some restaurants in Canada.
Huevos Benedictos substitutes sliced avocado and/or Mexican chorizo for the ham, and is topped with both a salsa (such as salsa roja or salsa brava) and hollandaise sauce.
Eggs Hussarde substitutes Holland rusks for the English muffin and adds Bordélaise sauce.
Irish Benedict replaces the ham with corned beef or Irish bacon.
Eggs Cochon, a variation from New Orleans restaurants which replaces the ham with pork "debris" (slow roasted pork shredded in its own juices) and the English muffin with a large buttermilk biscuit.
California Benedict substitutes Avocado Sauce (California Hass avocados puréed with lemon juice) for the Hollandaise, and sliced tomato for the ham.
Avocado Toast Benedict substitutes toast for the muffin and sliced avocado for the ham.
New Jersey Benedict substitutes Taylor Pork Roll in place of ham.
Eggs Woodhouse includes two eggs and artichoke hearts, creamed spinach, béchamel sauce, Ibérico ham, black truffle and beluga caviar. The recipe is featured in the book How To Archer, inspired by the TV series Archer on FXX.
Eggs Zenedict, a specialty of restaurants in the largely-defunct Canadian retail chain Zellers. Poached eggs on a toasted scone with peameal back bacon (Canadian bacon), smothered in a sundried tomato Hollandaise sauce.