Wow last weeks episode was intense! there were so much drama from the female contestants! So like usual the losing team had to face a elimination challenge and that was to make eggs Benedict. They were provided: English muffin, ham, 5 eggs, lemons, clarified butter, chives, peppercorns, and parsley.
So if you are wondering why this post is up so late, its because I had tried making this on the weekend a couple of hours before going to work, anyway it was a huge fail and to make a long story short I had accidentally poured out too much salt on the Hollandaise sauce so it was not edible. This was my first time making Hollandaise sauce, and its not as easy as I thought it would be. So my second attempt was yesterday evening. I was afraid of making it too thick so I added a little bit of water, well that was a mistake too. The seasoning was there, and it tasted good, but I think one more minute of cooking the sauce would have been better. I didn’t cook the sauce in a saucepan, I used a double boiler and placed my egg yolks in a metal bowl on top of it to cook it slowly, so I can be sure not to over cook it. You do not want to end up with scrambled eggs.
The verdict: I would have probably gotten a really harsh comment by Gordon Ramsey, he would probably make fun of my sauce because it wasn’t thick enough to stay on top of the poached eggs. Joe would have spat in my face while he tried to yell at me with his mouth full. All in all, I did fail the challenge but I don’t think that I would have been eliminated, because all together it tasted good. I didn’t have a runny, under cooked egg. My sauce was a bit thin but at least it didn’t separate, or turn to mayonnaise.
Tips: How to get the perfect eggs Benedict
Hollandaise sauce
1. To achieve the perfect consistency: You should have 1-2″ of water in a saucepan for the bain marie (double-boiler), and it should be on a gentle simmer. Beat egg yolks in the bowl until it becomes thick and pale yellow. When you lift your whisk, it should fall back with ribbons. This takes about 3-4 minutes.
2. Avoid it from breaking: Breaking in the sauce means that the butter and yolks separate from each other. Add your butter in a very slow stream while you are whisking. Make sure that your heat on the double- boiler is not too hot. You can remove it from the heat when you have achieved the creamy thick texture and then slowly add in your butter.
3. Season with love: Don’t forget to season!
Poached eggs
1. Use a large pot: Use a large pot, and fill it up with water, and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat: When your water starts to boil, reduce the heat and make sure you are not getting huge bubbles, this will be too rough for your delicate eggs and you will have scrambled egg whites in your water.
3. Keep the white with the yolk: Here is 2 things you can do; Add 1-2 tsp of white vinegar in the water, just before adding your egg. Stir the water with a chopstick or the other end of a wooden spoon just until you have the water moving in one direction and add the egg in the center of the warp.
4. Avoid a runny egg: Make sure it is cooked just enough so that the egg whites are not runny, but the yolks are. Cook it 2-3 minutes, and remove with a slotted spoon.
Good Luck!