This classic Eggs Benedict Recipe is a delicious breakfast consisting of English muffins, poached eggs, Canadian bacon, and a homemade hollandaise sauce.
I’ve made this recipe so many times in my life that it ain’t even funny. I used to work at this country club and every Sunday was brunch day which means I was whipping up a ton of hollandaise sauce.
Between my arm hurting from so much whisking and my stomach wanting to kill me because of all the fat, it took me a minute to be able to enjoy this again.
Fast forward 20 years and I’m loving it all over again and it’s definitely a part of my breakfast series so if you missed be sure to check out this Frittata Recipe and my Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe!
What Is It
Eggs benedict is simply a toasted English muffin that is topped off with some Canadian bacon, poached egg, hollandaise sauce and a garnish of chives or green onions. It’s really easy to make and dang delicious!
There are a few stories out there on how Eggs Benedict was founded with the first being from the 1860s were a Mrs. LeGrand Benedict when into the first fine dining establishment, Delmonico’s Restaurant in New York, and wasn’t digging what was on the menu.
She demanded the chef make her something else and poof out came what we know as the traditional recipe. Not a bad story.
The second version I dig, and it happened in the late 1890s where Mr. Lemuel Benedict was super hungover and went into the Waldorf Hotel in NYC and told them to stack up some toast, bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise stat! I think I’ll stick with this origin version hehe!
How to Make Eggs Benedict
It’s pretty easy to make, you want to start by making your hollandaise sauce.
Once the sauce is done set it to the side but keep it warm. You can do this by putting a lid over the bowl that it was created in. It will be gross if you pour cold hollandaise on top of the eggs.
Next, simply heat up your ham and keep warm. I do this by searing up some Canadian bacon in a little bit of butter and then keeping the heat super low.
To poach the egg simmer some water over medium-low heat and stir with a spoon for 10 seconds to create a vortex. Add a cracked egg right to the center of the vortex and cook for 3 minutes or until the egg is cooked but the yolk is still runny. Season the egg.
Last but not least toast up your English muffin and then it’s time to plate this up.
How to Serve It
To serve an eggs benedict it’s all about layering. Start by laying down your toasted English muffin half. Next, add the ham followed up with the poached egg and hollandaise sauce.
I always like to finish it off with a little chopped fresh parsley and chives. It’s a no brainer that this recipe, along with my Ham and Cheese Omelette, is in my top 5 breakfasts!
More Breakfast Recipes
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Video
Eggs Benedict Recipe
Ingredients
For the Hollandaise:
- 4 egg yolks
- juice of ½ lemon
- ¼ cup chardonnay wine
- 4-6 ounces clarified butter
- sea salt and cayenne to taste
For the Eggs benedict:
- 8 eggs
- 8 asted English muffin halves
- 8 slices of Canadian bacon heated
- chopped fresh parsley and chives for garnish
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Hollandaise: whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice and wine in a large metal bowl until it becomes frothy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the bowl over a double boiler and whisk vigorously until it is very foamy and no egg liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
- Whisk while slowly drizzling in the clarified butter until completely emulsified. Remove from the double boiler, season with salt and cayenne and set aside.
- Eggs Benedict: Add some vinegar to a medium-size pot with water and simmer over medium-low heat.
- Stir the water using a spoon for 10 seconds to create a vortex and add 1 egg to the center of it so the whites of the egg wrap around the yolk. Cook for 3 minutes or until the egg is cooked but the yolk is runny.
- Remove the egg and season with salt and pepper. Repeat 5 more times with the rest of the eggs.
- To Plate: Place the toasted English muffin halves on a plate and layer on with the Canadian bacon, poached eggs, hollandaise sauce and garnish of parsley and chives.
Jess says
Bonjour Chef Billy,
THIS recipe is absolutely SPOT ON; beyong French myself, I am always shocked & disgusted when I visit cafes & they “bastardise” the original French Hollandaise recipe, serving Eggs Benedict with a tinged vinegar, oranged or sugared Hollandaise sauce..!
Thank you for sharing the Orginal Hollandaise Sauce with everyone… let’s hope CHEFS out there worldwide actually pay attention to this recipe..!
😉
Jess (Anglo-French-Australian)
🙂
It’s NOT difficult to make the proper real sauce,
David says
Please link to a recipe for making English Muffins. You’ve got me wanting to do it completely from scratch! Love your videos!
natasha says
my husband will totally liven this gourmet breakfast. what a treat!
Chef Billy Parisi says
Do it up!
Sara Welch says
This is my favorite meal for breakfast; I will have to give this a try! Restaurant worthy, indeed!
Chef Billy Parisi says
So good!
Rachael Yerkes says
Eggs Benedict is one of my favorites! this is a stellar recipe
Chef Billy Parisi says
Thank you kindly!
Julie says
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it.
Chef Billy Parisi says
thank you so much!