What Is Classic Hollandaise Sauce
Hollandaise sauce is one of the five mother sauces in French cuisine and consists of egg yolks, butter, lemon juice, and water whisked to creamy perfection over low heat. When preparing this decadent recipe, opt for high-quality eggs and butter it makes all the difference. I prefer to get grass-fed butter for its deep yellow color and organic eggs.
How To Make Balsamic Reduction
The great thing about making balsamic reduction at home is that it only takes one ingredient balsamic vinegar. And about 15 minutes of your time.
Which balsamic vinegar should you use? Good news, you also dont need to buy an expensive balsamic vinegar when making it at home. A moderately priced organic or Aceto Balsamico di Modena is what I usually use.
When you buy balsamic reduction or glaze from the store youll find several unnecessary ingredients like caramel colorings, glucose syrup, sugar, corn starch, dextrose and xantham gum. And the shop brand likely used a very low-quality balsamic vinegar to start with. So its kind of junky stuff.
But heres how easy it is to make balsamic reduction:
- Just add one cup of balsamic vinegar to a small pot.
- Bring that to a boil, then reduce the temperature and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
- You can reduce it by 1/3 or 1/2, depending on how thick you like it. Just remember that it will continue to thicken as it cools. Thats it!
Use It On Sweet And Savory Items
A balsamic reduction or glaze is quite versatile. It can be used with both sweet and savory items and the pungency of vinegar removed. When you reduce balsamic vinegar, youre actually evaporating the water and concentrating the sugars. So its naturally sweetened. That makes it perfect to drizzle on veggies, brush on meat, serve as a dip with aged cheeses or dollop on ice cream.
Then again, if youre like me, youll just want to add a straw and slurp it straight up.
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What Is Hollandaise Sauce Used For
Once you make the easy hollandaise, youll want to drizzle it on everything! Try it with these recipes:
- Asparagus One of the most popular pairings for this homemade hollandaise sauce recipe! Drizzle it over roasted asparagus or sauteed asparagus, your choice.
- Eggs Benedict Casserole Add this light but hearty breakfast to your brunch menu asap. Youll never guess that its low carb!
- Eggs Benedict Layer Canadian bacon, and a poached or coddled egg over gluten-free english muffins, then drizzle with the best hollandaise sauce.
- Roasted Broccoli The perfect roasted broccoli is ready in 20 minutes.
How Do I Prevent The Yolks From Curdling
The biggest concern I had when making my first batch of hollandaise was that I would end up scrambling the eggs instead of just blending the butter into the mixture. This is a common concern in making hollandaise, but it’s very simple to prevent.
You will be adding hot butter to cold eggs, so there are two things to consider. First, I recommend bringing the eggs to room temperature before blending. This seems to make the emulsion process easier to manage. Secondly, you absolutely have to add the butter slowly. Start with just a few tablespoons at a time and let it completely blend into the egg before adding more.
Do NOT just dump the butter into the eggs and blend. The hot butter will immediately scramble or curdle the eggs and leave you with a yucky mess rather than a rich sauce.
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How Long Does Hollandaise Sauce Last
Freshly made hollandaise sauce should be kept warm and enjoyed within 1 ½ hours. This can be done by setting it over the double boiler to gently reheat. The sauce should be refrigerated and covered within 2 hours of cooking. To reheat the hollandaise sauce stir over a double boiler, or in a heatproof bowl in 10-second increments in the microwave, stirring in between until it reaches 145ºF . Do not overcook or the sauce will curdle.
How To Make Hollandaise Sauce
To make this recipe, simply heat up some butter and stream it into the blended egg yolk mixture to create a velvety smooth sauce.
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What To Serve Hollandaise Sauce With
Eggs Benedict is the obvious one of course, but you could serve it over regular poached eggs, broccoli, asparagus or poached salmon.
I have included step by step photos and instructions, as well as tips and tricks in the post. If youd rather skip all that, scoot right on down to the full recipe card located at the bottom of the post.
How Do You Make Hollandaise Sauce
Well, like I just said, you mix egg yolk and acid, heat them up and then whisk in melted clarified butter. Lets break this down a little bit.
Clarified Butter
Clarified butter is just butterfat. Butter is melted, which causes a separation of milk solids and fat. The solids form two layers, one on top of the fat, and one below. The top layer is skimmed off, revealing the golden liquid below the surface. Once all of the top milk solid layers has been skimmed off and discarded, the butterfat is separated from the bottom layer of milk solids. Ideally, all you should be left with is the clear, golden butterfat.
Why clarify butter?
We clarify butter for a few reasons. The majority of the salt content of the butter is removed with the solids, as is the water content. What you are left with is pure butterfat, which has a higher smoking point than regular butter and longer shelf life. We use clarified butter for Hollandaise sauce because it gives us a better-textured sauce. It also allows us to have more control over the salt and water content of our sauce.
Acid
The acid most commonly used acid for hollandaise sauce is lemon juice. However, it is not uncommon to use vinegar. When vinegar is used, it is often in the form of a flavoured reduction. Vinegar is simmered with peppercorns, bay leaf, and maybe cloves. The solids will be strained out, and the flavoured vinegar will be used as the acid in the sauce.
Egg yolks
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What Can Go Wrong
There are really only two things that can go wrong when making hollandaise sauce.
The first thing is that the egg yolks get too hot and solidify. This can occur only on the bottom and sides of the bowl. Or, if the bowl gets really hot the whole batch of egg yolks can cook. If this happens the only solution is to start again. There is no coming back from scrambled egg yolks.
To prevent the egg yolks from getting too hot make sure the bowl isnt touching the water in the pot below. Make sure the water in the pot isnt boiling and is actually just barely simmering. And finally, dont stop stirring. Keep the egg yolks moving and watch closely. You want the egg yolks to coagulate but there is only a few degrees difference in temperature between slightly coagulated egg yolk and rock hard egg yolks. So watch carefully.
The second thing that can wrong is that the butter is added too quickly into the sauce and it separates. A hollandaise that has separated looks pretty disgusting. Like curdled milk. However, if this happens it isnt the end of the world or even the end of your sauce. It can be saved.
In all honesty, it is kind of a pain in the ass to have to fix your sauce. This is especially true if you are hungry and just want to eat. The real solution is not to let your sauce break at all.
How To Make Classic Hollandaise Sauce
Melt the butter on the stovetop or in the microwave. If melting in the microwave, do so in 30-second increments making sure it is covered so it doesn’t splatter. The butter needs to be very hot, so melting on the stove top is my preferred method.
Into a blender, add the egg yolks, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt, and cayenne pepper and blend until combined.
While the blender is on high, slowly pour in the butter until it is infused. Do this slowly so to combine and not let the eggs scramble or curdle.
Serve warm with a pinch of additional cayenne pepper or fresh parsley.
Chef’s Tip
When you need to blend something like this one, a quality blender is really vital. I can’t recommend the Ninja Blender system enough. It is the best blender I have ever purchased. In fact, I have had my system for 7 years and it works perfectly today just as it did the day I bought it.
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How To Make Hollandaise Sauce In A Blender
Learn how to make hollandaise sauce in a blender, with just 3 ingredients! This easy hollandaise sauce recipe is ready in minutes and delicious on eggs, veggies, etc.
This post may contain affiliate links, which help keep this content free.
Are you wanting to learn how to make hollandaise sauce, but feel a little nervous? You arent alone! But have no fear, this easy hollandaise sauce recipe is made with a simple with a little trick the blender! The hollandaise sauce ingredients are basic: butter, egg yolks, lemon juice, and sea salt. And the method? Since were making hollandaise sauce in a blender, its also very simple!
If youve got brunch on the mind, be sure to try my almond flour blueberry muffins, oven baked bacon, or the perfect omelette they are brunch musts!
Reminder: This recipe is made with raw eggs, so be sure to use pasteurized eggs.
Easy Hollandaise Sauce Recipe
Hollandaise Sauce sounds fancy but it is truly easy to make. Its often drizzled over a classic dish of Eggs Benedict with crispy bacon, toasted English muffins, and Poached Eggs.
If youre a lover of French-style breakfast foods, also try your hand at making our Perfect Omelette, Quiche Lorraine, or Crepes.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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Is It Safe To Eat Hollandaise Sauce
To ensure that the hollandaise sauce is safe to eat and not raw, the egg yolk needs to reach at least 149ºF to help destroy any harmful bacteria present. This temperature is reached when the yolk is warmed over the double boiler or bain marie .
If you arent serving the sauce right away, make sure to keep the sauce warm, between 141 to 145ºF for no more than 1 ½ hours. If heated over 150ºF , the sauce will become cooked and grainy in texture, if held below 45ºF , the sauce will become solid and not ideal for use.
Keep the sauce out of the temperature danger zone of between 40 to 140ºF , as bacteria can multiply rapidly. I use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature during the preparation steps and the final sauce.
How To Store And Reheat Hollandaise Sauce
While this sauce is best served fresh, you do have the option of reheating it. But keep in mind that there could be a chance where your eggs will cook up a bit. So here are two options for reheating just be cautious!
- Microwave: Place the hollandaise sauce in a glass bowl, and microwave it in 15 second increments. Repeat this process until your sauce is fully warmed up.
- Stove Top: Pour the hollandaise sauce into a pan over low heat. Add in a smidge of melted butter and water to re-emulsify and give it a smooth texture. Once its warmed up, pour the sauce back into a serving bowl.
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What Causes A Hollandaise Sauce To Break
A tell-tale sign of a broken hollandaise sauce is if its grainy in texture, the butter is pooled on top, or its thin in consistency. Broken sauces happen typically because the emulsion never formed in the first place, due to various causes.
- Adding in the butter in too quickly
- The egg yolk heated up too much and the emulsifying properties are lost
- The yolks are overcooked and the sauce is curdled and grainy
- The butter is too hot when it was added in
Can You Freeze Leftover Hollandaise Sauce
Yes, you can freeze leftover hollandaise sauce, but its important to freeze it in an airtight container or bag. It is best to keep the sauce in the fridge if you want to use it for the next day. You can make the hollandaise sauce ahead of time, and then reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Also, you can reheat the sauce straight from the freezer by placing it in a microwave or the oven for about 10 minutes.
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What To Use Hollandaise Sauce On
This beautiful sauce is like an elegant, pourable, better version of Mayonnaise. Its a brunch staple for Eggs Benedict, will instantly fancy up any steamed vegetable and because Hollandaise Sauce is rich yet delicate, its an excellent sauce for seafood. Especially expensive seafood, like lobster and scallops!
Here are some suggestions:
Basically, a little Hollandaise Sauce will fancy up anything. Its like putting on your favourite sparkly earrings when youve thrown on whatever itll bring instant bling to even your daggiest outfit! Nagi x
How Do You Fix A Broken Hollandaise Sauce
If the sauce is grainy you cannot save it, its best to start over. I find the most effective method is to use a clean bowl and repeat the double boiler method by adding two new egg yolks, 1 teaspoon of water, and ½ teaspoon vinegar, whip until thickened and then gradually add in the broken sauce. No need to use new butter. If the sauce is too hot then allow it to cool down before rescuing it, or if its too cold heat it up slightly over the double boiler.
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Hollandaise Sauce Recipes Faqs
What is hollandaise sauce?
Hollandaise is a classic French sauce made from egg yolks, butter, and lemon juice. This sauce is one of the five “mother sauces” in French cuisine and is seasoned with salt and pepper or cayenne.
What equipment do I need to make hollandaise sauce?
The main component of hollandaise sauce is the double boiler, which indirectly cooks the egg yolks. This is what makes the sauce double and thicken. However, you can also use a pan of simmering water and a heatproof bowl, rather than a true double boiler. You will also need a whisk to emulsify the sauce.
Is hollandaise sauce keto-friendly?
Hollandaise is a low carb sauce. Pour some of this velvety sauce on meat, seafood, eggs, and all your favorite vegetables!
What is the difference between hollandaise and béarnaise sauce?
Hollandaise is an egg yolk mixture emulsified with unsalted butter and acid . Béarnaise sauce builds on this sauce using egg yolks, butter, white wine vinegar, shallots, and tarragon.
Is hollandaise sauce gluten-free?
Hollandaise is naturally gluten-free, as there are no grain or wheat products added to thicken the sauce.
Is it safe to eat hollandaise sauce?
The eggs in the hollandaise sauce cook over a double boiler and are whisked to emulsify with the lemon juice, making it safe to consume.
Can I make hollandaise sauce in advance?
Tips From The Betty Crocker Kitchens
- tip 1 Some of our favorite ways to use this homemade Hollandaise Sauce include topping steamed vegetables, fish and of course, eggsas in eggs benedict.
- tip 2 As mentioned above, classic Hollandaise Sauce is considered one of the mother sauces in French cuisine. Other sauces in this group include béchamel , Espagnole and velouté . All of these sauces can take any number of forms, but its helpful to know the basic formula for each of these. You’re likely already familiar with these sauces in one form or another. For example, the gravy you make on Thanksgiving is a form of velouté, and the sauce you make for homemade macaroni and cheese will start with a béchamel. So next time you run across these terms, theres no need to be intimidated by the French wordschances are, youre already very well acquainted with these fundamental sauces.
- tip 3 To make Béarnaise sauce, stir in 1 tablespoon dry white wine with the lemon juice. After sauce thickens, stir in 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion, 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves and 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried chervil leaves. Serve with fish and meat.
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How To Reheat Hollandaise Sauce
Hollandaise Sauce that cools from warm to room temperature will thicken slightly but still be pourable and can be used. Once the sauce hits a hot poached egg say, it warms it up.
Fridge cold Hollandaise Sauce is very thick it has a peanut butter consistency. You need to be extremely careful reheating it to ensure that you dont cook the eggs even setting a bowl over another boil with boiling water is unreliable and will make the eggs scramble as I found out first hand!
I find the best way to gently reheat Hollandaise Sauce is to submerge a sealed container in a bowl of warm water no hotter than 50°C/122°F . Leave it for around 20 minutes, stir sauce, change the water and repeat, until it is slightly warmer than room temp and pourable.
See? Its back to freshly made perfection!
