Eggs Benedict is a classic brunch recipe that’s simple to make at home. Toasted English muffins, crispy bacon or ham, perfectly poached eggs, and a homemade Hollandaise sauce that’s smooth and rich - no packet sauce needed. This version uses clarified butter for a more stable sauce and includes tips to get it just right. Great for weekend breakfasts or brunch with friends.
Category
Breakfast
Servings
4
Prep time
5 minutes
Cook time
10 minutes
Eggs Benedict is a classic brunch recipe that’s simple to make at home. Toasted English muffins, crispy bacon or ham, perfectly poached eggs, and a homemade Hollandaise sauce that’s smooth and rich - no packet sauce needed. This version uses clarified butter for a more stable sauce and includes tips to get it just right. Great for weekend breakfasts or brunch with friends.
Ingredients
- 225g butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 20 ml (1 tbsp) apple cider vinegar
- sea salt, to taste
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 4 English muffins, halved, lightly toasted
- 8 eggs, poached
- 200g Canadian Bacon (back bacon) or sliced leg ham
- sliced chives and cracked black pepper, to garnish
- water (a few drops, for thinning the sauce)
- oil (for frying the bacon)
Directions
Clarify the butter
Place butter in a saucepan over a medium low heat to melt, then bring to a simmer.
- Skim the solids off the top, then once it has become clear, pour into another container, leaving the solids in the bottom of the pot to discard.
Make the Hollandaise sauce
Place a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, ensuring the bowl base does not touch the water.
- Add the egg yolks, vinegar and lemon juice in the bowl and whisk until doubled in volume and light yellow colour.
- Remove the bowl from the heat and slowly whisk in the warm clarified butter (only lukewarm in temperature).
- As the sauce starts to get very thick, add a few drops of water to thin it out slightly.
- Once the mixture has emulsified, season it with salt to taste, then set aside, with the surface covered with a baking paper cartouche to stop a skin forming.
Finish and serve
Cook bacon in an oiled frying pan on medium high heat, until browned and starting to crisp.
- To serve, top muffin halves with a slice of bacon, then carefully add a poached egg. Drizzle with the sauce and garnish with chives and cracked pepper.
Recipe notes
Cook support
Hollandaise sauce does take practise to make perfect as it is quite easy to overcook and curdle, but there is a way to fix a split Hollandaise. Watch my short video on how to fix a split hollandaise here.
Substitutions
Canadian (Back) bacon is the preferred choice as it is the perfect size and shape for the English muffin, but you could use middle or streaky bacon if you prefer, or some good quality sliced leg ham, smoked salmon or wilted baby spinach. You can also swap the English muffins for sourdough, brioche or even hash browns.
Variations
There are two popular variations of this dish; the Eggs Royale which uses smoked salmon instead of bacon or Eggs Florentine which is a good vegetarian alternative as it has spinach in place of bacon or salmon.
Storage
Your hollandaise is best made right before you serve it as it's hard to reheat without splitting it.
