Hollandaise sauce is a magical emulsion that breaks the rule that oil and water don’t mix. This is made possible by the fact that both butter and egg yolks contain emulsifiers. Emulsifiers such as milk proteins(butter) and lecithin (egg yolks) are molecules where one end is attracted to oil, and the other end is drawn to water. They’re like a mutual friend that bridges the gap between two enemies allowing them to intermingle.
Aside from it’s most common use as a sauce for Eggs Benedict, hollandaise is also excellent on vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, or carrots. Oh, and potatoes! I love scooping refrigerated hollandaise straight into a baked potato or using it as a condiment for french fries. Adding some chopped herbs at the end makes for an herbed hollandaise that's perfect for saucing poached seafood such as salmon, shrimp, or lobster.
Because of the precarious nature of emulsions, I like to add a stabilizer like xantham gum to help the emulsion hold. The resulting hollandaise sauce is so stable that it can be stored in the fridge and then gently reheated (in a bowl placed over hot water) without having to worry about the sauce breaking (oil and water separating). Just be careful not to overheat it, or the egg will cook, and it will give the sauce a lumpy texture. If this happens, you may be able to rescue it by whisking in a bit of warm water until it's smooth again.
As for seasonings, I've kept this recipe very basic, but I like to add a bit of fresh Meyer lemon zest at the end. You can also stir in other herbs and spices like tarragon, marjoram, or sumac for a flavored Hollandaise.
📖 Recipe
Units
Ingredients
- 85 grams cultured unsalted butter (6 tablespoons)
- 3 egg yolks (pasteurized, see note below)
- 1/16 teaspoon xantham gum (small pinch)
- ¼ cup boiling water
- 2 teaspoons Meyer lemon juice (to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Put the butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on low power (~500 watts) until the butter is mostly, but not completely melted. Whatever you do, do not let it boil.
- Add the egg yolks and xantham gum to the butter and use a hand blender or whisk to emulsify the two together. Make sure the mixture is fully combined, and there is no butter separated out from the mixture.
- Slowly pour the boiling water into the egg yolk mixture while whisking or blending.
- Add the lemon juice and salt and whisk to combine. Adjust seasoning to taste. I like adding a bit of lemon zest or some chopped herbs here.
- Keep the hollandaise sauce warm in a double boiler until you are ready to use it.
- You can get rid of the air bubbles in the sauce by smacking the bottom of the container on the palm of your hand.
- If you stabilized your Hollandaise sauce with xantham gum, you can store it for up to a week in the fridge and reheat it in a double boiler.
DJ says
Elegant solution to an age-old problem (oil v. water). Can't believe today I made perfect poached eggs with your technique (after 20 tries over the years with other recipes) as well as perfect Hollandaise on my first try ever. Even my kids gobbled them up (having tried neither before). Really fool-proof instructions. Oh, I substituted some high-end olive oil for butter and it worked out wonderfully. Brunch will never be the same. Thanks Marc!
Marc says
Hi DJ, I'm so happy to hear my technique was helpful! Cooking (like most things in life) isn't too difficult if you understand the process that makes the techniques work. Great call on the olive oil BTW!
Jin says
I tried it but it ended up really watery, is there anything I could do to prevent that? The only thing I didn't have was the xanthan gum
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Jin, the xantham gum not only stabilizes the sauce (so you you can store and reheat it without having it break), it also thickens it. If you're doing it without xanthem gum you'll need to use less water.
Jin says
Thank you! I tried it again with less water and it's perfect 🙂