Eggs Benedict

Alton Brown

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2010

Show: Good EatsEpisode: Little Big Lunch: Eggs Benedict

Picture of Eggs Benedict Recipe 1 Video | Photo: Eggs Benedict Recipe
Rated 5 stars out of 5
  • Rate This Recipe
  • Read 27 Reviews
Total Time:
13 hr 55 min
Prep
30 min
Inactive
13 hr 0 min
Cook
25 min
Yield:
8 muffins
Level:
Intermediate
x

Save To My Recipe Box

Please limit to 20 characters

Saving Recipe

Adding Recipe

Or Do Not Add

Success

This recipe was saved to your Folder_Name folder.

x

Save To My Recipe Box

Please sign in to save this recipe to your Recipe Box!!

25 Characters Max

Enter Time:

:
:

You can create up to five timers

Ingredients

  • Yeast Based Eggs Benedict Foundation Platform (English Muffin), recipe follows
  • Poached Eggs, recipe follows
  • Hollandaise Sauce, recipe follows
  • 8 slices Canadian bacon, julienned

Yeast Based Eggs Benedict Foundation Platform:

  • 12 ounces all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 ounces nonfat dry milk
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 envelope active dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 10 ounces water
  • 1 tablespoon shortening
  • Nonstick spray
  • 8 teaspoons rolled quick oats
  • Special Equipment: 8 (3 3/4-inch diameter by 2-inch tall) cans with tops and bottoms removed or 8 English muffin rings

Directions

Combine the flour, nonfat dry milk, sugar, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low for 10 seconds using the paddle attachment.

Put the water and shortening in microwavable container and heat to 120 to 130 degrees F, approximately 2 minutes. Stir until the shortening is thoroughly melted. Add the water mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until well combined, stopping to scrape down the bowl halfway through mixing, about 3 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, uncover and mix on medium speed, using the paddle attachment, for 3 minutes.

Position the 8 cans on a half sheet pan and generously spray the rings and pan with nonstick spray. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of oats in the bottom of each ring. Scoop the dough, with a 2-ounce ice cream scoop or disher, into the rings, dividing the dough evenly between the rings. Sprinkle each top with 1/2 teaspoon of oats. Cover with parchment and let sit in a warm place for 60 minutes.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Leave the parchment in place and set a second sheet pan on top. Bake for 20 minutes then remove the top half sheet pan. Continue to bake until the muffins reach an internal temperature of 210 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, and are lightly browned, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Remove the pan with the muffins still in the rings, to a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Slide a knife around the perimeter of the ring to loosen. Cool completely before splitting with a fork. To serve, toast under broiler for 3 to 4 minutes.

Poached Eggs:

  • 4 quarts water
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 8 large eggs

Put 4 (6-ounce) custard cups in a 6-quart deep, straight-sided saute pan or rondeau. Add 4 quarts of water or enough to cover the cups by at least 1/4-inch. Add the vinegar and salt to the water and put the pan over high heat. Heat just until the water begins to boil and the cups clatter against the bottom of the pan, 20 to 25 minutes.

Adjust the heat to maintain a water temperature of 205 degrees F outside the cups. Break the eggs, 1 at a time, into another custard cup or ladle. Pour the eggs slowly into each of the cups, timing them about 10 seconds apart. Cook for 5 minutes each.

Serve immediately or remove eggs from cups and transfer to an ice bath to stop cooking. Refrigerate for up to 6 hours in the ice bath.

To reheat, bring water to a simmer, turn off the heat and add the eggs. Wait 1 to 2 minutes or until warmed through.

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Hollandaise Sauce:

  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne, divided
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice strained, divided
  • 8 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Whisk together the egg yolks, water, salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the cayenne in a 2 quart saucier for 1 minute.

Put the saucier over low heat and whisk vigorously, moving the pan on and off the heat every 10 to 15 seconds, bringing the mixture to 140 to 145 degrees F, on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 3 minutes. Add 1 piece of butter at a time, every 30 seconds, while continually whisking and moving the saucier on and off the heat. Maintain temperature around 120 to 130 degrees F throughout the remainder of the cooking process. Once half of the butter, or 8 pieces, have been added, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Add the remaining 8 pieces of butter, 1 at a time, every 30 seconds, while continuing to move the saucier on and off the heat and maintaining 120 to 130 degrees F. After the last piece of butter has been added, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, and the sugar and whisk for 1 to 2 minutes.

Taste and add more lemon juice, as desired. Move immediately to a short, wide-mouthed thermos to hold for up to 2 hours. Reheat over low heat for 45 seconds.

Yield: 1 1/4 cups sauce

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 to 20 minutes

To build Eggs Benedict:

Put the julienned Canadian bacon in 10-inch saute pan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until heated through and beginning to turn lightly brown around the edges, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, but leave the bacon in the pan to keep warm until serving.

For each serving, put 2 small dollops of hollandaise on a plate and set 1/2 an English muffin on top of each dollop. Put a small amount of Canadian bacon on top of each half and top with 1 warm poached egg and drizzle with hollandaise. Repeat with remaining ingredients and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

Print Recipe

COMMENT ON THIS PROJECT

    

Sign in

All fields are required.

E-mail Address:

Password:

Remember me on this computer

Signing in

Please enter your email address and we will send your password

E-mail Address

Your password has been sent and should arrive in your mailbox very soon.

Not a member?

Sign up for My Food Network to share photos, show off your style, and connect to an enthusiastic and helpful community.

It's free and easy.

Review This Recipe

You must be signed in to review this recipe.

Newest Ratings and Reviews

Read all 27 reviews

  • on May 20, 2012

    Flag

    This rating is for the hollandaise sause only. Yum! Thank you Alton! It is easy and delicious; silky, thick and lemony. I left out the cayenne as we are not fond of any heat at all. I really like Alton's idea of moving the pan on and off the heat every 10-15 seconds. Sometimes I let the pan linger over the heat for 25-30 seconds - whisking constantly. I did bump the heat up - gas burners - to 2 notches above the lowest setting as nothing was happening over low. I did not use custard cups for the poached eggs; just slid them into water with 2 T white vinegar and cooked in gentle simmer for 3-4 mins and they were perfect. The yolks were warm and runny when broken over the bacon and pre-packaged english muffins. Heavenly! My mother was impressed and that is not easy! LOL :

    people found this review Helpful.
    Was this review helpful to you? Yes | No
  • on April 08, 2012

    Flag

    Delicious Easter Brunch! My Husband and I followed the recipe for the sauce exactly, it came out perfect and this was our first time making holandaise ever. It was a joint effort with him constantly whisking and I adding the butter. Don't forget the sugar it is important to nutrilize the lemon. We doubled the recipe but only used 1/2 tsp of cayenne and it had just enough heat in the back. I bought the best English muffins I could find but I baked a spiral ham and used that on the muffin. Fantastic. The family raved about it. Very easy and well worth it. Also, poaching eggs ahead of time and leaving in ice bath is the only way to go when feeding a crowd.

    people found this review Helpful.
    Was this review helpful to you? Yes | No
  • on January 02, 2012

    Flag

    Personally, I loved it. The rest of my family thought the sauce was too spicy. Next time, I'll make it with less cayenne pepper for them.

    people found this review Helpful.
    Was this review helpful to you? Yes | No

Next Recipe

Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict

By: Ree Drummond
Rated 4 stars out of 5
Advertisement

Free Recipe of the Day Newsletter

Let Food Network chefs plan what's for dinner, with quick and easy recipes delivered to your inbox daily.

Ads by Google

© 2012 Television Food Network G.P. All rights reserved.