American
Classic Eggs Benedict
Poached eggs and ham on toasted English muffins, with a hollandaise you make in a bowl over simmering water.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
Photo: jh_tan84 (CC BY). Source
Why you’ll love it
- Low heat for the sauce. It should not scramble.
- Poach the eggs in gently simmering water.
- Ham or Canadian bacon, not a thick steak.
- Toast the muffins so they do not sog.
Ingredients
Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.
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Instructions
- 1
Toast the muffins. Warm the Canadian bacon in a skillet.
- 2
Simmer a pan of water with the vinegar. Poach the eggs 3 minutes for soft yolks. Lift them out.
- 3
Whisk the yolks and lemon juice over a bowl set above simmering water until thick. Whisk in the melted butter slowly. Add salt and cayenne.
- 4
Stack muffin, bacon, egg, and hollandaise.
Pro tips
- If the sauce looks like it might scramble, take the bowl off the heat and whisk.
- Crack each egg into a cup before it goes in the water.
- This serves four with two eggs each. It is a brunch, not a side.
Easy substitutions
- Canadian bacon
- Ham
- Butter
- The sauce needs butter. There is not a good swap here.
Storage and reheating
Storage
Hollandaise and poached eggs are for the meal you are eating.
Reheating
Do not reheat hollandaise. Poach fresh eggs.
Nutrition
Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.
- Calories
- 520
- Protein
- 26 g
- Carbs
- 28 g
- Fat
- 34 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
Special occasion · Stovetop
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From the kitchen
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A heavy 12-inch skillet
Most of the chicken and steak recipes are written for one pan that holds heat. Stainless or cast iron both work.
An air fryer with a real basket
The air-fryer recipes expect a single layer. A crowded basket steams instead of browning.
A half-sheet pan
Drumsticks, potatoes, sausage, and carrots all use one. A dark pan browns faster than a very shiny one.
A sharp chef’s knife
These recipes do not need a specialty blade. A sharp 8-inch knife is faster and safer than a dull one.
A large cutting board
Big enough that the onion and the raw chicken are not sharing the same puddle.
Dry cups and a liquid cup
Desserts in particular expect level dry measures and a separate cup for milk.
An instant-read thermometer
Use it for poultry, pork chops, and meatloaf. Color is a weak guide.
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