Hollandaise 101 – Can a sauce really sense fear?

Re-run alert! Yes, viewers to my old blog may have seen this clip before, but it’s such a key sauce to master, I wanted to have it on this new blog. This sauce can be used on many other things besides eggs; like grilled asparagus and poached salmon. But, since the most common use is on the famous Eggs Benedict, I will also demo how to poach eggs (secret restaurant method) and how to finish the final dish. Stay tuned for that. Now, let’s get our Hollandaise on.

I’m going to show you a new and terrifying method for making this classic Sauce. I don’t use a double-boiler, but rather cook the egg yolks directly over a low flame. I find it faster, easier, and with less chance of under-cooking the yolks. (Warning, you may scramble a few before you get it, but once you get the feel you’ll never do them over water again!) Please note, it’s hard to see on the video, the bowl is never actually touching the flame, but a few inches above.

You’ll hear me say in the clip that this is the way to control the heat in the eggs. Most importantly, be brave! Like bees and dogs, a Hollandaise can sense fear. If you are afraid it’s going to “break” or separate, then it will. I believe this so deeply I had the slogan printed on T-shirts, which coincidently, I’m selling on the site! Hey, I think this is the first clip that actually features one of my products. Did I just “sell out?” If you are interested in getting one of these shirts just click on the picture and you'll be whisked away (pun intended) to my CafePress online shop. Anyway, good luck with the Hollandaise, and let me know how it came out. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 stick of unsalted butter
2 egg yolks
1/2 lemon
salt to taste
cayenne or tabasco sauce to taste