Classic Eggs Benedict
Toasted English muffins topped with Canadian bacon, silky poached eggs, and a rich, made-from-scratch hollandaise sauce, finished with fresh chives.
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 3 large egg yolks
- 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 pinches cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 8 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for spreading
- 8 slices Canadian bacon
- 4 English muffins, split
- Chopped fresh chives, for topping
- Make the hollandaise sauce: melt the 2 sticks of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until it's no longer foamy but hasn't browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Carefully transfer the clear, golden butter to a liquid measuring cup, leaving the milky white solids behind in the pan, then discard those solids.
- Heat about 1 inch of water in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it's steaming but not simmering. Whisk together the egg yolks, 1 tablespoon water, and 2 teaspoons of the lemon juice in a medium stainless-steel bowl, then set the bowl on top of the saucepan without letting it touch the water. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture turns pale yellow and noticeably thickened, 3 to 5 minutes, checking periodically that the water underneath isn't boiling, which could scramble the yolks.
- Remove the bowl from the saucepan and slowly pour in the melted butter, starting with just a drop at a time and whisking constantly until the sauce thickens and emulsifies. Whisk in the remaining lemon juice, the cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. If the sauce turns out too thick, whisk in warm water a tablespoon at a time to loosen it, then set the bowl back over the saucepan of water with the heat turned off to keep it warm, whisking occasionally so it doesn't separate.
- Make the eggs benedict: fill a large wide pot with about 3 inches of water and heat over medium-high until it's steaming with small bubbles, then reduce the heat as needed to maintain a bare simmer. Stir in the vinegar, which helps the egg whites set faster and hold together.
- Crack 4 of the eggs into individual small bowls or ramekins, then carefully tip each one into the simmering water, spacing them as far apart as possible. Cook until the whites are fully set but the yolks are still runny, 3 to 3 1/2 minutes, then lift the eggs out with a slotted spoon onto a kitchen-towel-lined plate. Gently blot them dry and trim off any wispy bits of egg white, then repeat with the remaining 4 eggs.
- Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the Canadian bacon and cook until lightly browned and warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Meanwhile, toast the English muffins and spread with a little extra butter.
- Top each English muffin half with a slice of Canadian bacon and a poached egg. Thin the hollandaise with a little more warm water if it's thickened too much, season with salt, then spoon it generously over the poached eggs and finish with a scatter of chopped chives.
Chef's Note: Clarifying the butter for the hollandaise — melting it and leaving the milky solids behind — is a small step that makes a real difference, giving the sauce a cleaner flavor and a smoother, more stable emulsion than using whole melted butter would. Adding that clarified butter drop by drop at the start is equally important; going too fast is the most common reason a hollandaise breaks instead of coming together silky and thick.
Poaching eggs individually in ramekins before sliding them into the water gives you far more control than cracking straight into the pot, and cracking them into small bowls first also lets you catch any bits of shell before they end up in the poaching water. Since hollandaise doesn't hold or reheat well, this is a dish best made and eaten immediately — it's not a great candidate for making ahead.
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