I’m a huge fan of Celebrity Chef Hubert Keller, and one day I happened to catch his PBS show called Secrets of a Chef, where he just happened to be making one of the mother sauces, the very delicious Hollandaise Sauce.
Hollandaise is a very creamy emulsion of egg yolks, butter and lemon juice and is considered notoriously difficult to make because the cooking and holding temperatures must be monitored carefully or the egg yolks will scramble. I have made Hollandaise before and I have always made it over a double boiler. This step may make it a little cumbersome for some people to try, so when I saw his unique cooking method I was intrigued and could not wait to try it.
This unique method involved putting the water and egg yolks in a heavy bottomed pan and whisking well together before heating. Once you begin to heat this, the mixture begins to thicken almost immediately. Once it has thickened add the clarified butter slowly to create an even thicker and creamier emulsion, then add the lemon juice along with the salt and pepper to taste. Once it is made, cover it and leave it in a warm place until you are ready to serve. Make sure NOT to leave it on the stove top that may still be hot from cooking.
I did a few things differently though. His original recipe had 1 pound of clarified butter and I cut it back to 8 ounces with great results. I also moved the cooking pan from the slightly warm stove top to a wooden cutting board when I felt it was getting too warm.
I was so impressed at how quickly it came together and it was perfectly silky and smooth. I like mine a little more acidic, so I added a little extra lemon juice and served it over some sautéed pencil thin asparagus. It is equally delicious over eggs (as in the traditional eggs Benedict) or even mildly flavored fish or poultry.
Hubert Keller’s Hollandaise Sauce (makes about 2 cups)
5 large yolks
½ cup water
8 oz butter (clarified)
Juice of 1 lemon (I used 1 ½ lemons)
¼ teaspoon salt (add more if you need to)
Large pinch of white pepper ( I used black pepper)
First add the butter to a small pot and melt very slowly until the whey has separated. Pour off the clarified butter into a small cup and set aside. Add the egg yolks and water to a heavy bottomed pan and whisk until well combined.
Turn your stove top on the lowest possible setting and begin to heat this mixture while whisking continually.
It will begin to thicken almost immediately, so begin adding the melted butter a little at a time until it has been completely incorporated.
Do not add the butter too fast or the sauce will break. Add the salt and pepper and the lemon juice, while continuing to whisk the entire time. The final result should be silky smooth, slightly thick and should coat the back of a spoon.
Cover and set aside in a warm place until you are ready to serve.
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