Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Eggs Benedicts – The last 2 episodes to make this brunch classic!

Hopefully you watched the hollandaise demo we just posted, and you are ready to fearlessly finish this delicious egg dish! So, the sauce is done, now you need to poach the eggs and finish the plate. In this first clip, I show the basic restaurant technique for poaching eggs. Due to the high-volume of a brunch service, it is almost impossible to poach eggs “to order.” They are poached ahead of time and held in cold water until final plating, when they are re-heated in simmering water for a few minutes. This method also works great at home for smaller batches as you’ll see. Once you’ve poached your eggs and have them in cold water you are free to set up the rest of the plate and all you then have to do is reheat them as I’ll show you. Ok, here we go with the poaching clip. Immediately following is the final plating and some cruel teasing on my part.


Now that we have our eggs ready we can plate this beauty up. Now, as you’ll hear me say in the clip, I didn’t waste time filming how to toast an English muffin and fry up a couple pieces of Canadian bacon. If you need help with those techniques you can email me and I’ll make fun of you in private. VERY IMPORTANT: make sure you are using a warm plate! Since the sauce is just warm, not piping hot, and the eggs are also just warm, it is CRUCIAL that the plate is warm, as well as making sure the English muffin and Canadian bacon are hot. If you need some potatoes to serve with this dish, please check out our Homefries demo. Enjoy!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

There's nothing that sets my teeth on edge like ordering poached eggs in an expensive restaurant and getting eggs that taste like they've be been poached in straight vinegar. (Probably the result of making the more experienced cooks do the breakfast shift.)

I'd recommend to your viewers that they use a light touch when adding vinegar to the poaching liquid!!!

Winnie Yoong said...

hi, i just want to let you know that the video is no longer available. It'll be really great if you could link it again on you tube. =) thanks

Chef John said...

the videos look fine. ?

Winnie Yoong said...

Opps, it seems like it's working now. Thanks for the quick reply.

Anonymous said...

Perfect! I avoid making these because of the clarified butter process, though this is my favorite dish. Thanks for the fabulous new method. Love your sense of humor, well done!

Anonymous said...

how do you keep the Hollandaise warm for an hour or two? Is this when a double boiler is used?

Chef John said...

don't think i'd make 2 hours ahead, but I just keep on a warm spot on the stove. it just can't get cold. on a very, very barely warm doubleboiler may work, but it cant be too hot.

Anonymous said...

As always, your videos and tips have saved me! Valentine's Day breakfast, here I come!! :) Thanks bunches Chef John xoxo

Chris K. said...

For storing Hollandaise and other emulsified sauces for a couple hours, I like to use a Thermos soup container preheated with boiling water. It'll keep sauces for a long time without risk of breakage, and the wide mouth provides easy access and cleanup.

Hidden Chef said...

John you are an inspiration to me
thanks for your talent and generosity that your share

the hidden chef

nflybye said...

In tried this 2 times and it didn't work either time. Followed it to the T and still buttery flavored lemon slurry.

nflybye said...

Tried this recipe 2 times in 30 minutes and both times it turned out as a slurry of lemon egg flavored butter. Followed it to the T. No scrabble either.

Chef John said...

You're adding the butter too fast. That's the only reason it will break.

500watermelons said...

I have never tried eggs Benedict before but I saw this and thought, "Chef John has never steered me wrong" so I tried it and it was amazing! I just want to thank you for being so funny and informational and making me look like a master chef lol you're awesome!
p.s. could you do a recipe that includes almond flour?

Jacks_Shenanigans said...

How do I get one of those t-shirts Chef J?

Digigirl said...

Chef - will the no-double-boiler method work over an electric stove? Unfortunately, I don't have a gas stove at my house. Would love to try this!