Eggs Benedict

Name: Eggs Benedict
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 2 large eggs for poaching; 2 pasteurised large egg yolks for the sauce; 100 g unsalted butter, melted and warm; 2 tsp lemon juice; 1 tbsp water, plus more if needed; 1 English muffin, split; 2 slices cooked ham; Salt and a pinch of cayenne

Poached eggs, ham and hollandaise on toasted muffins.

United States · Runny, Creamy · A project · Researched

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 20 min
Serves: 2

Go to the method

Equipment

Saucepan · Heatproof bowl that fits over it · Wide pan at least 8 cm deep, for poaching · Small pan or microwave-safe jug, for the butter · Whisk · Damp cloth · Frying pan · Slotted spoon · Small cups

Ingredients

2 large eggs for poaching
2 pasteurised large egg yolks for the sauce
100 g unsalted butter, melted and warm
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water, plus more if needed
1 English muffin, split
2 slices cooked ham
Salt and a pinch of cayenne

Method

Melt the butter, set up the water

Melt the butter gently in a small pan or in the microwave and keep it warm. Put 3 cm water in the saucepan for the sauce and 7 cm water in the wide pan for the eggs. Bring both to a bare simmer. Crack each poaching egg into its own small cup.

Look for: The butter is liquid and warm; both pans of water steam with only small bubbles.

Start the hollandaise

Set the heatproof bowl over the saucepan of barely simmering water without letting it touch the water. Whisk the yolks, water and lemon constantly until thick, pale and foamy, and the whisk leaves trails. Lift the bowl off the heat whenever the edges thicken faster than the centre.

Look for: The whisk leaves a brief trail; there are no egg lumps.

Emulsify the butter

Take the bowl off the pan and set it on a damp cloth so it stays put. Whisk in the warm melted butter a teaspoon at a time at first, then in a thin stream. Add a teaspoon of warm water if too thick. Season with salt and cayenne. Keep warm off direct heat while poaching.

Look for: A smooth sauce coats the whisk.

Poach the eggs

Check that the wide pan is calm and barely simmering. Tip the eggs in from their cups and poach for 3–4 minutes until all the white has set.

Look for: The white is opaque and holds the yolk.

Toast and warm

While the eggs poach, toast the muffin halves cut-side down in the dry frying pan and warm the ham beside them. Put one slice on each muffin half. Lift the eggs out with a slotted spoon and drain them on a clean towel.

Look for: Muffin faces are lightly crisp and ham is hot.

Assemble immediately

Put a drained egg on each ham-topped muffin and spoon over the sauce. Serve immediately; make sauce fresh rather than holding it for later.

Safety: For this soft-centred preparation, use pasteurised eggs if available. Firm whites and yolks carry the lowest risk. Children, pregnant people, older adults and people with weakened immunity should choose the fully cooked option unless local guidance says otherwise. Colour and texture do not prove that an egg is safe. Use pasteurised yolks for hollandaise: warm butter and visual thickening alone do not establish pasteurisation.

Look for: The sauce coats the egg without a watery pool.

Equipment & heat

Induction, gas and electric all work. Bring the water to the stated state, then reduce the heat to maintain it. Start timing when the eggs go in; a larger pan, higher altitude or extra-cold eggs may need adjustment. A rolling boil is not a shortcut. Hollandaise needs indirect, gentle heat. On an electric hob, lift the bowl away to control temperature; turning the ring down acts too slowly.

Nonstick: Useful for warming ham and toasting muffins; the sauce uses a heatproof bowl.

Troubleshooting

A split sauce may recover if whisked slowly into 1 tsp warm water in a clean bowl. Grainy yolks are overcooked; start again. Prep plates first so eggs do not sit while sauce is made.

About this version

This guide uses a hand-whisked water-bath hollandaise, following the Culinary Institute of America’s method with lemon in place of a vinegar reduction. Kenji López-Alt’s references describe the blender alternative. The complete sauce is included because it is part of the dish.

Unless stated otherwise, use large chicken eggs, approximately 60 g in the shell, refrigerated. Timings are starting points: use the visual checkpoints and any stated temperature check.

Sources

This guide was written from the references below. Egg Atlas has not kitchen-tested it.

Illustrations by Egg Atlas. They show the method; they are not photographs of a tested result.