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

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Equipment

Saucepan · Heatproof bowl that fits over it · Whisk · Frying pan · Slotted spoon

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

Toast and warm

Toast the muffin halves cut-side down in a dry pan. Warm cooked ham in the same pan. Put one slice on each muffin half.

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

Start the hollandaise

Set a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water without touching it. Whisk yolks, water and lemon until slightly thickened. Lift off the heat whenever the edges thicken quickly.

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

Emulsify the butter

Off the heat, whisk in 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

Use a wide pan of calm, barely simmering water, 7 cm deep. Tip eggs in from small cups and poach 3–4 minutes until all white sets. Lift and drain.

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

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. The FDA recommends firm whites and yolks for the lowest risk; children, pregnant people, older adults and people with weakened immunity should choose the fully cooked option. 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, described alongside the blender method in the reference. 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.