Mastering Hollandaise

the humble beginnings of Hollandaise, yolks

BY DENISE SHAVANDY

Most chefs and cooks will probably agree on this, if nothing else, Hollandaise is the most challenging sauce to master.  You have to build a strong emulsion, in other words, get oil and water to stay mixed.  Mayonnaise is a strong emulsion using basically the same ingredients, so why should Hollandaise be difficult? One word- HEAT.

Hollandaise is a hot emulsified sauce, and when we add the heat factor, it makes the emulsion much more difficult to control.  Get your yolks too hot, and they over cook.  Let your yolks cook to fast and they coagulate.  Don’t cook your yolks enough, they don’t emulsify well.  Of course all this complicated business could be easily solved with a sauce packet mix, right?

Wrong!  There is nothing else quite as decadent and rich as a true Hollandaise from scratch.  Our students made Hollandaise this week.   I am proud to say, we had to crack a few eggs, but every student finished the week having prepared a successful Hollandaise sauce!  I have posted the recipe below for you to try at home, but first, a few pointers…

Make sure your yolks have no white, and you remove the chalazae (that little white string attached to the yolk). This will help to have smooth yolks.

Make sure to have all your “mise en place” ready.  This means “everything in its place” and will allow you to keep whisking.  Time is of the essence, and you don’t want to step away to get something.

Be sure your water is not boiling.  It should be “like water for chocolate” and barely emit steam, without actually boiling.

Cook your yolks.  Many people take the yolks off the heat before they are done, because they are afraid to overcook them.  They should change color from vibrant yellow, to a soft pale yellow (just the right color for a baby’s nursery).  The consistency will change too.  It will become thick, and pudding like.  One student was quoted as saying it looked like banana pudding.

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

mise en place for Hollandaise

makes about 1.75 cups

Ingredients:

3 egg yolks

1 cup butter (can be clarified or not- clarified butter makes a stronger more stable emulsion, regular melted butter has a better flavor)

1 lemon, juice only (you’ll need at least 1 ounce of lemon juice, up to 2 ounces, but you decide how acidic you like your hollandaise)

salt to taste

paprika to taste

about 2 ounces water, warm between 100-120 degrees

optional: dash cayenne pepper, dash white pepper

Equipment:

1 small sauce pot

1 small stainless bowl (should comfortably fit on top of the pot as a double boiler)

1 piano wire whisk

wet towel to help hold the bowl in place (make a nest on the counter with the wet towel to stabilize the bowl)

Directions:

Fill small pot 1/3 full with water and put on stove top on low heat till water begins to steam.

Put the yolks in the bowl and whisk till smooth.

Place yolks in bowl over steaming water and whisk while they cook.  (Yes this could take a while and your arm will get tired.)  Be careful to keep scraping the bottom and all sides of the bowl so the egg yolks stay in motion.  Don’t let they stay stuck to the bowl, as they cook into lumps.  Lumps are not good for our Hollandaise.

You will start to be able to see the bottom of the bowl as you whisk because as the yolks thicken.  Keep whisking and cooking.  Yolks are ready when they are pudding like, and light yellow.

Remove from the heat and add a drop or two of the melted or clarified butter.  Whisk it in.  Add a couple more drops and whisk.  If it gets very thick, like mayonnaise, and a drizzle of the lemon juice to soften it up.  Continue adding the butter, but slowly drizzling it in as you whisk.  Be patient and add the butter slowly, to ensure a strong emulsification.  The more butter you have added, the faster you can drizzle it in.  Every time the sauce gets too thick to stir easily add a dribble of lemon juice, until you have added about 1 ounce.  Then if it gets too thick drizzle in some water.  (This way the sauce isn’t too acidic. You can always add more lemon juice at the end.)

Continue to whisk and drizzle, until all the butter has been incorporated.  You should have a smooth homogenous custard looking texture.

Now season to taste.  Add salt, paprika, and cayenne.  If you need a little more twang, add some more lemon juice.

Serving suggestions:

Serve over eggs Benedict, fresh steamed asparagus, grilled or poached salmon, steamed broccoli, seared or poached chicken, steamed artichoke, or pan fried potatoes.  It’s butter and lemon, it goes with just about anything!