How to make luxurious, silky smooth eggs benedict

Golden goodness melting over succulent ham on crispy bread, coated in a silky sauce – that is a classic Eggs Benedict.

All you need are English muffins, ham and hollandaise sauce. “As well as eggs, plenty of butter and a lot of patience are crucial,” says Daniel Behrendt, head chef at the Waldorf Astoria Berlin.

A velvety hollandaise sauce dripping over on a bare egg is all that matters. “The rest is up to you.”

Behrendt knows what he is talking about.

Legend has it that Eggs Benedict were invented in 1884 at the Sisters’ House at the Waldorf Astoria in New York as a hangover cure.

Since then, people have seen the dish as delicious, but difficult to prepare. But “It isn’t,” says Hans-Peter Goldnick, chairman of the German Egg Association.

Nevertheless, he considers some hacks to be unsuitable. An absolute no-go is using “Cling film as a poaching aid”. Nobody wants to have a breakfast of wrinkled little piles of misery laced with microplastics, he says.

Starts with hollandaise

Timing is everything. “Always start with the hollandaise sauce,” says gourmet chef Behrendt. In a cream siphon, it turns out without lumps or curdling. One key tip is to “take your time whisking the egg yolks and make sure the melted butter stays below 80 degrees while stirring.”

If that sounds too fiddly, “Have it done by a kitchen appliance with a heating and mixing function if you have one,” says Behrendt.

Then pour the mixture into the cream dispenser, add a dash of Tabasco and your silky hollandaise is ready at the touch of a button. To ensure the texture and temperature remain perfect throughout the brunch, “place it in a water bath at 50 degrees,” he says.

To add additional flavour, he recommends making a homemade white wine reduction instead of vegetable stock, classically seasoned with pepper, bay leaf, thyme and shallots. “It makes quite an impression and is easy to prepare in advance.”

If you’re in a real hurry, “In a pinch, a high-quality ready-made hollandaise will do.”

Now poach the eggs. You want a smooth, glossy, semi-circular cloud, with a round, still-liquid yolk inside. Goldnick says for poached eggs, the most important requirement is your egg must be at room temperature and fresh.” A good rule of thumb: at least two weeks before the best-before date.

Fill a large saucepan with water, do not (!) add salt, and bring to a simmer at around 80 degrees. A dash of table vinegar? “Absolutely,” says head chef Behrendt. “For the tangy note and firm texture.”

But if you ask Goldnick, an egg connoisseur, it’s more a matter of taste and “not strictly necessary.”

Opinions among gourmets are also divided when it comes to the poaching method. If you want to serve several Eggs Benedict at the same time, the national chairman recommends you place the cracked egg in a ladle or deep cup, dip it in gently until the hot water flowing in envelops the outer layer.

“As soon as a delicate structure has formed, let the egg slide into the water as slowly as possible and cook for three to four minutes.”

Plating up in the right order

In the meantime, toast the bread and top with bacon or ham that you have briefly fried. To prevent the eggs from becoming mushy, drain the poached eggs onto kitchen roll before you put them on the plate.

Drizzle a little hollandaise over the top. “Less is more,” says Behrendt. Garnish with fresh chives and a pinch of Piment d’Espelette. Done!

Avoid these common errors to ensure you’re still seeing happy faces even after serving:

Eggs: too old and/or too cold. Goldnick’s golden rule: “Don’t store them in the fridge in the first place.”

Poaching: water too salty and/or too hot. Never bring it to the boil!

Hollandaise sauce: butter too hot and/or the egg yolks not beaten frothy enough, not kept warm in a bain-marie.

Plating up: the egg lands wet on cold toast, the bacon fried for too long.

Daniel Behrendt’s greatest adversaries: “Stress and kitchen chaos”.

His motto: “Deliciousness lies in calm.”

Fun sides and add-ons

Healthier, more decadent, more creative, more opulent: hardly any dish is as versatile as Eggs Benedict. Goldnick’s favourite combination is to have them served “on buttered toast with a slice of medium-aged Gouda, lightly melted.”

Behrendt, who is responsible for Eggs Benedict – and other things – at the Waldorf Astoria every weekend, also knows what works well. he says an elegant combination is to serve them with beef fillet or salmon, while a vegetarian version would be with hummus and avocado. You can make an opulent dish by adding truffles and caviar, or give it a more rustic slant by serving it with sauerkraut and sausage. Lastly, go for seasonal specialties by adding asparagus or chanterelles.

And whether you opt for a a croissant or low-carb bread as a base, anything goes, as long as it’s topped with a poached egg nestled in hollandaise sauce. What could be easier?