Hollandise Sauce

The blender method takes all the fear out of hollandaise. No whisking over a double boiler, no worrying about scrambling the eggs. Just pour hot, bubbling butter into spinning egg yolks and let the machine do the emulsifying.

The trick is the butter temperature. It needs to be bubbling hot when it hits the yolks, not just melted. That heat cooks the yolks just enough to thicken the sauce while the blender’s speed forces the butter and lemon juice into a smooth, creamy emulsion.

Pour the butter in a slow, steady stream. Dumping it all at once overwhelms the yolks and the emulsion breaks. You’ll see the sauce thicken and turn pale yellow as the butter incorporates. If the sauce does break (it looks oily and grainy), the recipe includes a rescue: blend an extra yolk in a clean blender, then slowly pour the broken sauce back in. The fresh yolk re-emulsifies everything.

Pro Tips

• Use fresh lemon juice, not bottled. The flavor difference in a sauce this simple is dramatic.
• Serve immediately or hold in a thermos for up to an hour. Hollandaise doesn’t reheat well because the emulsion breaks when it gets too hot.
• If the sauce is too thick, whisk in a teaspoon of warm water to loosen it.
• Never let the sauce boil. Boiling curdles the egg yolks and separates the butter out.

Variations

• Add a pinch of cayenne pepper for a spicier, more traditional Eggs Benedict version.
• Stir in a tablespoon of fresh tarragon for béarnaise sauce, the classic steak companion.
• Fold in a tablespoon of Dijon mustard for a tangy mustard hollandaise that pairs well with vegetables.