Easy Hollandaise sauce

[etpm]

There must be 51 different ways to make Hollandaise sauce. My wife really likes it and I tried several different ways to make a no fuss real Hollandaise sauce. About 40 years ago I figured it out. So simple I would make it camping. People were jealous. Eggs Benedict while camping. So here goes. You need 4 egg yolks, 1 cube of cold butter, lemon juice to taste (I like a lot, about a whole lemon) and cayenne pepper to taste (I like a lot of that too, my wife less so). So first cut the butter into about 16 pieces. Then whisk the lemon juice into the yolks in a pot. Put the pot over low heat and throw a piece or two of butter in the pot. Keep whisking until the butter melts and is fully incorporated, then add a piece or two more and repeat until all the butter is whisked in. You will now have a nice thick sauce. If the sauce is thin then gently heat while constantly whisking and it will thicken up. Remove from the heat when it is slightly thinner than you want as it will thicken up after sitting a couple minutes away from the heat. Serve with cayenne but add a little before serving. The trick is to keep the heat just sufficient to melt the cold butter. The cold butter helps to keep the yolks from cooking too much or too fast. Make sure to get into the corners of the pot otherwise the egg yolks will get too hot there and cook too much. It is best to keep the heat too low than too high. When cooking over a fire I hold the pot above the fire where I think it is cool enough. I haven't had a broken Hollandaise sauce in well over 35 years. If the sauce does break then remove from the heat and whisk in 1 more egg yolk just a bit at a time. Don't try to re-heat as this will probably break the sauce again. Just enjoy a little less warm.
Eric

 

[dstig1]

Thanks for that. I might try that one of these days over Xmas break. One question - How much is a "cube" of butter? Do you mean a full pound? Dat's a lotta buttah!

 

[etpm]

Thanks for that. I might try that one of these days over Xmas break. One question - How much is a "cube" of butter? Do you mean a full pound? Dat's a lotta buttah!

4 ounces of butter. 4 cubes to a pound. So 1/4 pound butter.
Eric

 

[dstig1]

Interesting. Our butter comes in sticks that are about an inch square by ~4" long. 1/4 lb each stick. Must be a regional thing. Never seen it in cubes. I have seen full 1lb blocks also.

 

[etpm]

Interesting. Our butter comes in sticks that are about an inch square by ~4" long. 1/4 lb each stick. Must be a regional thing. Never seen it in cubes. I have seen full 1lb blocks also.

Cube is a misnomer. Though called cubes they are actually sticks. Maybe this is a West Coast thing. I never really thought about how they are not actually cubes. And this is odd for me because I like to be accurate. Well, for all my 68 years on this planet I have heard 1/4 pound sticks of butter called cubes. And I have read plenty of recipes that said the same. I will now change my ways to avoid confusion.
Eric

 

[dstig1]

I tried this today and it worked well overall. I think I should have pulled it off the heat a bit sooner at the end as it seemed to seize up a little after I pulled it off. More stirring fixed it. I would probably halve the recipe next time just for me. It did add some complexity to making breakfast as you have to stay on top of it very closely, of course. I might do the sauce first and then let it sit while I prep the rest of it. I used it on my Cubendicto mash up detailed in another thread just below. Thanks!