Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise Sauce
Net Carbs per Serving (4): 1.9g
Full nutritional information at the bottom of the page.
Recipe Explained
The Sauce
I was first introduced to Hollandaise when I went to Snooze A.M. Eatery in Phoenix, and I fell in love.
Hollandaise can be a tricky sauce to make. Since it’s a emulsion of fat (butter) and an emulsifying agent (eggs), the sauce can “break” if the conditions aren’t right during cooking. This can happen for a variety of reasons, but don’t worry, we’ll talk about how it happens and how to remedy it in the next section. The most fun part about this recipe, in my opinion, is the challenge it provides, and how satisfying it is when you’re finished. To make the sauce, first you’ll need either a double boiler, or you can use a large pot with a metal bowl (what I use) or a heat safe glass bowl.
The water needs to be simmering, not boiling. If it’s too hot you’ll end up scrambling your yolks or breaking the emulsion. Once it’s simmering, you’ll add your egg yolks to the bowl with the lemon juice. Start whisking immediately. Then once you’ve whisked your eggs and it’s warm enough, you’ll take your melted butter and pour it in very slowly while you’re whisking. Think a teaspoon at a time or just a very thin drizzle. As you continuously whisk, you should notice the sauce turning more of an opaque yellow and thickening up. While you’re whisking, if you’re afraid it’s getting too hot, remove the bowl from pot and continue to whisk away from the heat. Whisk until the sauce thickens to a custard-like consistency. Remove it from the heat, and pour it into a pre-heated (with boiling or very hot water) thermos. This will allow you to cook the eggs benedict and not worry about your sauce breaking while sitting out. It should remain the right temperature in the thermos for another 2-4 hours.
My sauce broke! Now what?
If your sauce “breaks” you’ll start to see the eggs appear to curdle and the butter will be visibly separated. First we’ll discuss how and why your sauce might break.
- A) The fat (butter) was added too quickly.
- B) Your sauce got too hot.
- C) The emuslifying agent was too cold when you added the butter.
The sauce can also break naturally after it’s cooked if it gets too hot or too cold (refrigerated), but during cooking the three listed above are going to be the main culprits.
To fix it if the butter was added too quickly, start whisking around the corner of the bowl to slowly whisk small amounts of the butter into the rest of the mixture.
If it breaks due to being too hot (and the eggs aren’t scrambled) you can remove it from the heat and whisk in a tablespoon of cold water, then return it to the heat.
If your eggs have officially cooked too much and have been scrambled, you’ll have to start over.
If it was too cold when butter was added, take another bowl and add a tablespoon of hot water to it. Then take your broken sauce and very slowly drip it into the water while continuously whisking.
Poaching Eggs
Poaching eggs can be done in a pot of stirred almost-boiling water. When you stir it and make a small whirlpool, gently dropping the egg into the bath will allow the motion of the water to keep the egg together. Cook 4-6 minutes. However, my favorite way to do it is by taking some food safe and heat safe saran wrap and, using a bowl, form a small baggie for the eggs to sit in, remove the air, and tie it off. Then when you drop the saran wrapped eggs into the water, they’ll cook in a perfect shape and result in a double yolk for your eggs benedict.
The Bread
We’re currently working on our own keto bread recipe, but there are plenty of options out there now. I’d recommend going with something that isn’t too heavily egg based because, like carbonara where you don’t want to use an egg sauce with an egg noodle, it might be an egg overkill if you do. We’re in the works of perfecting our own, so check back at a later date to see the best bread recipe for something like this!
Resources
So hollandaise can be a difficult recipe to make, especially just by reading instructions. If you’re like me and need a visual aid, here are some of my favorite videos on the topic. I’ll be working on my own videos in the future, but until then I’ll take no shame in linking the professionals.
- Hollandaise Sauce – Jamie Oliver
- Eggs Benedict Five Ways – Jamie Oliver (showing the plastic wrap method)
Fun Facts
- Hollandaise is one of the five mother sauces of French cuisine, despite hollandaise meaning “Dutch sauce” in French.
- This recipe dates back to 1651 and was served with asparagus.
- It is an emulsion sauce, similar to mayonnaise and Béarnaise.
- Béarnaise is considered a daughter sauce of hollandaise.
Optional/substitute ingredients
Meats
- Sliced ham, lox, crab, or prosciutto
Additional
Instead of olive oil on the bread, you could spread butter on it or even use a dill butter to compliment the salmon. You could also try cream cheese on the bread. That’s how Snooze does it with their “Benny Goodman”: hollandaise and a poached egg on lox, sun dried tomatoes, capers, and cream cheese. Another tasty option would be smoked ham and cheddar.
What you need
- Double Boiler or a pot with a metal bowl.
- Wire Whisk
- Thermos (I use this. The wider mouth makes it easier to pour the sauce from a larger bowl.)
- Slotted spoon
Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise Sauce
A sometimes tricky, but delicious brunch meal.
Ingredients
Hollandaise Sauce
- 2 Egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 7 tablespoons Butter Melted
Eggs Benedict
- 4-8 Eggs Depending on single or double egg servings
- 1 slice Keto bread or keto english muffins
- 1 teaspoon Olive oil
- 8 ounces Smoked salmon
- Cayenne pepper To taste
Instructions
Hollandaise Sauce
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Start by bringing a pot of water to simmer on medium heat (may vary).
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While it's heating, begin to melt butter, either in a separate saucepan or microwave.
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Once water is brought to a simmer, place the bowl in the pan, ensuring the pan isn't making contact with the water. This will lead to overcooking.
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Add two egg yolks and one tbsp lemon juice to the bowl and start whisking.
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Once it's started to gain volume and thickness, grab your melted butter and begin slowly pouring it into the bowl with the yolks while whisking continuously.
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If your sauce is smooth and opaque, you're on the right track. Add salt and pepper to taste and continue whisking until the sauce is at the desired thickness and consistency.
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Remove the sauce from the heat and transfer to a pre-heated thermos to keep it warm while preparing the rest of the meal.
Poached Eggs
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Start by bringing a pot of 3" of water to almost a boil. We want it hot, but not quite boiling.
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At this point, you can toast your bread if desired. We still want the bread to be spongy enough to soak up the sauce and egg yolk, but if you're using something like keto almond-flour based bread, it might crumble too easily.
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Using food safe and heat safe saran wrap and a bowl, make pockets a pocket for the eggs to be placed in. Crack two eggs into the wrap in the bowl, then push out the air, and tie off the cling wrap to make little wrapped baggies of raw eggs.
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Place the eggs into the pot of water and let cook for 4-6 minutes. The whites should be opaque and the yolk should still be runny and in tact.
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When done, remove the eggs and slice off the saran wrap. They should hold their shape well.
Eggs Benedict
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With the toasted bread as a base, drizzle some olive oil over it.
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Slice your smoked salmon to a desired size to fit on your bread, then place on top of the bread.
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Add the poached eggs on top of that, then drizzle approx 2 tablespoons of the hollandaise on top.
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Garnish with cayenne pepper.
Nutrition for Hollandaise Sauce (based on a 2 tablespoon serving):
Nutrition for eggs benedict with 2 eggs, 2oz salmon, 1 tsp olive oil, and keto bread (1g net carbs/slice):
