Hollandaise sauce is an emulsified sauce and can be a bit tricky to perfect. An emulsified sauce is one where the creamy texture is arrived at through forcing together ingredients that would naturally stay separated, such as oil and water in some salad dressings. But here you have a lot more to worry about such as temperature of the sauce, cooking the egg yolks perfectly, the amount of butter and more.
1/2 tsp white peppercorns, crushed
3 fl. oz. white wine vinegar
2 fl. oz. water
6 egg yolks (you should only use pasteurized egg yolks for safety)
1 1/2 fl. oz. lemon juice
1 pt. clarified butter, warm
Salt, white pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
3 fl. oz. white wine vinegar
2 fl. oz. water
6 egg yolks (you should only use pasteurized egg yolks for safety)
1 1/2 fl. oz. lemon juice
1 pt. clarified butter, warm
Salt, white pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
- Combine peppercorns, vinegar and water in a small saucepan and reduce by one-half.
- Place the egg yolks in a stainless steel bowl (to prevent a reaction thus damaging the flavor). Strain the vinegar-pepper reduction into the yolks.
- Place the bowl over a double boiler, whipping the mixture continuously with a wire whisk. As the yolks cook, the mixture will thicken. When the mixture is thick enough to leave a train across the surface when the whip is drawn away, remove the bowl from the double boiler. Do not overcook the egg yolks.
- Whip in 1 fl. oz. of lemon juice to stop the yolks from cooking.
- Begin to add the warm clarified butter to the egg yolk mixture a few drops at a time, while constantly whipping the mixture to form an emulsion. Once the emulsion is started, the butter may be added more quickly. Continue until all the butter is incorporated.
- Whip in the remaining lemon juice. Adjust the seasonings as necessary.
- Strain the sauce through cheesecloth if necessary and hold for service at a warm (not simmering) temperature.
If your hollandaise sauce fails and becomes grainy and separated you’ll need to find out why before fixing it. The first thing to check is if it is too hot or too cold, adjust the temperature if necessary, place 1 Tbsp. water in a clean stainless steel bowl and slowly beat in the sauce.
