How to Make Hollandaise Sauce at Home

A Hollandaise Recipe for This Rich Classic Gourmet Sauce

Jul 23, 2009

Hollandaise is a rich buttery sauce with a smooth velvety texture. Many people feel anxious about making it, but homemade sauce is vastly superior to the bought products.

Hollandaise sauce is one of the classic sauces that form the basis of French cuisine. It has a reputation of being difficult to make, because if it is not made properly it has a tendency to break up or to curdle. It is an emulsified sauce that is made from egg yolks, butter and lemon juice as well as seasoning.

Making hollandaise sauce is very similar to making mayonnaise, except it is hot. The trick to making it successfully is in balancing the heat so the eggs cook without scrambling and the butter blends in without separating. It is a deliciously rich sauce that pairs well with egg dishes such as Eggs Benedict, vegetables, particularly asparagus, fish, and even steak.

Hollandaise Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

200g cubed butter at room temperature
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons water
3 egg yolks
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Use a double-boiler or place a heatproof bowl over a medium saucepan that is quarter-filled with water. The bowl should fit snugly into the pan without touching the water.
Bring the pan to the boil and then reduce the heat until it barely simmering. This is important because if it is too hot, the egg yolks will turn to scrambled eggs and will have to be thrown out and the sauce started again.
Place the egg yolks and 3-4 tbs water in the bowl or double boiler above the water. Use a wire whisk constantly for around 3 minutes until the mixture has a pale yellow colour and a creamy thickness with about double the original volume. The whisk should leave tracks in the mix that disappear after a couple of seconds.
Add the butter one cube at a time while constantly whisking. Once each cube is blended in then add the next. If the butter is added all at once the sauce will either curdle or separate. When you first start adding butter the sauce becomes thinner, but then it starts to emulsify and thicken again. If it becomes too thick a small amount of warm water should be carefully added.
The final step is to whisk in the lemon juice and then season with salt and pepper to taste. If salted butter is used you may not need to add salt. The final sauce should have the consistency of lightly whisked cream.
Serve immediately while still warm.

Keep Hollandaise Sauce Warm

Hollandaise sauce can be kept warm for up to 30 minutes if poured into a clean heatproof bowl and covered with cling wrap. This will stop a skin forming on top. Place the bowl into a larger bowl or container filled with warm water at the same temperature as the sauce.

Until the rest of the meal is ready it is necessary to keep an eye on the temperature and some of the cold water may have to be poured out and replaced by warmer water as the water cools with time. The sauce should be lightly whisked again before serving. Hollandaise sauce separates when reheated.

The copyright of the article How to Make Hollandaise Sauce at Home in French Sauces is owned by Jo Jackson. Permission to republish How to Make Hollandaise Sauce at Home in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.