Upon Further Review…
a little clarification on poaching eggs and hollandaise sauce plus.
As I was re-reading my last blog, I felt I needed to expand upon a few topics. Forgive me, I try to keep my blogs at or below a 1,000 words and the Eggs Benedict blog finished closer to 1,400 words.
I like to answer the” Why” question when I write. This blog I will try to answer a few of these questions. Plus I’ll give you instructions on how to turn your Hollandaise sauce into a Béarnaise sauce.
Poaching Eggs
Why did I add vinegar to the poaching water? The acid in the vinegar helps set the egg whites. Yes if the water was hotter the egg whites would set pretty quickly but this is a poach. Poaching is a gentle cooking method. Hotter temperatures lead to boiling and boiling leads to Egg Drop Soup.
Most of the Tall Hat and Black Slacks crowd, AKA Chefs, will disagree with my use of anything other that white distilled vinegar in the poaching liquid. I say why not put a vinegar you would want to consume. White distilled vinegar is best used for cleaning.
I also like to season my poaching liquid. Why wouldn’t you? Yes the salt may toughen the eggs but just the outside, which is what we want to get the egg whites to set anyway. It is overcooking that toughens eggs more than the salt ever could.
I suppose you could add other flavors to the liquid. Black peppercorns, herbs and other spices would be a nice addition. I’ll get back to you on that.
Hollandaise
The key point in making hollandaise is to cook the egg yolks slowly. That is why I recommended using the double boiler. Also once the water comes to a boil in the double boiler turn it down to a simmer. The steam from a simmer is more than enough to cook the egg yolks.
Why the acidic reduction? The acid provides both flavor and helps keep the egg proteins from coagulating (scrambling).
I also said to beat the yolks before introducing them to the heat. The extra air whipped into the eggs helps insulate the yolks to help prevent scrambling.
Béarnaise
What is the difference between Hollandaise and Béarnaise? Tarragon. The technique is the same, with a few minor exceptions. Here is the recipe.
Sauce Béarnaise
¼ cup white wine
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
3 black peppercorns
2 tarragon stems
1 Tbsp. shallot, chopped
4 egg yolks
¼ lb. butter, room temperature
1 Tbsp. tarragon, chopped
To taste salt and white pepper
To taste hot sauce
To taste lemon juice
For a detailed instruction on the technique please read my Eggs Benedict blog.
Just like with the hollandaise sauce, we will start with an acidic reduction. This time add the peppercorns, chopped shallot and the tarragon stems. You could also use tarragon vinegar. Do not substitute ground pepper in the reduction, the flavor will be too intense!
Reduce to about 2 or 3 tablespoons and strain before you whisk in the egg yolks. Keep whisking till it is a nice froth. Then place the bowl over the heat and cook while whisking till it thickens. Take the egg yolks off the heat and whisk in the butter. Season with salt, white pepper, lemon juice and hot sauce. Finally stir in the tarragon.
This sauce is great over any grilled meat. Steak is traditional. You could also use this sauce on roasted potatoes.
I hope I cleared up a few questions. Remember if you have any questions feel free to drop me and email.
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~T
