Can you think of a more fabulous meal for brunch than Eggs Benedict? A buttery, toasted English muffin, crisped back bacon, soft poached egg, and the creamiest hollandaise sauce. There’s a reason this classic recipe has stood the test of time to continue on as the quintessential brunch menu item!
I don’t think there’s ever been a moment in my life where the words eggs Benedict crossed my mind, and the cravings didn’t hit instantly. You can’t just have a laissez faire attitude towards bacon, hollandaise sauce, and a gorgeous runny egg yolk. For those who can go for brunch and order something other than a big plate of eggs Benny, I have a few questions.
By no surprise, there is much debate over where and how the original eggs Benedict was concocted. Since this is my blog, I’m picking my favorite rendition! Battling a violent hangover, Lemuel Benedict found his way to the Waldorf Hotel in New York for breakfast. He craved “buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon, and a hooker of hollandaise.” Incredible things are born in times of desperate need.
Ingredient Notes
- Eggs – I used large eggs.
- White vinegar – White wine vinegar will work. This will help prevent, as much as possible, the egg whites from splaying in the hot water.
- Canadian bacon – Also known as back bacon. The butcher at your local grocery store should have some.
- English muffins – You can also use regular toast or halved croissants.
- Butter – Or margarine, oil, lard; whatever you use for toast.
- Hollandaise – Click here for this easy hollandaise sauce recipe complete with two methods.
- Chives – Chopped for garnish.
How to poach a perfect egg
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the vinegar, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.
- Crack an egg into a ramekin, and gently drop it into the water. Repeat with 3 more eggs. Turn off the heat and cover the pot. Let the eggs cook in the hot water for 4 minutes, or until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny.*
- Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and let them dry on a paper towel lined plate while you poach the remaining 4 eggs.
How to make eggs Benedict
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the slices of back bacon, working in batches if needed. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side until browned. Remove the bacon from the skillet and set aside.
- Set your oven to broil. Spread butter over each English muffin half, and line them, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Place the sheet on the top rack of your oven and toast for 1-3 minutes, or until golden brown.
- To assemble the eggs Benedict, top an English muffin half with a slice of back bacon, then, carefully, spoon a poached egg over the bacon, spoon hollandaise sauce overtop, and garnish with chives.
Tips & tricks:
- Contrary to popular belief, don’t add salt to the pot of water. It can create more splaying from the egg white.
- For an extra step, crack your eggs into a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the excess liquidy white.
- Make sure the pot is filled with at least 4″ of water.
- To create a swirl vortex in the water or not: only use this technique if you’re cooking one egg at a time. Do not create a vortex when there are multiple eggs.
To reheat: Has the first batch of eggs cooled down while you’re cooking away? Keep the water simmering and drop the cooled eggs into it for 45 seconds to warm them back up.
Other egg cooking methods
If you don’t want to poach your eggs, for whatever reason (hey, no judgement here), you can cook them in plenty of different ways.
Cooking for a crowd and need a fast way to make a batch of eggs? Preheat your oven to 350F. Spray a muffin tin generously with cooking spray, and add one egg per muffin cup. Bake for 14 minutes to achieve a softer yolk, and up to 18 minutes for a harder yolk.
You can also use classic griddle methods. Sunny-side-up, over easy, soft, medium, or hard boiled eggs, heck, you can even scramble them. It’s up to you!
Leftovers
Toasted English muffins: You can put these back into the bag or container you originally bought your muffins in. They will soften back up, you can can re-toast them when the time comes if you’d like.
Poached eggs: Transfer the eggs to an airtight container, top the container off with cold water, and store in the fridge up to 5 days. Reheat the eggs for about 1 minute in simmering water.
Hollandaise sauce: Click here for detailed information on storing and reheating hollandaise sauce.
Looking for more weekend brunch recipes?
- Easy Quiche Recipe
- Overnight Breakfast Casserole
- Sausage and Egg Breakfast Rolls
- Breakfast Egg Muffins
- Crescent Bacon Breakfast Ring
- Banana Bread French Toast with Caramelized Bananas
- Cinnabons Cinnamon Rolls
- Sheet Pan Pancakes
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Eggs Benedict
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 8 slices back bacon aka Canadian bacon
- 4 English muffins halved
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 1 cup hollandaise sauce
- 1 tablespoon chives finely chopped, for garnish
Instructions
Poach the eggs
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the vinegar, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.
- Crack an egg into a ramekin, and gently drop it into the water. Repeat with 3 more eggs. Turn off the heat and cover the pot. Let the eggs cook in the hot water for 4 minutes, or until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny.*
- Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and let them dry on a paper towel lined plate while you poach the remaining 4 eggs.
Eggs Benedict
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the slices of back bacon, working in batches if needed. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side until browned. Remove the bacon from the skillet and set aside.
- Set your oven to broil. Spread butter over each English muffin half, and line them, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Place the sheet on the top rack of your oven and toast for 1-3 minutes, or until golden brown.
- To assemble the eggs Benedict, top an English muffin half with a slice of back bacon, then, carefully, spoon a poached egg over the bacon, spoon hollandaise sauce overtop, and garnish with chives.
Recipe Notes
- *This recipe is written for a classic soft poached eggs Benedict. Cook the eggs for 4 minutes to achieve medium poach, or 5+ minutes for hard poach.
- Toasted English muffins: You can put these back into the bag or container you originally bought your muffins in. They will soften back up, you can can re-toast them when the time comes if you’d like.
- Poached eggs: Transfer the eggs to an airtight container, top the container off with cold water, and store in the fridge up to 5 days. Reheat the eggs for about 1 minute in simmering water.
This is such a wonderful recipe, made it for my wife and she loved it! Thanks Jo!
Best recipe ever!