Easy Hollandaise Sauce

Hollandaise sauce is a rather simple recipe. It has five ingredients, butter, egg yolk, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and salt. The recipe really is more about the method than the ingredients.

Add the egg yolks and a teaspoon of the lemon juice to the saucier. Place the saucier over simmering water. Whisk the egg yolks until they double in volume and turn pale yellow.

Whisk the melted butter into the egg yolks until all the butter is thoroughly incorporated into the sauce. 

Whisk the remaining lemon juice, cayenne, and salt into the hollandaise sauce, and continue stirring it for about 1 minute. Serve immediately.

The sauce will be thick, smooth, and glossy.

Easy Hollandaise Sauce

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 2 cups hollandaise sauc

Ingredients

• 3 egg yolks, from large eggs
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
• Pinch of cayenne
• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted
• Salt, to taste

Double Boiler Method

1. Fill a small saucepan with an inch of water and bring to a full boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and let the water come to a simmer.
2. Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan melt the better over low heat, swirling the pan occasionally to prevent browning. Once the butter is melted remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
3. Add the egg yolks and a teaspoon of the lemon juice to the saucier. Place the saucier over the simmering water, making certain the bottom of the saucier is not in contact with the water in the saucepan. Whisk the egg yolks until they double in volume and turn pale yellow.
4. Whisk the melted butter into the egg yolks by drizzling a continuous stream of butter into the yolks. Continue whisking the butter into the egg mixture until all the butter is thoroughly incorporated into the sauce. The sauce will be thick, smooth, and glossy.
5. Remove the sauce from the heat. Whisk the remaining lemon juice, cayenne, and salt into the hollandaise sauce, and continue stirring it for about 1 minute. Serve immediately.

Stick Blender Method

1. In a saucepan melt the better over low heat, swirling the pan occasionally to prevent browning. Once the butter is melted remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
2. Separate egg yolks and add them to the measuring cup that came with your stick blender.
3. Add a teaspoon of the lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne and salt to the yolks. 
4. Blend the yolks on low for 20 to 30 seconds. While blending, drizzle a continuous stream of melted butter into the yolks. Continue blending the butter into the egg mixture until all the butter is thoroughly incorporated into the sauce. The sauce will be thick, smooth, and glossy.
5. Blend the remaining lemon juice, cayenne, and salt into the hollandaise sauce, to taste, and serve immediately.

Notes

1. This hollandaise sauce recipe makes 2 cups, or 16 servings, of sauce.
2. The reason for making hollandaise over a double boiler is that it brings the yolks to a safe temperature that kills any salmonella bacteria. 
3. While this is an easy hollandaise sauce to make, the blender method makes it even easier. However, if you choose to use the stick blender method above, or any method that does not cook the yolks, you will be consuming raw egg yolks. 
4. The acid from the lemon juice will kill salmonella but not in the short amount of time between preparation and consumption. You can hold it in a thermos or carafe but it doesn't hold for 8 to 10 hours which is the amount of time needed to kill any salmonella bacteria that is present.

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