I made eggs benedict earlier and it turned out fine, but it’s always a “scramble” (haha) to get the eggs poached AND keep the sauce warm and not separate or stiffen without a lot of attention.
Does anyone know a reliable method to hold the sauce ahead of time? Even kept in hot water, it starts to change. I know the various ways of fixing a broken sauce, but thats not the issue.
It’s easier to hold the poached eggs at temperature than the hollandaise, in my experience.
How much of a Hollandaise purist are you?
I have a hack that was borne of personal preference, but it works to stabilize the sauce, too. Let me know if you want me to share it.
I find that it keeps for a while in the heavy glass pitcher my husband puts it in.
Also, we often successfully warm it and use it a second day by submerging the pitcher in warm water.
That pitcher is probably leaching lead into the acidic sauce, and poisoning us. But i guess we don’t eat hollandaise sauce very often.
I have a wide-neck thermos bottle that I fill with boiling water from a kettle while I make the hollandaise sauce. When the sauce is done I pour out the water, give the inside of the thermos a quick swipe with a paper towel, pour the sauce into the thermos, and set (not screw) the top on. That keeps it plenty warm until the eggs are cooked.
I do.
Of course, please share.
Above poster suggesting holding the eggs, that was definitely considered. Really I was wondering how restaurants do it.
I’m guessing they use a thermos and a fairly large mass of sauce.
I’m guessing a slurry of some sort, like corn starch, to stabilize, hence the purism comment. Oh, the suspense! (ETA: Oh, your comment was in reply to the second half of the comment you were replying to, that is, how restaurants do it. I was replying to guessing @Aspenglow’s method.)
Right, or maybe a stabilizer like lecithin or something. I know there are packs of “hollandaise sauce” but I dont know whats in them.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep anyone in suspense. 
My hack is to just add some cream cheese. For me, lemon and butter with the egg yolk is a tad too sharp. Cream cheese mellows the mixture.
For Eggs Benedict, I put water on to simmer in a saucepan for the eggs, get the Canadian bacon situated but not yet cooking and the muffins split for toasting.
Then I start the Hollandaise. I make it about halfway, meaning stir the lemon juice, egg yolk and butter together just until they become sauce. Then I take it off the heat. I finish up the muffins, bacon and poach the eggs (old style, cracked into a measuring cup and slipped into the simmering water for between for about 6 minutes, depending on the size of the yolks). When the eggs are done, I give them a quick dry with a paper towel and assemble the stacks.
While the eggs are cooking, it’s time to finish the Hollandaise by gently reheating with a dollop of cream cheese. A whisk does a nice job. You can thin it with a little hot water if necessary.
When the Hollandaise is smooth, top your stacks with it, give a quick dash of paprika for color and it’s time for brunch!
I make this for friends and family a lot due to many requests for it. Haven’t curdled any Hollandaise in decades.
Hope this helps!
Cream cheese, eh? I would never have guessed that one!
I use the immersion blender method and it does a great job.
It was a happy accident. I was just looking to cut down the tartness of the sauce, and the result was (to me) a better, more stable Hollandaise.
Yes, I always forget to pull mine out to use it. They are a fabulous tool!
I should mention that I can make unadulterated Hollandaise just fine as readily as with my cream cheese hack, but I don’t prefer it so I rarely do unless a purist is coming for a meal.
My wife doesn’t like spicy stuff, so I usually put some/many goodly dashes of Frank’s Red Hot on the top of my sauce after I spoon it over the egg. Also, poaching eggs is a PIA, so I usually just fry them in butter. What could be more healthy!?
As needs must, eh?
I love spicy, but my brain has definite ideas about what should be spicy and what shouldn’t. Brain sez, “Hollandaise should be smooth, silky and not spicy!” It’s kind of dumb, but I listen anyway.
A lot of recipes call for a dash of cayenne. But I love Frank’s (“I put that sh*t on everything!”), and the wife’s sensibilities are more … sensitive, so this makes for a good compromise.
You’re a good husband.
Forget the eggs and have it on crab cakes?
::d&r::
I passed that along to her. She might be swayed, but I’m not holding my breath.
I prefer my crab cakes unadulterated.