One of America's Favorites - Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict with a slice of bacon on the side

There are conflicting accounts as to the origin of Eggs Benedict, including: In an interview recorded in the "Talk of the Town" column of The New Yorker in 1942, the year before his death, Lemuel Benedict, a retired Wall Street stock broker, claimed that he had wandered into the Waldorf Hotel in 1894 and, hoping to find a cure for his morning hangover, ordered "buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon, and a hooker of Hollandaise." Oscar Tschirky, the famed maître d'hôtel, was so impressed with the dish that he put it on the breakfast and luncheon menus but substituted ham for the bacon and a toasted English muffin for the toast.







* Eggs Blackstone substitutes streaky bacon for the ham and adds a tomato slice.
* Eggs Florentine substitutes spinach for the ham. Older versions of eggs Florentine add spinach to poached or shirred eggs
* Eggs Mornay – substitutes the Hollandaise with Mornay (cheese) sauce.

Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon

* Eggs Atlantic, Eggs Hemingway, or Eggs Copenhagen (also known as Eggs Royale and Eggs Montreal in New Zealand) substitutes salmon (or smoked salmon) for the ham. This is a common variation found in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom . This is also known as "Eggs Benjamin" in a few restaurants in Canada.
* Huevos Benedictos substitutes either sliced avocado or Mexican chorizo for the ham, and is topped with both a salsa (such as salsa roja or salsa brava ) and hollandaise sauce.
* Eggs Hussarde substitutes Holland rusks for the English muffin and adds Bordelaise sauce.
* Country Benedict, sometimes known as Eggs Beauregard, replaces the English muffin, ham and hollandaise sauce with an American biscuit, sausage patties, and country gravy. The poached eggs are replaced with eggs fried to choice.
* Irish Benedict replaces the ham with corned beef or Irish bacon.
* Portobello Benedict substitutes Portobello mushrooms for the ham, and is a popular alternative for Catholics observing the Friday Fast.
* Oscar Benedict, also known as Eggs Oscar, replaces the ham with asparagus and lump crab meat.
* Eggs Provençal replaces the Hollandaise sauce with Béarnaise Sauce.
* Russian Easter Benedict replaces the Hollandaise sauce with a lemon juice and mustard flavored Béchamel Sauce, and is topped with black caviar.
* Eggs Chesapeake substitutes Crab cake for the ham.

Preparing Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict is prepared with a lightly toasted English muffin using an oven, toaster oven or traditional toaster. If toasted too long, the muffin can be difficult to slice. This is then topped with Canadian bacon cooked in the oven or on the stove top. On top of this, a poached egg is added. Poaching an egg is to simply drop the egg into a boiling pan of water until cooked (preferably with the yolk still soft). This is then all covered with Hollandaise sauce that requires some amount of practice to perfect. For a single, two-egg serving of this dish, four eggs are used: 2 for the individual servings of poached eggs and 2 yolks for the sauce.
Using a double boiler, slowly heat up the four egg yolks with about a tablespoon or more of lemon juice (to taste) and about 3/4 cup of melted butter, beginning with only half the amount in the double boiler to begin. Whisk this together with about a tablespoon of water and a dash of white pepper until it begins to thicken slightly, then add almost all of the rest of the butter while continuing to whisk. If the sauce begins to separate or is too thick, simply add a tablespoon (or more, as needed) of warm water or use lemon juice.
An alternate Hollandaise preparation, which is faster and uses less butter: two egg yolks, one teaspoon lemon juice, and a pinch of salt, lightly blended. Add 1/4 cup melted butter and blend again. Tabasco may be added for extra flavor.