Eggs Benedict is an American brunch classic that will make you very happy on a lazy Sunday morning. Crispy bagels, a fresh piece of salmon and a poached egg as a bonus. Delicious and it looks impressive, especially when you cut open the egg.
Is a poached egg difficult to make? Not if you know what you’re doing. There are two ingredients that play a key role: a fresh egg and water at the right temperature.
The fresher, the better
Poaching with fresh eggs is… indeed, a piece of cake. Because the egg white is still thick and firm. It actually wraps around the yolk like a tight coat. As eggs age, the protein weakens. This is because enzymes cut the protein molecules into pieces. And that loose egg white has a tendency to fall apart during poaching. Exactly what you don’t want.
How do you know if your egg is fresh enough? Very simple, look at the best before date. As long as it is at least two weeks away, you can easily poach it. But a fresh egg from the farmer gives the greatest chance of success.
Keep the water off the boil
The ideal poaching water is between 80 and 90°C. At this temperature the water is not yet moving, so the egg remains better intact. In bubbling boiling water it flies in all directions. The bonus benefit of a lower water temperature is that the cooked egg whites have a softer texture.
Why does a lower temperature give a softer egg? The proteins in the egg white can be compared to long rope-shaped molecules that stick together during cooking. The higher the temperature, the more enthusiastically they will stick. An egg at 80°C is therefore softer than an egg at 100°C. That’s what makes poached eggs so delicious.
Vinegar is not nice
Many recipes recommend adding a few tablespoons of vinegar to the poaching water. Vinegar makes the proteins coagulate a little faster. That is indeed an advantage, but vinegar also gives a sour aftertaste. Not recommended, that’s why you won’t find it in my recipe.
In addition, there is regular talk about creating a vortex in the water, which holds the egg together by centrifugal force. But before you master this trick, you will have to wait a lot of eggs. So go for fresh eggs and calm water of the right temperature, and you will certainly succeed.
Recipe: eggs Benedict
Preparation time: approx. 25 minutes
Requirements: refractory bowl, whisk
Ingredients (for 4 people):
4 bake-off bagels
1 lemon
100 g cream cheese
2 tbsp chives, chopped
6 eggs, as fresh as possible
120 g butter
200 g smoked salmon
Preparation
1. Bake the bagels in the oven according to the instructions on the packaging. Grate the zest of the lemon and squeeze out the juice. Mix the cream cheese with 2 teaspoons lemon zest and 1 tablespoon chives. Season with salt and pepper.
2. For the Hollandaise sauce, split 2 eggs. The proteins are not used*. Mix 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with 2 tablespoons of water and the yolks in a heatproof bowl. Hang this above a pan with a layer of water (the bowl should not touch the water) and bring the water to the boil. Beat the mixture until fluffy with a whisk.
3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan. Pour the melted butter into the yolk mixture while beating with a whisk. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and keep the sauce warm in the bowl above the water.
4. Bring a saucepan with approximately 5 cm of water to the boil. Wait until you see small bubbles at the bottom of the pan that regularly rise to the top. Right now the water is between 80 and 90°C. Make sure that the water does not boil, but adjust the heat source so that steam bubbles continuously rise from the bottom.
5. Crack the rest of the eggs one by one into a cappuccino cup and carefully slide them out of the cup into the water. Poach the eggs for about 3 minutes and remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon. Keep them warm in a bowl of hot tap water.
6. Cut the bagels in half and top the halves with the cream cheese. Place slices of smoked salmon on top and a poached egg on top. Cover with the Hollandaise sauce and sprinkle with the rest of the chives.
*You can freeze the egg whites and use them later for meringue. You can also use them in an omelette or for the filling of a savory pie.
Chef delves into Cooking with Knowledge Eke Mariën in the science behind cooking. He wrote several cookbooks and runs an online cooking platform full of videos and recipes.
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