Your head is pounding, you’re sweating, and in general, you just feel pretty bad. You should have laid off the booze last night, at least stopped before you did. Oh well, now it’s just time to find a remedy. What’s better than toasted bread, an egg with a runny yolk, and a sauce so full of butter it’ll make you cross-eyed? This is my recipe for eggs benedict.
Hangovers are as old as time itself, and so are the cures. The best cure is probably lots of water and rest, but that doesn’t stop people from trying to find a faster and more effective cure.
Eggs benedict may not be an actual cure for a hangover, but it’s crazy delicious, and best of all… you can eat it even if you don’t have a hangover.
If you are just here for the recipe, you can press the button underneath to be automagically transported to the recipe:
There are various accounts of the origins of eggs benedict.
One story goes that it was invented by the chef Charles Ranhofer after one of his regulars, a Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, had found nothing to her liking on the menu.
Ranhofer came up with the recipe on the fly and called it “Eggs à la Benedick” which he also published in this 1894 cookbook “The Epicurean”.
Another story goes that it was invented by a baker and yachtsman called Commodore E. C. Benedict. The alleged original recipe was sent to an American journalist in the late 1960s where he wrote a column about it.
Yet another story goes that eggs benedict originates from a traditional French dish called œufs bénédictine, consisting of a puree of salt cod and potatoes spread on triangles of fried bread, topped with a poached egg and hollandaise.
No matter the origins, I think we can agree that it’s still a delicious dish today.
The English muffin
An essential thing for eggs benedict is English muffins.
English muffins are American but made by an Englishman. Don’t you just love convoluted culinary history?
The English muffin is a perfect addition to the eggs benedict recipe. Toasted and wonderfully caramelized bread with nooks and crannies that can soak up the still-fluid egg yolk from the poached egg.
The Maillard reaction turns the bread brown and irresistible. I’m getting hungry writing this.
Another essential thing for eggs benedicts is the all-important hollandaise sauce.
The hollandaise sauce is an emulsion of egg yolk, melted butter and an acidic ingredient, usually lemon juice or vinegar.
It is normally seasoned with salt and white pepper or cayenne.
When you think about it, it’s really warm mayonnaise.
As it’s a mother sauce there are many derivatives, and the most famous is the sauce Béarnaise. It’s made by replacing the acidic ingredient with a vinegar reduction. Often made with shallots, fresh tarragon, and cracked peppercorns.
There are many other sauces that are made from the hollandaise. Here is a list of a few of them: sauce dijon (dijon hollandaise), sauce foyot (béarnaise with a meat glaze), and sauce noisette (hollandaise made with browned butter).
The conclusion of this eggs benedict recipe
I’m not sure a conclusion is really needed for this recipe.
Wonderfully toasted English muffin – ✅check!
Fried Canadian bacon – ✅check!
Perfectly poached egg – ✅check!
Godly butter-enriched Hollandaise sauce – ✅check!
That’s all that needs to be said!
Please share this eggs benedict recipe on social media
This is my recipe for eggs benedict. If you like the recipe please consider sharing it with like-minded food lovers on social media.
If you make it and post it on Instagram, please tag me as @foodgeek.dk so I can see it. That would make me very happy.
