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Wow, I did it! I make hollandaise and it was great! Far better than store bought!

I looked at a few websites for inspiration and help then added my own bits…
Special shout to two main sites

1. Classic Hollandaise
2. Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce

This consists of two recipes that have been combined: Water Reduction and Blended Hollandaise

All and all, grand and would definitely make it again – made outstanding Black Benedict (my invention, substitute German Black forest smoked ham – a bit like Smoked Parma Ham – for the traditional ham) for me and Eggs Hemingway for Zoey

Water Reduction:

Prerequisite for Hollandaise

The Water Reduction gives Hollandaise Sauce its unique flavor (otherwise it’s just lemon butter, which is good, but not traditional Hollandaise)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon minced shallot | 1st pass I used about 2″ of Leeks roughly chopped
• 10 or so peppercorns, cracked
• crumpled bay leaf
• lemon thyme
• 1/4 cup good vinegar, I used White Wine Vinegar

Directions:

1. Combine the shallot, cracked pepper, bay leaf, salt and vinegar in a pan and simmer it till it’s dry (you’ll sometimes see this referred to as sec, the French term).

   (Original authors comment: This is the reduction taken to sec. All the strong acidity is gone, leaving only the flavors, and a little caramelization in the pan.)

   (Buddy comment: even though you don’t use oil in the pan, it does start to brown and “stick”, this is good, just keep the heat down, as per the authors comment, it did still taste vinegary but that was important, also, I used 2 Tbsp of lemon juice and it was too lemony, might adjust it to one next time)

2. Add water to the pan, about a quarter cup. Bring it to a simmer, and strain it into a sauce pan.

Hollandaise

Ingredients

• Water reduction (keep hot)
• 3 egg yolks
• lemon juice to taste (1 to 3 teaspoons)
• 8 ounces (two sticks) of butter melted in vessel you can pour it from in a thin stream (I only used about 5 ounces the first time as we were short on butter – still excellent though
• three-fingered pinch or 1/2tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne to taste (optional)

Directions:

1. Melt the butter slowly in a small pot (I just covered it with a dish and microwaved it then stirred it). Try not to let it boil – you want the moisture in the butter to remain there and not steam away (Or you can blast it again in the microwave just prior to adding it for blending).
2. Add the egg yolks, hot water reduction (microwave it just prior to adding so it is awfully close to boiling hot), lemon juice, salt and cayenne (if using) into your blender. Blend the egg yolk mixture at a medium to medium high speed until it lightens in color, about 20-30 seconds. The friction generated by the blender blades will heat the yolks a bit. The blending action will also introduce a little air into them, making your hollandaise a bit lighter.
3. Once the yolks have lightened in color, turn the blender down to its lowest setting (if you only have one speed on your blender it will still work), and drizzle in the hot melted butter slowly, while the blender is going. Continue to buzz for another couple seconds after the butter is all incorporated.
4. Turn off the blender and taste the sauce. It should be buttery, lemony and just lightly salty. If it is not salty or lemony enough, you can add a little lemon juice or salt to taste. If you want a thinner consistency, add a little warm water. Pulse briefly to incorporate the ingredients one more time.
5. Once sauce is complete, I microwaved it for about 30 seconds then whisked it to get the thick consistency that normally comes from a restaurant

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