Eggs Benedict

by Lisa Kivirist from Farmstead Chef

Usually the most expensive item on a restaurant breakfast menu, Eggs Benedict can easily be made in your home kitchen. While perfectly seasoned sausage links or lean strips of bacon can be served as sides to most of our breakfast entrées, there’s nothing more enticing to the eye, nose and palate than Eggs Benedict, especially when made with a couple of slices of Canadian bacon and poached farm-fresh eggs with their nutrient-rich orange yolks.

Closer to ham in flavor, texture and appearance, Canadian bacon is leaner and doesn’t crisp in its own fat when cooking, so it works well for this dish. Eggs Benedict is mostly a matter of assembling several distinct steps to create a masterpiece. If a spouse, friend or partner can join you in the kitchen, the tango of sharing some cooking responsibilities makes the whole process a delight.

Eggs Benedict can be easily modified to be vegetarian, which is what we serve at our B&B, Inn Serendipity, in southwestern Wisconsin.

Try a bed of fresh, sautéed spinach, Swiss chard or thinly sliced avocados with fresh bean sprouts layered underneath the poached egg instead of the Canadian bacon. It can also incorporate other regional specialties, like smoked salmon or fresh crab.

Eggs Benedict Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 lb. Canadian bacon, thinly sliced
• 2 English muffins (learn how to make your own with Farmstead Chef)
• 1 c. Hollandaise sauce
• 1 t. paprika

Directions

• Fry bacon in a pan until fully browned on both sides. Drain off fat and cover the bacon to keep warm.
• Poach eggs, cooking for about 2 minutes, or until the white of the egg is solid but the yolk remains runny.
• Prepare the Hollandaise sauce.
• Toast each English muffin, then place on the plate. Add a strip or two of Canadian bacon to each muffin half, then a poached egg on top, covering the stack with several spoonfuls of Hollandaise sauce.
• Garnish with a light sprinkle of paprika. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings.

Hollandaise Sauce

This rich velvety sauce for Eggs Benedict can be a fancy stand-in for pouring over lightly steamed broccoli or asparagus sides for a dinner meal.

Maintain medium heat in a double boiler and whisk the sauce with easy circular stokes, avoiding overcooking (which will cause the sauce to separate).

Because of the eggs, this is one sauce you’ll want to enjoy right after it’s prepared. Thanks to John, there’s never any left over in our farmhouse.

Ingredients

• 3 egg yolks
• ¼ c. water, simmering
• 1 ½ T. lemon juice
• ¼ c. butter (½ stick)

Hollandaise Sauce Directions

• Whisk egg yolks in a double boiler over low heat. Make sure water isn’t too hot or eggs will curdle. Stir 1 minute.
• Add water, 1 T. at a time, whisking constantly. Stir 1 to 2 minutes until thick.
• Add lemon juice.
• Take off heat and stir in butter.
• Serve immediately.

Yield: 1 cup

While most people would say it’s spring, those of us with chickens know it’s egg season. We invite you to indulge in this collection of 20 delectable egg-based recipes.