Stay Home for the Hollandaise: The Food Lab's Foolproof Hollandaise, Revisited

This recipe is an updated version of this one that I published on Serious Eats in 2013. I've updated the temperature of the butter (it does not need to be measured as suggested in earlier versions of the recipe), and some of the language about how to incorporate it to make the recipe more foolproof. 

The Secrets to Success

• A hand blender creates a vortex that guarantees a stable emulsion when you drizzle hot butter into egg yolks.

• Use a hand blender in a jar that barely fits the head of the blender in its mouth.

• Turn on the blender before adding butter.

• Drizzle the butter down the shaft of the blender.

Making hollandaise was one of my earliest failures in the kitchen. I’d read through the technique thoroughly enough in Jacques Pepin’s La Technique (an indispensable tome now available in its modern incarnation as Jacques Pepin’s Complete Techniques), but it turns out reading how to make hollandaise is kind of like reading how to ride a bike. Turns out it doesn’t really help you when the road hits the pavement (or when the melted butter hits the egg yolks).

I thought I was whisking fast enough as I slowly drizzled in my melted butter. But instead of turning creamy and light as Jacques claimed it would, I ended up with a greasy, curdled mess that no amount of whisking (or blender-ing, as I eventually turned to) could rescue. For years, I thought it was a sauce best left to restaurant professionals (and this was even after I eventually became a restaurant professional.

But here's the good news: you can stay home for the Hollandaise.

The concept sounds simple enough: beat egg yolks with some lemon juice in a double boiler, then slowly drizzle in melted butter until a stable emulsion forms. Sounds simple enough. But in practice, it’s not quite so easy.

Here’s what I had to say about it in an older video on the subject, based on the recipe from my first book, The Food Lab.

“Like mayonnaise, hollandaise is a fat-in-water emulsion. Normally, when you combine fat and water, the fat separates and forms a greasy layer that floats on top. The key to a successful emulsion is to break that fat up into individual droplets so small that they disperse evenly in your liquid.

"Now traditionally, you'd this by whisking egg yolks and lemon juice over a double boiler until they're hot and frothy, then slooooowly whisking in butter in a thin, steady stream. The butter breaks into minute droplets, while the egg yolk acts as an emulsifier, helping to keep those droplets dispersed, as well as thickening the sauce. What you get is a creamy, smooth sauce with a rich texture and mild flavor, perfect for topping eggs, fish, or vegetables.

"But there are a lot of ways things can go wrong. If you don't whisk fast enough or pour in your butter too fast it'll turn greasy and broken. Don't cook the eggs enough and it won't thicken properly. If you cook the eggs too much and you'll end up with clumpy, greasy, scrambled eggs.

"The reality is that if you're going to learn how to do it the traditional way, the road to perfect hollandaise is going to be paved in broken sauces.

"But here's the good news: there's an alternative method that is completely foolproof, produces a hollandaise that is every bit as good as the traditional version, and takes about one minute start to finish. All you need is a small pot, a glass measuring cup, and a hand blender with a cup that just barely fits its head.

"We start by combining a couple of egg yolks in the base of the blender cup along with a teaspoon of lemon juice, a teaspoon of water, and a pinch of salt. Next, we heat up a stick of butter on the stovetop until it is completely melted and bubbling. It should register around 220°F on an instant-read thermometer. Pour that butter into the measuring cup.

"Now all we do is stick the head of the hand blender at the bottom of the jar, start it running, and slowly pour in the butter. As the hot butter hits the eggs, they start to cook. By the time all the hot butter has been added about 30 seconds later, you've got rich, smooth, creamy, hollandaise sauce that's completely indistinguishable from sauce made using the traditional whisk method.

"Hollandaise will be at its best right when you make it, but If you want to store it, your best bet is to keep it in a small, lidded pot in a warm spot near your stove and make sure you use it within a couple hours."

This hand-blender method is the method I still use today. However, in the years since publishing this recipe, I’ve found that the starting temperature of the butter isn’t all that important, as it doesn’t actually matter that much how much the egg yolks are cooked. Like mayonnaise, simply emulsifying the fat with the eggs will cause the sauce to thicken up to a creamy, saucy consistency, whether the egg yolks cook or not.

That’s good news, because it makes the hollandaise even easier—there’s no need to use a thermometer at all. Just melt the butter, pour it into the cup as the hand blender is running, and you’re good to go.

The other good news is that for years, my favorite hand blender—the Braun Multiquick—had been unavailable. Out of print, or whatever the hand-tool equivalent of that is. But it’s back! And despite spraying hollandaise all over my kitchen, it’s as good as ever. Powerful, compact, and pleasant to hold.

Foolproof Hand Blender Hollandaise

Time: 5 minutes

Active time: 5 minutes

Yield: About 1 cup Hollandaise

Ingredients

• 2 large egg yolks

• 1 teaspoon (5ml) water

• 1 teaspoon (5ml) lemon juice from 1 lemon

• Kosher salt

• 1 stick (4 ounces; 113g) unsalted butter

• Pinch cayenne pepper or hot sauce, optional

Notes: Use a jar or cup just wide enough to fit the head of your immersion blender. The egg yolk/lemon/water mixture in step one should reach the blades of the blender.

Directions

1. Combine the egg yolks, water, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt in a cup or jar that's just wide enough to accomodate the head of your hand blender (see note).

2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, swirling constantly, until foamy and bubbling. Transfer the butter to a liquid measuring cup, leaving behind any milky white liquid at the bottom.

3. Place head of immersion blender into the bottom of the cup and turn it on. With the blender constantly running, slowly pour the hot butter into the measuring up, letting it run down the shaft of the hand blender. Continue pouring slowly until all the butter is added. The hollandaise should be thick and creamy. Season to taste with salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper or hot sauce, as desired. You can adjust the consistency of the sauce with a little bit of water if you prefer it thinner. It shuold flow very gently like lava when you spoon it onto a plate.

4. Serve immediately, or place the blender jar in a hot water bath and keep it in a warm place for up to 30 minutes before serving. Leftover hollandaise can't be reheated, so eat up!