Finally figured out why my hollandaise kept breaking on slow Saturday brunch shifts

Turns out the problem was I was rushing the butter addition even when I thought I was going slow enough, so I got out a timer and stretched it to a full 3 minutes of drizzle and now it holds together like a dream anyone else deal with this?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamienguyen14d ago

Actually, not to nitpick but 3 minutes is way too long for drizzling butter into hollandaise. You're probably ending up with something closer to a warm butter sauce than a true emulsion if you stretch it out that much. The real trick isn't the timer, it's the temperature of the butter and the bowl. If your bowl is too cold or the butter's not hot enough, it'll break no matter how slow you dribble. I go about 45 seconds to a minute tops, but I keep the butter in a hot water bath so it stays liquid. Also make sure your yolk base is thick enough before you even start adding fat.

diana_black2214d ago

Oh man, I feel this in my SOUL because I absolutely destroyed a batch of hollandaise last week by psyching myself out with a timer and ignoring the butter temp entirely. My yolk base was practically shivering when I started, and shocker, it turned into a greasy mess that looked more like sad scrambled egg juice than a proper sauce. Lesson learned: trust the feel over the clock, because my "perfect 3 minute pour" just embarrassed me in front of my brunch guests.