Bruleed Blackstone Eggs Benedict

When the weather gets cold and the holidays are on the horizon, I start to crave Eggs Benedict. There's just something about the warm, rich egg yolk and the salty bacon that goes so beautifully with cold weather.  Growing up, my mom and sister used to make Eggs Benny quite often on Christmas morning.  I was a very picky eater back in those days, so I didn't often partake, but I still have lovely memories of my mom and sister in the kitchen and the wonderful aromas.

As I've grown older, I've come to love Eggs Benedict and make it often for my family.  Not to mention, love to try various versions at restaurants.  There's a wonderful little place in Vancouver, BC called the Sunshine Diner.  My husband and I used to live minutes from the diner, and ate breakfast there quite regularly.  They served many varieties of Eggs Benedict and my favourite was called Blackstone Eggs Benny.  It consists of the usual poached egg on an English muffin, but with the addition of bacon and tomato.

I recently decided to make my own version of this after a morning of shovelling snow off my drive way.  I replaced the English muffin with a nice piece of whole wheat bread and bruleed the Hollandaise sauce after it had been draped on the poached egg.

When I was in culinary school I learnt to make Hollandaise by making a reduction of vinegar, pepper and shallots and then whisking the eggs into that reduction.  As well, any chef will tell you to use clarified butter (pure butter fat).  While I do find the flavour of my culinary school Hollandaise to be really nice.  On this occasion, it was the weekend and I wanted a more relaxed approach.  So, I recalled reading about Nigella Lawson's method for making Hollandaise in her book "How to Eat", so I got out the cookbook and gave it a try.  It turned out beautifully and was much easier than my culinary school recipe.  I made a couple of changes to the original Nigella recipe though.  I didn't use quite as much butter and whisked in a little bit of hot water because I found the sauce got a little too thick for my liking.  

Making Eggs Benedict is a little bit of a balancing act and poaching eggs can be intimidating. However, once you get the feel for it and do it successfully, it becomes a joy to make and not stressful at all.

I might just make this again for breakfast on Christmas morning with my family.

I recommend reading this recipe through before making.

Blackstone Eggs Benedict

What you will need:
2 medium sized pots
Slotted spoon or spider
Paper towel
Spare plate or shallow bowl lined with paper towel
4 ramekins
1 wire cooling rack
1 cookie sheet
Aluminium foil
1 metal or glass heat proof bowl
Whisk

*The ingredients listed below are for two people having 1 slice of bread and two eggs.  However you  could adjust the ingredients to account for more people if needed, or do 1 slice of toast with 1 egg on  it etc.

Ingredients:
2 slices of whole wheat bread (one slice per person)
4 rashers of bacon
1 tomato sliced (you'll need 4 slices)
4 eggs
Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Butter for spreading on toast

Ingredients for Hollandaise Sauce:
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup butter
1 lemon
few drops of hot water

Preparation:
This list of preparation might seem redundant because many of these steps are also listed in the method for poaching eggs and making Hollandaise.  However, I feel it's important with a recipe like this to be prepared before you get going so you don't end up running around like a crazy person during the cooking.  Feel free to follow or ignore my recommended prep work guideline or come up with your own.  

I begin with setting my oven to 350F and placing a wire rack on top of a cookie sheet (which I've lined with aluminium foil to catch the bacon grease and for easy clean-up).  I then place the four rashers of bacon onto the rack and into in the oven to cook.  If you've never made bacon this way, I highly recommend giving it a try.  The bacon stays nice a flat on the rack as it cooks (instead of curling up as it does when fried in a skillet or pan) and comes out crisp all the way through.  Not to mention, it's out of your way leaving more space on your cook top.  

While the bacon is cooking in the oven, I assemble the remaining supplies and ingredients I'll need.  I fill one of my pots with water for poaching the eggs.  I like to have the water about 3 inches deep and add a splash of vinegar and a good pinch of salt (this helps the white of the eggs to coagulate and poach correctly into a nice oval shape).  You may be tempted to skip the vinegar and salt, but please don't, it really does make a difference.  Start heating the poaching water to a gentle simmer (but never let the water boil).  While you're at it, might as well fill the second pot with some water for the double boiler you'll use to cook the Hollandaise and set aside for later.

While the poaching water is heating, I crack my four eggs into the ramekins (4 ramekins, 1 egg in each) so I'm prepared for when I start poaching the eggs. I never crack the eggs directly into the poaching water, I get a much more consistent result when I gently slip the egg from the ramekin into the poaching water.  Set the ramekins aside until needed.

Then I slice my tomato up so I have 4 slices to go under each poached egg and pop my bread into the toaster so that all I have to do is start toasting closer to when everything is done.  You could also separate the three eggs needed for the Hollandaise in advance too, placing the yolks in the metal or glass bowl and set aside.  Lastly, I line a plate with a few sheets of paper towel (for the poached eggs to drain on).

I find it best to make the Hollanadaise first and then poach the eggs.  The Hollandaise can sit for a few minutes without splitting (contrary to what a lot of people think).  If the sauce over thickens just add a little hot water.

Hollandaise Method:
Fill the second pot with a few inches of water (you may have done this already if followed my recommended prep) and bring to the boil on stove.  While this is happening, separate three eggs placing the yolks in the metal bowl and reserve the whites for another use.

Cut the 1/3 cup of butter into cubes and set next to the stove for easy access.

Once the water in the pot is boiling, turn the heat down to low and place your metal or glass bowl over the pot (this is called a bain marie or a double boiler).  Then start whisking the egg yolks until they've started to thicken slightly.  Then start adding a cube of butter at a time, whisking it in until it melts, add another cube, whisk again until melted, and so on.

I find (and was also taught in culinary school) it's best to remove the metal bowl from the stove and whisk the mixture for a minute or two off the heat. I do this every few cubes of butter to ensure the sauce doesn't over heat and split.  As well, if you're finding the mixture is thickening too much (almost becoming a paste as opposed to a sauce) then add a few drops of the hot water from the simmering pot or bain marie (below).  Once all the butter is added in, spritz a little bit of lemon juice, give the mixture another good whisking, and set aside in a warm place while you poach the eggs. Whisk it every so often while poaching the eggs to keep if from getting a skin on top.  Once again, if the sauce thickens while it's sitting, whisk in a little hot water (I know I sound like a broken record here, but it really does work well).  


Egg Poaching Method:
Line a plate with some paper towel (for the finished poached eggs to drain on).  Also, it's not a bad idea to have a slotted spoon, a wooden spoon and a whisk on hand.

Place the pot (you filled earlier with water, a splash of vinegar and pinch of salt) on to simmer but don't let the water boil.

Once the water is barely simmering, start by swirling the water around in the pot (the whisk works great for this) so you have a little vortex in the middle of the poaching water to drop your first egg into.  Now you need to work rather quickly and get the remaining eggs into the water while it's still whirling.  If needed, use the wooden spoon to keep the water gently swirling around the pot.  Once all the eggs are in the water, keep gently stirring the water (with the wooden spoon) while the eggs cook. It's important to keep the eggs continuously swirling.

At this point, the main objective is to keep the eggs from settling on the bottom but also not damaging them with the wooden spoon. Nothing worse than the yolk bursting into the water...  As well, this is where the vinegar and salt in the poaching water comes in handy and keeps the eggs from falling apart and turning into poached scrambled eggs like this:

Not pretty...

If you end up with an egg bursting, use the slotted spoon to remove it and just add a new egg. However, if all of your eggs don't hold a nice oval ball shape and turn into poached scrambled eggs, the best thing to do is dump everything and start again.  

When I was learning to poach eggs in culinary school, the chefs instructed us to take the eggs out of the poaching water as soon as they're opaque (the French notoriously like their eggs very runny). Personally, I leave mine in a tad longer as I like the white to be set and yolk oozing. However, you can cook the eggs to any doneness you like.  Some people recommend cooking the eggs for a very specific amount of time for a particular set .  However, I'm hesitant to provide cooking times for poached eggs - it so varies on how deep and hot your water is exactly.  As well, every make/model of stove cooks a little differently (are you cooking on a gas stove or ceramic flat top? etc.). Thus, I feel the best way to test the eggs for doneness is to gently lift each egg out using a slotted spoon and very carefully jiggle it.  If each egg is still very jiggly and almost flabby, then I put it back in for a little longer.  If it has a wobbly jiggle that's a little firmer, that's when I take them out for my preference. Finally, if it barely jiggles or not at all, then it's hard poached.

Once all of your eggs are done to your liking, using the slotted spoon, lift each one out and onto the prepared plate with paper towel on it to drain.

Assembly:
By this point the bacon is most likely nicely crisp (if not the eggs will stay warm for a good 5 to 7 minutes).  Remove the tray from the oven and carefully pat the bacon with paper towel to remove excess grease from the tops.  I would also toast and butter your bread at this point.

Set your oven to broil. Place your oven rack about 6 inches below the broiler.

Place the slices of bread on the rack and cookie sheet combo used for cooking the bacon earlier (why dirty up another cookie sheet?)

Place a few pieces of bacon on each piece of bread (I usually break the pieces in half) and any left over can be a cooks treat or extra on the plates.  Then place two slices of tomato on top of the bacon for each poached egg to sit on.  Once the eggs are in place, give your Hollandaise a really good final whisking and add a little hot water if the sauce is too thick from sitting.

Then spoon a generous amount of Hollandaise over all the eggs (it's okay if some falls off and down onto the aluminium foil below, that's what it's there for).

Place the tray under the broiler and let the Hollanadaise on top of the eggs become slightly browned or bruleed.  Remove the tray from the oven and gently lift each Benedict off the tray and onto plates.

Sprinkle some salt and pepper over top and serve with whatever accompaniments you like.

Bon Appetit!