How to Make Perfect Hollandaise Sauce at Home
From the first day of spring, I use Hollandaise sauce until I get sick of it – which, admittedly, is never. One of the five mother sauces in French cuisine, I have tried to make it using several different methods, but I always come back to the immersion blender approach. Not only is it easier than endlessly whisking the sauce by hand, but slowly adding the hot melted butter between the quick-moving blades almost guarantees a scramble-free outcome.
This recipe yields 1 cup of Hollandaise sauce.
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt ½ cup, plus 2 tablespoons, unsalted butter. Once butter begins to simmer, remove from heat.
In a large bowl, using an immersion blender, blend 5 egg yolks and 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice together.
Very slowly, add hot melted butter to yolk-lemon juice mixture. Continue to use the immersion blender the entire time you’re pouring in the butter.
Once the sauce has thickened, forming a nice, creamy consistency, stop blending.
Whisk in ¹⁄₈ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and ¹⁄₈ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
Serve immediately. If you need to thin out the sauce before serving, whisk in warm water (one teaspoon at a time) until desired consistency is reached.
Julia Calleo
Julia Calleo is a freelance photographer for editorial magazines including Feast. She is also a food and prop stylist at a commercial production studio and blogger in St. Louis.
