Hollindaise and I

[vzank]

Hollindaise and I do not mix. I made it right the first time and that was about it. The rest of the times I screw it up. First of all my bain marie was too hot so it cooked the eggs. Then the second time by butter sat for a long time so it cooled and therefore my sauce solidified.
Butter is getting kinda expensive so..... is there any fool proof methods, new techniques, or most commonly made errors out there that I should know about.
Besides the pre made packets of course.

[Peachcreek]

Practice. Or forget about it for the time being till you get a job where you make it every day and then practice.

[miahoyhoy]

A lead cook I worked with a long time ago couldn't make hollandaise without a blender. We used to call it blederdaise.
Put you eggs in a blender turn on and add your reduction.
Blend for a minute until eggs are light and ribbony.
Gradually add WARM clarified butter.
Season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Keep WARM, but not longer than an hour or 2 at the most.
If it solidifies you can sometimes bring it back by whipping over a baine marie.
If it separates while doing this hit it with the opld blender again.
lates,
Jon

[kuan]

You should be able to do it in a mixing bowl over an open flame. But to start the yolks, a few drops of water will help. Are you whisking properly in a zigzag or figure 8 pattern? Whisk faster!

Kuan

[Pete]

Stick with a bain until you get the hang of it. I used to put my bowl right on the hot grill and do, but I was making everyday and had lots of practice. As kuan said, a little water in with the yolks will help with cooking the eggs properly, though I like to use a touch of white wine. Other than that, make sure your butter is WARM, not too hot, not too cool. Hollandaise really is not as difficult as everyone makes it out to be, it just takes attention to each and every step.

We once did some experiments with hollandaise, just for the fun of it. We were able to keep a hollandaise once for 2 1/2 days without it breaking (of course we didn't serve it!). Also was bored one day so we wanted to see how much butter 1 yolk could take. We actually used 3 yolks, because have you ever tried to heat 1 yolk without scrambling it. We were able to get almost 50 ounces of butter into those three yolks. That averages out to about 15 ounces per yolk.

[kuan]

You ever try that with mayo Pete? I could get a whole 5qt kitchenaid bowl full of Mayonnaise out of one eggyolk!

Kuan

[Pete]

Oh, the things we do when we are bored!!!!!

[Suzanne]

Please, guys, don't let on that it IS possible to get bored! Let's let everyone think that the professional kitchen is just a constant mad rush of excitement.

[Anneke]

Originally posted by kuan
But to start the yolks, a few drops of water will help.

Why would you use water when you have a wine/peppercorn/bay/shallot reduction?

[thebighat]

Nobody uses that. What was the copyright date on that book?
I found that water makes the yolks too light for me. I like a Hollandaise of firm body and lemony fragrance. I used to cook the yolks with the lemon juice. It's just practice, anyway.

[Mezzaluna]

Mmm, thebighat.. that describes my favorite incarnation of hollandaise. Amateur that I am, I have had very good success with a rather odd technique:

While I bring water to a simmer in a sauce pan, I break 2 yolks into a 2 cup pyrex measure. In another glass measuring cup I melt 1 stick (8 tablespoons) of butter; I don't clarify it. I add a bit of butter to temper the yolks somewhat, then put the yolks/butter in the water bath. I then whisk the rest of the butter in, shoot in some lemon juice (no idea how much, but probably 1/2 lemon worth), a grind of pepper (weird, but I like black pepper flecks in my hollandaise) and a little bit of sea salt. I can keep an eye on the bottom by lifting the cup out of the water now and then.

Result: smooth hollandaise. I scrambled it only once, when I made it the first time on my Viking range. I've also used the blender with good results every time.

I'm sure this could take more butter, but I think this is about all I dare use.

[Anneke]

Originally posted by thebighat
Nobody uses that. What was the copyright date on that book?

HEATHEN!!!! ()







Until recently, I was the "nobody who uses that"; and I made a batch every single day. And why wouldn't you use it??? You just have to make a reduction at the beginning of the week; it takes 2 minutes of prep, virtually no babysitting while it reduces (it only ocasionally catches fire ), it lasts a week or more in the refrigerator, but most importantly, It makes hollandaise taste like, well.... HOLLANDAISE!!

Otherwise it's just Mousy Egg and Butter Sauce.

[kuan]

The only thing which goes into Hollandaise when I make it is eggyolk, butter, lemonjuice, s/p, drop of tabasco, drop of worchestershire. The few drops of water acts like a bain marie, and it evaporates anyway so as you whisk it goes from frothy to custardy. After all is said and done, you control the consistency of hollandaise by adding a few drops of water, warm or cold.

Kuan

[chefbk]

I use a large stainless steel bowl with one side of it over an open flame, then when the sauce is complete I keep it in a wide mouth thermose to maintain the proper temp.
Chef BK

[Peachcreek]

C'mon. We're talking about Hollandaise here, not rocket science. Kuan, Pete, and the rest of us who have made it for a long while pretty much all make it the same way. It really is just one of a hundred things done on a daily basis. What do I think of as a "perfect" 'daise? Rich, light, imperceptibaly smooth with NO LUMPS, CHUNKS OR ANYTHING ELSE! Getting the egg/butter/lemon/s+p combination as to have it taste like "Hollandaise'is the key. We learned that getting the eggs to the right stage of doneness while incorporating the air into the mixture for maximum lightness made for a "perfect" sauce. Its' a prime example of what a few simple ingredients in the right hands can accomplish. We used to throw it on the flattop and make tiny souffles' with it....