Breakfast and Brunch
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[Photograph: Jessica Leibowitz]

About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook.

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About This Recipe

Yield: makes about 1 1/2 cups
Active time: 1 minute
Total time: 2 minutes
Special equipment: immersion blender with a cup that barely fits its head

Ingredients

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice from 1 lemon
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 stick butter
  • Pinch cayenne pepper or hot sauce (if desired)

Procedures

  1. Combine egg yolk, water, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt in the bottom of a cup that barely fits the head of an immersion blender. Melt butter in a small saucepan over high heat, swirling constantly, until foaming subsides. Transfer butter to a 1 cup liquid measuring cup.

  2. Place head of immersion blender into the bottom of the cup and turn it on. With the blender constantly running, slowly pour hot butter into cup. It should emulsify with the egg yolk and lemon juice. Continue pouring until all butter is added. Sauce should be thick and creamy. Season to taste with salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper or hot sauce (if desired). Serve immediately, or transfer to a small lidded pot and keep in a warm place for up to 1 hour before serving. Hollandaise cannot be cooled and reheated.