Classic Hollandaise Sauce (Double Boiler Method) (2024)

How to Make Hollandaise Sauce

Step 1: Make clarified butter (aka ghee) - optional

Gently heat the butter in a small saucepan (preferably with a lip for pouring) over medium heat. Allow the butter to foam (that’s the water boiling away). Skim off the foam occasionally (photo 1).

Just remember that you’re tryingnotto toast the milk solids at the bottom of the pan when you’re making clarified butter. Go too far and you have brown butter (which is yummy in its own right, like inChocolate Chip Cookie bars, but not what we want here).

Step 2: Make the egg yolk base

Place a medium saucepan on the stove with about an inch of water. Heat the water until it’s simmering, then adjust the heat to low.

Combine the egg yolks and lemon juice and whisk until the eggs are pale and frothy. Fit the bowl inside the saucepan (photo 2). Choose a bowl that can fit inside the saucepan (without it touching the bottom) to use as a double boiler.

Step 3: Create the emulsion

With the heat on low, slowly drizzle the clarified butter into the bowl while constantly whisking the egg yolks. Really, the stream should be very thin. The idea is to allow the fat to emulsify into the yolks.

It's very important to go slow. I can't stress this enough! If you add the butter too quickly, it won't be able to be held in suspension and your sauce will break.

That being said, it only takes about 6 to 10 minutes to whisk the clarified butter into the egg yolk mixture. You can see how the mixture thickens up when all the butter is added (photo 3).

Step 4: Season to taste

Once all the butter is added and the hollandaise has thickened, remove the bowl from the saucepan. Check that the mixture has reached 149˚F as measured with a digital thermometer to confirm that the egg yolks are fully cooked.

Finish the sauce by whisking in the salt and cayenne pepper, if using (photo 4). Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired.

How to Fix a Broken Hollandaise Sauce

It happens. I make a beautifully smooth hollandaise sauce the day before I need it. I'm re-warming it over some gently simmering water, get distracted by something shiny, and BAM!, my hollandaise sauce goes from smooth to separated in an instant.

There are 2 ways to fix a broken hollandaise:

1. Whisk in a drop or two of hot water (but not more than 2 teaspoons) into the separated sauce, and see if that will bring the sauce together
2. If that doesn’t work, put a single egg yolk in a bowl and slowly whisk in the broken sauce until everything smoothes out again (photo 5)

Make sure to check the seasonings before serving. And for Heaven’s sake, warm your hollandaise on a double boiler on low heat (and don’t get distracted!).

How to use Hollandaise Sauce

This hollandaise recipe produces a smooth, creamy, and lemony sauce. Truly, it’s not intimidating at all to make, and you don’t have to worry about raw eggs. This recipe makes about ½ cup of sauce.

Its bright and buttery flavor is a lovely complement to steamed or roasted vegetables, poached salmon, or even steak or chicken. And don't forget, this is the classic Eggs Benedict sauce (made with homemade Sourdough English Muffins, of course!).

You can deconstruct Eggs Benedict on your plate (for picky eaters, you know who you are!), and use avocado rather than Canadian bacon (serving it "California-style"). Or present the dish an entirely different way with this Eggs Benedict Casserole.

You get to choose your own adventure here!

• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter, melted, see Recipe Notes
• ▢ 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice, at room temperature
• ▢ Pinch sea salt flakes
• ▢ Pinch cayenne pepper, optional

• ▢

  Make the clarified butter (optional): Gently heat the butter in a small saucepan (preferably with a lip for pouring) over medium heat. Allow the butter to foam (that’s the water boiling away). Skim off the foam occasionally. Keep an eye on the butter - you’re trying not to toast the milk solids at the bottom of the pan.

• ▢

  Once the foam is mostly gone, the ghee is ready. Keep warm over very low heat until you're ready to use it. When drizzling later, try not to pour out the milk solids.

• ▢

  Make the sauce: Place a medium saucepan on the stove with an about an inch of water. Heat the water until it’s simmering, then adjust the heat to low.

• ▢

  Choose a bowl that can fit inside the saucepan (without it touching the bottom) to use as a double boiler. Combine the egg yolks and lemon juice and whisk until the eggs are pale and frothy. Fit the bowl inside the saucepan.

• ▢

  With the heat on low, slowly drizzle the clarified butter into the bowl while constantly whisking the egg yolks until the mixture has thickened. Really, the stream should be very thin. The idea is to allow the butter and lemon juice to emulsify using the yolks. Go slow or your emulsion will separate.

• ▢

  Once all the butter is added and the hollandaise sauce has thickened, remove the bowl from the saucepan. Check that the mixture has reached 149 °F as measured with a digital thermometer and the egg yolks are fully cooked.

• ▢

  Finish the sauce by whisking in the salt and cayenne, if using. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired.

• ▢

  Serve over eggs, roasted vegetables, meat, chicken, fish, or whatever else you think will be enhanced by creamy, lemony goodness.

• ▢

  To keep hollandaise warm: Keep the sauce warm (about 145 °F) in a double boiler, with the water just simmering as before. To avoid bacterial growth, don’t hold it at that temperature for more than 2 hours. Instead, chill the sauce in the refrigerator and re-warm when needed.

• ▢

  To re-warm hollandaise: Very, very gently warm the hollandaise in a double boiler, watching closely not to overheat (and break) the sauce. You can also use the microwave if you use low (20%) power for about 15 seconds, whisking between bursts.

• ▢

  To fix a broken sauce: If the sauce separates, fix it by whisking in a drop or two of hot water (but not more than 2 teaspoons). If that doesn’t work, put a single egg yolk in a bowl and slowly whisk in the broken sauce until everything smoothes out again. Check the seasonings before serving.

• ▢

  Storage instructions: Hollandaise sauce will keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days, though it will firm up as it cools. For longer storage, For longer storage, freeze 1 tablespoon portions of the sauce in an ice cube tray until firm, then transfer to an airtight plastic bag for up to a month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then re-warm as described below.

• ▢

  This recipe makes about ½ cup of hollandaise sauce, and can be doubled.

A classic hollandaise sauce recipe uses warmed melted butter in its preparation. If you want to take it an extra step, clarify the butter before proceeding. This increases the chances of your sauce not breaking because you're removing the extra water in the butter that can weaken the emulsion. You can purchase ready-made ghee if you want to skip clarifying the butter yourself.

Hollandaise is pregnancy- and kid-friendly when the the egg yolks are fully cooked and reach 149˚F on a digital thermometer.

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