Making my own hollandaise sauce

I got up early on a recent Saturday, determined to make a good hollandaise sauce after failing in class. But before I could whisk it up, I had to make my own clarified butter. At school, assistants had the ingredient all ready to go in huge vats on the stove.

The hollandaise recipe requires 200 milliliters, or 14 tablespoons, of warm clarified butter. (One large egg yolk can generally take in up to 200 milliliters of oil or fat.) You need to melt 300 grams, or 2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons, of whole butter to get 200 milliliters.

I doubled the guideline just in case I screwed up. I dumped a little more than 5 sticks of butter in a saucepan. I melted the butter on low heat until foam formed at the top and water and milk solids settled on the bottom.

I skimmed off the foam. Then I carefully poured the clarified butter, the clearest portion of the liquid, into a container, leaving behind the solids. That is not easy to do. I poured the clarified butter through cheesecloth, hoping it would catch any foam I missed, but there were still some floaties in my butter.


Clarified butter
 
Over a hot water bath on the stove, I vigorously whisked the egg yolks, remembering what Chef X had shown me. He was tough on us, but we all loved him. Even though he yelled a lot, it was his way of motivating us to be better.

I slowly mixed in the clarified butter and the sauce grew. To me, eggs are fascinating. Eggs are emulsifiers and are able to bind with fat and water molecules. That's why sauces like hollandaise and mayonnaise can be made---ingredients that don't normally mix together are now married by an egg.

I warmed the sauce over the hot water bath just like we did at school. The sauce was a little thick, so I took a teaspoon of water from the hot water bath and whisked the bit of water into the sauce. I seasoned the sauce with lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper. I poured the sauce over a poached egg, garnishing it with chopped chives. My husband finished off his plate.

Hollandaise sauce
Adapted from The French Culinary Institute Classic Culinary Arts program

200 milliliters (14 tablespoons) clarified butter (see recipe)
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons of water (Rule of thumb is 1 teaspoon per egg yolk)
lemon juice to taste
salt to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
more water if necessary to thin out the sauce

Cover the bottom of a saucepan with water and bring the water to a boil. The saucepan should be big enough for you to be able to fit a stainless steel bowl on top. When the water begins to boil, reduce the heat.

Put egg yolks and 2 teaspoons of water in a stainless steel bowl. Using a balloon whisk, mix the yolks and the water just to combine. (Do not use an aluminum bowl because the sauce will have a tinny taste.) Place the bowl over the water you've just heated and whisk the yolks vigorously. Make sure the bottom of your bowl does not touch the water. You want to incorporate air in the yolks so the volume will double in size. Beat the eggs for four minutes.

If the bottom of your bowl is too hot to touch, take the bowl off the heat and keep on whisking. If the eggs become scrambled, you'll need to start over.

The mixture should have a creamy consistency. You'll see streaks on the bottom of your bowl as you whisk.

Remove the bowl from the heat. Slowly add the clarified butter in a steady stream and whisk vigorously. Add lemon juice to taste. Season with salt. Season with cayenne pepper, but make sure the sauce doesn't turn red. If the sauce is too thick, whisk in teaspoons of water from your water bath on the stove. Whisk the mixture over the hot water bath to warm the sauce before you serve it.

How to make clarified butter
300 g (2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons) whole butter

Melt the butter on low heat in a small saucepan until foam forms at the top and solids form on the bottom of the pan. Let stand for five minutes. Skim off the foam. Pour the clear portion of the liquid through cheesecloth into a container. Use right away. Or, keep the clarified butter in the refrigerator and melt it when you need it.

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