Can we all agree that breakfast is the greatest meal of the day? I’m not talking about running out the door with a piece of toast on a Tuesday morning. I’m talking about lazy weekend brunch with cocktails.
Brunch is our favorite meal. It could be 4 o’clock in the afternoon and I’d still be ready to crush breakfast. Eggs benedict is by far Patty’s item of choice. While I love eggs benedict, I’m more of a “hungry man special” kind of guy. I want it all—bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, and home fries. I can’t stand choosing between bacon or sausage. I WANT BOTH, WE ALL WANT BOTH.
Anyway, Patty and I went out for brunch with friends this Summer at tavern in Providence, Rhode Island. It was her breakfast that eventually inspired eggs benedict with avocado. This particular eggs benedict recipe consisted of poached eggs served on toasted French bread topped with sliced avocado and of course, hollandaise sauce. I have never tasted anything like it. It was phenomenal. Bacon was my own personal addition, because breakfast is better with bacon.
Word to the wise.
Eggs benedict is not as intimidating as it may seem, it’s just a lot of moving parts at once. My biggest tip would be to prep everything before hand and have the eggs cracked in small prep bowls so you can gently pour them into the simmering water for poaching.
BBC Food has some good tips on how to poach an egg. Poaching the perfect egg just takes a little bit of practice but it is much easier than you may think. Watch their video here. You can do it without creating a whirlpool too. This allows you to poach 3 or 4 eggs at a time.
The trickiest part is the hollandaise sauce, not the egg poaching as one may think. If you cook at too high of a heat, the egg will start to solidify and you’re left with clumpy butter. Cook low and slow for best results. As soon as it’s done remove it from the heat! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve angrily poured ruined hollandaise down the drain.
I don’t have a double boiler and trust me, you don’t need one. My makeshift double boiler is a metal bowl on top of a medium-sized saucepan filled with lightly simmering water. You want the bowl to be large enough to stack on top of the saucepan without touching the simmering water below. You need 1-2 inches of breathing room to provide the perfect amount of indirect heat.
That’s all I got for you on this one. Pair this with a bloody mary and you’ll be crowned king/queen of brunch.
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 4 strips bacon, halved
- 4 slices french bread, cut 1 inch thick
- 1 avocado, sliced into 12 wedges
- butter to spread on french bread
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley for garnish
HOLLANDAISE SAUCE:- 2 egg yolks
- 1½ tablespoons lemon juice
- pinch of ground black pepper
- dash of Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tablespoon water
- 1 stick of butter, melted
- pinch of salt
- For the Hollandaise sauce, whisk the egg yolks, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper together in a stainless steel bowl. Place the bowl over a medium-sized saucepan containing lightly simmering water (or a double boiler,) the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl.
- Continue to whisk. Be careful not to let the eggs get too hot or they will scramble and separate. Whisking constantly, slowly add the butter a few tablespoons at a time until the sauce is thickened and all butter has melted.
- Remove bowl from the heat, cover and set aside until ready to serve. If sauce gets too thick, whisk in a little warm water before serving.
- Fry the bacon in a medium skillet and toast the French bread directly on the oven rack under the broiler, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, begin to poach eggs. Fill a large saucepan with 3-4 inches of water, bring to a simmer, and add vinegar. Break each egg and carefully place in the water and cook for 2½ to 3 minutes. Carefully remove with a slotted spoon and set aside (crack eggs into small prep bowls ahead of time for easy adding to the simmering water).
- Butter each slice of french bread, top with a slice of halved bacon, 3 avocado slices, one poached egg, and drizzle with hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve immediately.
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