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Hollandaise Sauce

Egg yolks whisked over gentle heat until thick, then beaten with warm butter and lemon. Rich and tangy, for eggs Benedict, asparagus and fish.

⏱ 20 min (5 min prep, 15 min cooking) 🍽 Serves 4 · about 3 tablespoons quick vegetariangluten free
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ContainsMilk, Eggs. Check the labels on what you buy; brands differ.

Ingredients

Make 4 servings
  • 2 tbsp White vinegar
  • 2 tbsp Water
  • ⅛ tsp Ground black pepper, coarsely cracked
  • 3 Egg yolks
  • ½ cup Butter, unsalted, melted and kept warm
  • 2 tsp Lemon juice (bottled)
  • ¼ tsp Table salt
  • 1 pinch Cayenne pepper (optional)

Make it yourself

Make the butter yourself →

In the planner, Make it on the shopping list swaps the store item for these ingredients and puts the work on your prep day.

Nutrition

Nutrition coming: the USDA numbers for these ingredients are being added.

📜 Where it comes from

Auguste Escoffier (1846–1935), the Savoy (1890–1898) and Carlton (1899–1919) hotels, London.

A Guide to Modern Cookery (London: William Heinemann, 1907; the English edition of Le Guide culinaire, Paris, 1903), No. 30, p. 22: “Hollandaise Sauce”.

“Work the whole with a whisk until the yolks thicken and have the consistence of cream. Then remove the saucepan to a tepid place and gradually pour the butter on the yolks while briskly stirring the sauce.”

The original text, quoted as printed; it is in the public domain.

Escoffier included hollandaise among his basic sauces; béarnaise is its herb-and-shallot cousin. The name means “Dutch,” and why is not certain.

What we changed: He used 1½ pounds of butter to six yolks for a quart; we use ½ cup of butter to three yolks for four servings, and we heat the yolks to 160°F, the temperature USDA gives for egg dishes.

Escoffier did this work in London before Michelin gave out its first stars (1926), so no star ratings apply.

Internet Archive scan (Cornell University Library)Project Gutenberg textLe Guide culinaire, 1903 (Internet Archive)Auguste EscoffierHollandaise sauceMore from the great kitchens →

Steps

You’ll need: small saucepan, heatproof bowl that sits over a saucepan, whisk, instant-read thermometer.

  1. Simmer the vinegar, water and pepper in the small saucepan until only about 1 tablespoon is left. Let it cool a minute.
  2. Bring an inch of water to a bare simmer in a saucepan. In the heatproof bowl, whisk the yolks with the vinegar reduction and 1 tablespoon cold water.
  3. Set the bowl over the barely simmering water (it shouldn’t touch the water) and whisk constantly, lifting the bowl off the heat now and then, until the yolks are thick, pale and foamy and reach 160°F, 3 to 5 minutes. If they start to look grainy, lift the bowl off and keep whisking.
  4. Off the heat, pour in the warm butter in a thin stream, whisking all the time, until the sauce is thick and smooth.
  5. Whisk in the lemon juice, salt and cayenne. If it’s too thick, whisk in a teaspoon of warm water. Serve right away, or keep it in a warm (not hot) spot for up to 1 hour, whisking now and then.

🌡 Safe temperaturesEgg-yolk sauces 160°F. Check the thickest part with a food thermometer (USDA). More on food safety.

Blender swapCook the yolks to 160°F as above, then pour them into a blender, and with it running pour in the hot butter.

Good to know

Cooking Fats Compared Salted vs. unsalted butter Table salt vs. kosher salt vs. sea salt Food Safety Basics

Our own adaptation of a public-domain recipe, in our own words. Nutrition is estimated from USDA FoodData Central and changes with brands and portions.