Basic hollandaise

Basic hollandaise

This sauce, from Gordon Ramsay, takes some time to prepare, but think of it as a workout with a whisk

Difficulty and servings

For the keen cook

Makes about 300ml (enough to serve 4-6)

Preparation and cooking times

Method

  1. Boil the vinegar together with peppercorns and tarragon, reduce by half. Strain and reserve (see Secrets for success on storing, below).
  2. Boil a large pan of water, then reduce to a simmer. Using a large balloon whisk, beat together the yolks and 2 tsp of the reduced wine vinegar in a heatproof bowl that fits snugly over the pan.
  3. Beat vigorously until the mixture forms a foam, but make sure that it doesn't get too hot. To prevent the sauce from overheating, take it on and off the heat while you whisk, scraping around the sides with a plastic spatula. The aim is to achieve a golden, airy foam (called a sabayon), which forms ribbons when the whisk is lifted.
  4. Whisk in a small ladle of the warmed butter, a little at a time, then return the bowl over a gentle heat to cook a little more. Remove from the heat again and whisk in another ladle of butter. Repeat until all the butter is incorporated and you have a texture as thick as mayonnaise. Finally, whisk in lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste plus a little warm water from the pan if the mixture is too thick.
Try

Melting the butter

Heat a 250g pack chopped butter in a shallow pan. As it foams, scoop off the froth and scum using a small ladle or large metal spoon. Don't use a slotted spoon or the scum will slip back into the butter. (Don't waste the froth - it can be used in potatoes or for dressing hot vegetables). You should have around 200ml of warmed butter for the sauce. You can melt the butter in a microwave, but keep it covered as it melts or it will spit. Leave to cool a little before adding to the eggs.

Olive oil hollandaise

Use 200ml of medium flavour olive oil (not extra virgin oil) instead of the butter, and heat until warm. Perfect with roasted vegetables and grilled fish.

Storing reduced wine vinegar

When vinegar has reduced, strain back into the bottle, cool and store as usual.

Seasoning

Salt breaks down the yolks if you add it too early, so season your sauce at the end.

Curdling tips

If the sauce mixture starts to 'split' or curdle, immediately scrape the mixture into a clean bowl and whisk in 1 tbsp ice-cold water, then continue whisking in the remaining butter just a ladleful at a time.

Nutrition per serving (for 6)

336 kcalories, protein 2g, carbohydrate 0g, fat 36 g, saturated fat 22g, fibre 0g, salt 0.02 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, September 2005.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo veronika

    08 November 2007

    veronika rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Hollandaise sauce made easy!

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  • Binder photo chelsea1

    02 January 2008

    chelsea1 commented on this recipe

    Does anyone know how to make quick hollandaise with a bamix hand blender??

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  • Binder photo cosmic

    27 January 2008

    cosmic rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Cheffy sauce without the hassle, spot on for brunch, with ham and ciabatta

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  • Binder photo M Stevenson

    17 May 2008

    M Stevenson rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Great recipe, my effort split twice while adding the butter, but with a a spot of water from the fridge the final result was rich, creamy and delicious. A perfect accompaniment to the white asparagus we had it with. One slight qualm I have is the 500ml of vinegar specified in the recipe when only a couple of teaspoons are needed. I had already got the vinegar boiling away before realising that I'd be stuck with having to bottle 200ml of tarragon and pepper flavoured reduced vinegarr.

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  • Binder photo Ruskieray

    16 November 2008

    Ruskieray commented on this recipe

    Isn't this the recipe for Bearnaise sauce?

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  • Binder photo Alex

    05 February 2009

    Alex commented on this recipe

    I agree with Ruskieray - if it's vinegar, egg yolks, butter and tarragon then it's Bearnaise, not Hollandaise. Although strictly speaking Bearnaise should also include chopped shallots in the initial reduction (you chuck them out after you've boiled down the vinegar).

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  • Binder photo Alex

    05 February 2009

    Alex commented on this recipe

    And M Stevenson is also right - there's not much point in boiling down half a litre of vinegar if you're only going to use a couple of teaspoonsful. Why would you need all that reduced vinegar? How often are you going to make this sauce? This is a restaurant recipe which hasn't been translated into home cooking terms.

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  • Binder photo KalaRae

    12 February 2009

    KalaRae rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    How can any of you question "the man"?!?!

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  • Binder photo sarah

    24 February 2009

    sarah commented on this recipe

    So, is there an answer re the vinegar issue? What would happen if you just used 2 tspn of white wine vinegar without reducing it? Another thought - if the reduction with the tarragon is just for the tarragon flavour, couldn't tarragon could be added elsewhere in the recipe perhaps. Any suggestions?

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  • Binder photo sarah

    24 February 2009

    sarah commented on this recipe

    Made some enquiries and you can buy tarragon flavoured vinegar so that would same some time/money!

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  • Binder photo sweety

    21 April 2009

    sweety commented on this recipe

    I love this recipe!! Really!! The only problem I have is poaching the eggs, I can't get really fresh eggs around here and I never seem to get the eggs like in pictures, but the sauce is really really really mmmmmmhhh, and the combination of the sauce, eggs, muffins, ham is great. Can't believe it's almost not known in Holland.

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  • Binder photo hiccup42

    27 August 2009

    hiccup42 commented on this recipe

    The man in the "How to" video said you would use water if you weren't using the vinegar reduction. I haven't tried it out yet though. Perhaps using non - reduced vinegar is better than water.

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Difficulty and servings

For the keen cook

Makes about 300ml (enough to serve 4-6)

Preparation and cooking times

Ingredients

  • 500ml white wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp peppercorns
  • bunch tarragon
  • 3 large free-range egg yolks
  • 200ml melted and skimmed unsalted butter (see Secrets for success, below)
  • squeeze lemon juice
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Nutrition per serving (for 6)

336 kcalories, protein 2g, carbohydrate 0g, fat 36 g, saturated fat 22g, fibre 0g, salt 0.02 g

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