Easy Eggs Benedict- for a crowd!
I was asked to do a birthday brunch party for 7 at a new client’s home. No problem, I thought, 7 people as long as it’s not something time consuming or a recipe for disaster, like eggs Benedict! Well, sure enough, the Mrs. wanted eggs Benedict. I was comfortable making it for 3-4 people, but never had I done it for 7! Seven doesn’t sound like too many guests, yet that is 14 poached eggs!
Like usual, I always like to practice and make sure my menu is right. So I decided to look into all sorts of ways to make hollandaise ahead, poached eggs ahead and the rest.
Lessons learned
Poach eggs only one day in advance, I did two days in advance only to find out the horror just before serving that the whites were falling off the yolks. They floated around in ice cold water for too long. Also, I got the perfect thermos for hollandaise sauce, thinking I’d keep it warm… in reality this does work, however, I made the grave mistake of trying to rewhisk it to thin it out. Doing so I poured the contents into a cold bowl. The cold bowl broke the sauce. I told friends this and they didn’t know what I meant by a broken sauce… it’s simple, just like making the sauce, you can easily have it separate if you don’t respect the temperatures- too hot- it breaks and separates. Too cold it becomes like glue and eventually separates. Total panic, my sauce broke, the thin layer of white was seeping off the yolks and it was time to eat- oh not to mention, the crepes had warmed too much and the Nutella was oooooozing out. But lessons learned and the most important lesson is don’t appologize for mistakes unless questioned… the woman loved every bit of it. Thank the egg god! I was thrilled they loved it. This is what she wrote:
Thank you so much for such an incredible meal and experience! Everything was so delicious and better than I imagined. It was truly so wonderful being able to hang out with my family and just relax and enjoy the food. Everyone was so impressed and kept raving about it so we will definitely be calling you again in the future!
Hope you have a great rest of your weekend.
Sincerely,
” the birthday girl”
In my recipes I will explain what to do if you mess up and how to have a crowd pleasing spread.
Below was the full spread… I did a big board filled with all sorts of goodies- even made candied oranges. It’s best to have a board of treats in case you run behind schedule. also they wanted bacon- I added the tomatoes- I didn’t do the best displays on the bacon or crepes, but that was due to lack of time and too much for just me alone to handle. I made so many crepes in advance and just warmed them up- Nutella filled with a fruit compote that was macerating in Grand Marnier and then a simple lemon sugar crepe- lucky for me, they loved it!
Easy Eggs Benedict for a Crowd
Make a fabulous restaurant quality brunch with ease
Ingredients
- 12 large fresh eggs for poached eggs
- 2.5 sticks quality European style unsalted butter for hollandaise
- 3 large egg yolks for hollandaise
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice extra to taste
- 3/4 tsp kosher, maldon or fleur de sel salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne or more to taste
- 1 tsp tarragon vinegar or regular- but add chopped taragon
- 6 English muffins toasted with butter
- 12 slices canadian bacon or proscuitto or smoked salmon
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
- cayenne pepper for finishing
Sides---choices
- Fruit salad
- Crispy bacon
- mixed greens
- hash browns or sauted potatoes
Instructions
Poached eggs- one day in advance
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Fill a large pot three-quarters full with water and bring to a bare simmer
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Set up a large bowl of ice water and place near stove
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Get a coffee cup or small ramekin- crack one egg at a time. Slip each egg one at a time, not more than 4 eggs in pot, to poach for 3 minutes.
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Place each poached egg into ice bath and repeat till all eggs are poached-you may want to make a few extra, if doing it in advance. Place eggs covered in ice water in the fridge for not more than 24 hours.
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To reheat the eggs-use hot running tap water and place each egg to warm for at least 2 minutes.
Hollandaise Sauce
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You can make this 1-2 hours in advance and keeping it in a warm place or in a thermos
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Heat butter in a medium sauce pan- skim off scum and use only the top golden portion- esentially you are using clarified butter- no milk fat or scum
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Take a small pot and fill 1/4 up with water, place a heat proof bowl and add yolks- whisk constantly until ribbon like- add vinegar and continue to whisk. If the eggs start to cook, pull it off the double boiler and whisk on the side of stove.
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Drizzle or ladle in the melted butter little by little by constantly whisking. Add lemon and continue to whisk. If your sauce separates, start from scratch... use another yolk and whisk in the broken hollandaise to the yolk.
If your sauce is too thin, adjust with lemon or warm tap water
Adjust seasoning to your liking- add cayenne- set aside in warm place or thermos
Assembly of Eggs Benedict
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Warm oven to 450 degrees- arrange English muffins -cut side up on a sheet try and brush on melted butter- toast for about 6 minutes.
Place ham on each muffin and place in the oven- turn temp down to 200
Meanwhile get very hot tap water- not boiling, but warmer than room temp. Place each poached egg for 2 minutes- pull out with a sloted spoon to remove excess water.
Place each poached egg on ham, season with salt and pepper- spoon on the hollandaise adn then top with chives and cayenne- YUM!!!!
