Learn how to make eggs Benedict so you can enjoy this breakfast favorite straight from the restaurant menu and into the comfort of your home! This version is a crab eggs Benedict that is perfect for a celebratory breakfast or brunch.
Add a little champagne to this fruity pog juice for a tropical mimosa!
Eggs Benedict is one of those classic, American brunch foods. As with most foods, there is some controversy on where it originated, but most people agree that is was popularized in New York in the late 1800s or early 1900s.
Despite the controversy on who made it first, I think most of us can agree that it’s delicious breakfast dish. I mean, eggs, meat, bread, and hollandaise sauce! How can you go wrong with that combination?
Get Creative with Eggs Benedict
Making this recipe is fairly simple, but there is some preparation involved, so just make sure to give yourself a little extra time. (Read: don’t make this when you’re starving and want to eat ASAP.)
One of my favorite things about eggs Benedict is that you can get as creative as you like with the toppings. For this particular recipe, I use bacon and crab as my meats, instead of the typical Canadian bacon. You can use one or the other or all of the above, though. Get creative!
Another thing flavor I love on my eggs Benedict is some smoked paprika, which I feel like complements the hollandaise sauce super well. We like it spicy in our house, so we also use hot sauce (usually chipotle). Again, this is our personal preference, but you can adjust it to your taste.
Ingredients for Crab Eggs Benedict
Eggs — Fresh eggs, store bought, use what you have readily available.
Rolls — Split English muffins are the classic bread ingredient for making eggs Benedict, but dinner rolls seem to hold the sauce better. Heck, you could even serve it over this southern-style cornbread!
Bacon — Again, choose bacon or Canadian bacon or even sausage.
Crab Meat — The perfect special touch. The most commonly available crab (in my experience, anyway!) is Dungeness crab. If you have another type available, use that. You can also use imitation crab meat.
Heavy cream — Traditional French creme fraiche is made with cream that has a fat content more than 30%. The heavy cream and whipping cream on America’s dairy shelves both meet this requirement.
How to Make it
Prepare a double boiler and get it simmering. Separate your eggs for the sauce.
Add the sauce ingredients to your double boiler and carefully whisk to ensure the eggs don’t scramble.
Whisk in the butter in a stream and there you have it – the perfect hollandaise sauce. Set this aside and prepare the components of this breakfast favorite.
While the water for your eggs is heating up, go ahead and bake your bacon. I find this to be a less-mess method.
Poach the eggs and gently heat the crab as well.
Now you are ready to assemble!
FAQs
How do I reheat eggs Benedict sauce?
If you’re like me at all, and love hollandaise sauce, you will probably make extra. Just remember to turn your microwave on 50% power and heat at 10 second intervals when you reheat hollandaise sauce. If you heat it too high or long, you can risk cooking the eggs through. Then enjoy some scrumptious eggs Benedict all over again!
How do I poach eggs?
Adding vinegar to the pot of simmering water will help immensely. This light acid helps the eggs coagulate quickly, allowing them to hold their shape. Do not add salt to the water as this encourages them to spread – the opposite if what we are looking for!
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Ingredients
Hollandaise Sauce
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 4 large egg yolks Separate the egg yolk and egg whites in two separate bowls. Save the egg whites for another recipe.
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper you can add more if you want to spice it up!
- ½ cup melted salted butter
- Seasoning salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Eggs Benedict
- 8 large fresh eggs
- 1 tablespoons white vinegar
- 4 rolls traditionally, this recipe uses english muffins but I found the dinner rolls hold the sauce much better
- 8 slices bacon
- Smoked paprika as a garnish
- Chipotle hot sauce or your choice of hot sauce
- ¾ cup crab meat lump crab meat or imitation
Instructions
To prepare the Hollandaise Sauce:
- Take a deep saucepan and pour in about an inch or so of water. Set a glass bowl or stainless steel bowl over the saucepan so it fits nice and snug inside without touching the water. Bring that to a simmer.
- Once your water is simmering in the double boiler add in your egg yolks, cream, lemon juice and cayenne pepper to the bowl over the heated saucepan and whisk well. Whisking constantly, continue to cook the sauce on a low simmer until just thick enough to coat the back of a wooden or metal spoon. You do not want to overcook because the eggs will get hard and flakey.
- Reduce your heat down to very low and then slowly drizzle in the warm melted butter while whisking. Once all butter is whiskedin, remove from heat and season with Seasoning Salt and Pepper to your preferred taste. Transfer to a dish, cover and keep warm.
To Prepare the Eggs Benedict:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. This is for baking the bacon slices.
- In a large stock pot or skillet bring several inches of water along with the white vinegar to a rolling boil. Once water is boiling nicely, crack eggs gently into water one at a time. You should be able to fit about four eggs at a time. Remember, do not overcrowd so they can easily be removed.
- Watch carefully as the eggs only need to cook for about 3 to 4 minutes. The eggs whites should be set while the egg yolk is still very runny. Do not stir as this could break the yolk.
- Use a slotted spoon to lift the eggs from the water and transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain. Continue with the remaining four eggs.
- Your oven should be preheated at this point. While your water is boiling for the poached eggs you can start cooking your bacon.
- Lightly grease a baking dish and lay bacon slices on it ensuring none are overlapping. Place the dish in the oven for about 15 minutes. Check frequently for desired crispiness.
- Once it is finished, remove from the oven and lay pieces of bacon on layers of paper towels. Gently dab each side to remove all the excess bacon grease. Set aside
- Place rolls or English muffins in the oven on a baking sheet for about 5 minutes. You want to heat the roll but not crisp it into toast. This will give you a nice bite when enjoying the sandwich.
- Crab only needs to be slightly heated so you can either add it to the microwave on 70% for 20 seconds or on the stove top for a few minutes.
- Place roll on your plate and open. Cut bacon in half so a piece is on each side of the roll. Top each roll with a poached egg and season with seasoning salt and pepper. Add chipotle hot sauce over eggs. Spoon on some of the shredded crab meat. Next pour the Hollandaise Sauce over the crab, close the sandwich, and pour more over the top. Sprinkle smoked paprika on the top of your sandwich. And enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Love eggs? Here are even more recipes using this breakfast favorite!
- Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise Sauce
- Vegetarian Feta and Roasted Red Pepper Tartlets
- Easy Ham & Egg Casserole Recipe for a Simple Brunch
- Easy Huevos Rancheros Recipe
Originally published February 2021; this post has been updated.
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