Professional Hollandaise Sauce

Professional hollandaise sauce because this is the method used in a professional kitchen that my son was apprenticed to. I’ve not come across this method before, even though I have tried many different ways of cooking hollandaise. At the time of writing, I have used this method about half a dozen times and it has not failed me yet…not once! 

If you want to save time you can forego the vinegar reduction and just add a teaspoon of vinegar and a bit of salt at the beginning with the egg yolk and water. 

Ingredients for professional hollandaise 

• 250g butter (melted)
• 2 Egg yolks
• A few tblsp cold water
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 6 pepper corns
• pinch salt
• juice from 1/3 a lemon

Method

1. Begin by making a vinegar reduction. Add vinegar, peppercorns and salt to a small non-reactive pan. Simmer for a few minutes until you have about a teaspoon of liquid lleft then remove from the heat and discard the peppercorns. 
2. Cool the base of the pan in cold water (I just put a little cold water in the sink and sit the pan in it for around 30 seconds. 
3. Add 2tbsp of cold water and the egg yolks and whisk until the mix becomes foamy. 
4. Turn the heat onto medium-low and whisk until the mixture becomes quite stiff. 
5. Remove from heat and add a couple of drops of melted butter, whisking continually. 
6. Carry on whisking while adding the butter in a very slow stream. 
7. When all of the butter is incorporated, whisk in the lemon juice and serve. 

Notes:

• you can re-heat this sauce, just do it slowly and don’t let it get too hot or it will break.