Is there a better brunch dish than Eggs Benedict? I think not. Eggs Benedict is the quintessential brunch specialty … but where did it come from? As with any famous dish, there are discrepancies over who created this legendary dish. I’ll present two stories and you can choose for yourself. Regardless of the results of the battle of the Benedicts, the results are surely delicious.

I believe Chef Charles Ranhoffer of Delmonico’s in New York City created this dish in the 1860s for a Delmonico’s regular, Mrs. LeGrand Benedict. Legend has it that Mrs. Benedict barged into the kitchen and requested something new from Chef Ranhoffer. A competing theory of origin, out of Delmonico’s rival Waldorf Hotel, states that Lemuel Benedict created Eggs Benedict when he ordered the dish as a remedy for his hangover in 1894. While I do enjoy the story of a hangover being the inciting incident to the creation of a dish that hungover people everywhere enjoy at brunch today…I believe Ranhoffer. Chef Ranhoffer printed his book, The Epicurean, in 1893 with all his best recipes, including Eggs Benedict. When did Lemuel Benedict supposedly invent his version at the Waldorf Hotel? 1894…a year after it was printed in Chef Ranhoffer’s book. Both are fun stories. Both are named Benedict, but I know whose version I believe. 

Chef Ranhoffer served Eggs Benedict at Delmonico’s in a very classic fashion. It was simply Hollandaise sauce, poached eggs, English muffins, and classic sliced ham. However, simple does not mean easy. Hollandaise sauce takes some practice, and it’s very easy to overcook the sauce. Using a double boiler and removing it from the heat if things start clumping will be the secret to success. Today, Delmonico’s restaurant serves its Eggs Benedict with pork belly on brioche, which sounds like my exact version of heaven. Feel free to explore your own version of this classic brunch specialty. 

Eggs Benedict Recipe (Serves 2)

2 English muffins (cut in half and toasted)

4 eggs for poaching

4 slices of Canadian bacon or several slices of regular cooked bacon

Hollandaise Sauce

3 egg yolks

1 stick unsalted butter

Juice of half a lemon

1 teaspoon water

Pinch of salt

Black pepper

Pinch of cayenne powder (optional)

Instructions:

1. In boiling water, poach 4 eggs for 3 minutes. (I cook one egg at a time; you may need to replace with clean water.) Drain very well on a clean tea towel. Make sure that there is no water on top before assembling the dish and adding the sauce.
2. Toast English muffins and place 2 on each plate.
3. Heat 1 stick of butter in a small pan or microwave in a microwave safe glass measuring cup. Heat only 15 seconds at a time. Stir until fully melted but keep an eye while microwaving butter…don’t ask how I learned this.
4. In a double boiler (a sauce pan with a few inches of water with a metal or glass bowl on top), bring water in the sauce pan to barely simmering heat.
5. In the bowl of the double boiler, whisk egg yolks and water.
6. Slowly pour in the melted butter to the egg yolks, whisk constantly. Continuously stirring will keep the eggs from curdling. If needed, you can even take the bowl off the heat if you see that the eggs are getting too warm. Once all the butter has been incorporated (except the white milk solids), remove from the heat. Add the lemon juice, salt, pepper and cayenne. If still runny, you can heat on the boiler briefly once more.
7. Assemble the Eggs Benedict with the English muffin on the bottom, then layer the ham or bacon, then the poached egg and completely cover each egg with Hollandaise sauce.
8. Serve right away. Garnish with chives if desired.