Brown Butter Hollandaise Sauce
Brown Butter Hollandaise Sauce- This classic sauce is elevated to new heights thanks to the nutty notes of brown butter.
May 28, 2024 by Nicole Collins
Today, we’re making Brown Butter Hollandaise Sauce!
I think I’m in my brown butter era. We just released a new brown butter seasoning at work, and it’s had me thinking about brown butter in so many different ways ever since. Brown butter alfredo. Brown butter cookies. Brown butter garlic bread. And the star of today’s show…brown butter hollandaise.
I’ve shown you guys how to make my no fail hollandaise sauce with an immersion blender before. And, we’re making the same exact recipe with one little substitute. Instead of regular ol’ melted butter, we’re going to use some nutty brown butter to totally elevate the game. And let me just say…WOW.
Let’s start with the brown butter. If you’ve never made or had brown butter before, it’s basically regular butter than just got back from a beach vacation. It’s golden and fragrant and oh so delicious. We’ll toss a stick of regular unsalted butter into a saucepan, let it melt, then let it very gently simmer for a couple of minutes until the milk solids start to toast and the color deepens to a golden brown. I like to use a saucepan that is a light color on the inside so it’s easy to see the color change. But if you don’t have a saucepan like that, it’s totally ok. You’ll smell the change in the butter as it releases a lovely, nutty aroma.
The butter usually takes about 10 minutes to brown. But then, we need to let it cool down. We can’t use piping hot butter in our hollandaise sauce, because it’ll scramble our eggs. And while I love a nice scrambled egg, this is not the time for it. We’ll transfer the butter to a glass measuring cup, and let it sit for 5ish mins. Then, we can start checking the temperature with a kitchen thermometer (I use my meat thermometer). We’re looking for it to hit somewhere between 145-160 degrees. Once that happens, we’re ready to go.
While we’re waiting for the butter to cool down, we can get the rest of our ingredients assembled. Since we’re making this with an immersion blender, we’re going to build everything in the cup that comes with the immersion blender. We need a couple egg yolks, some lemon juice, some warm water, a little salt, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Add everything to the blender cup, and use the blender on high for about 15 seconds to start to combine the first couple of ingredients.
Once the butter has hit the right temperature, we’re going to very slowly pour that butter into the blender cup while the blender is running on high. It should take about 30-45 seconds to blend in all of the butter. We need to go slowly so the butter can properly emulsify with the egg. And, we’ll keep pouring until all that’s left behind in the measuring glass is those toasted milk solids. You’ll see how those little browned bits collect at the bottom of the glass.
After we’re done blending, we’re ready to enjoy! The sauce is smooth and creamy, thick yet pourable, and absolutely luxurious. It’s got the classic richness and tanginess that you’re familiar with from a traditional hollandaise sauce. But you get these almost sweet, nutty, caramelized notes in the background thanks to the time we took to brown the butter. Talk about YUM.
Of course, the most common way to serve any hollandaise is over eggs benedict. But, it’s also an excellent sauce on a roasted veggie like broccoli or asparagus. I even used this batch as a sauce for some breakfast totchos, and let me just say…EPIC. And if you have leftovers, you can actually store it in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. To reheat the sauce, we’ll gently warm it in the microwave at 50% power in 15 second intervals until the sauce is smooth and pourable again. Just give it a good stir in between sessions in the microwave, and it’ll be good as new. This never takes more than 30 seconds for me.
OK, everyone! Should I share some of the other brown butter recipes I’ve been working on? Let me know what you think!
In the meantime, I hope you guys enjoy. And, let’s eat!
Brown Butter Hollandaise Sauce
Serves: 4 Print
Ingredients:
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter
2 egg yolks
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp warm water
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Directions:
Brown the butter: Add butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once melted and starting to sizzle, cook for 8-10 mins, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter turns deep golden in color and has a nutty smell. Transfer brown butter to a glass measuring cup, and allow to cool for about 5 mins. The butter needs to cool to between 145-160 degrees.
Meanwhile, in a tall cup that completely fits the base of an immersion blender, add egg yolks, lemon juice, water, salt, and cayenne pepper. Turn the immersion blender on high, and blend for about 15 seconds to start to combine the ingredients.
Once the butter has cooled to the proper temperature and with the blender running on high, very slowly drizzle in the melted butter until you get to the bottom of the glass. Stop drizzling when you reach the toasted milk solids, and discard what's left in the glass (about 1 tbsp). It should take about 30-45 seconds to drizzle all of the butter in and for the sauce to become thickened and creamy.
Serve over eggs benedict or roasted veggies, if desired. Enjoy!
Recipe notes:
*I like to use a saucepan with a light color interior to help see the color of the butter change as it browns.
*You can actually store leftover hollandaise in the fridge for up to 2-3 days! To reheat it, microwave at 50% power in 15 second intervals, stirring well until the sauce has loosened back up. It shouldn’t take more than 30 seconds.
*Most immersion blenders (or stick blenders) come with a cup that's the perfect size for blending. Use that to make your sauce if you have it.
*It's very important to drizzle in the butter VERY slowly to make our sauce. If we pour it in too quickly, it won't blend with the sauce properly which will cause it to break and separate.
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