Every weekend I try to think of a fun brunch dish to make for you folks and I always have to ask myself the same question:
Is it too soon to post yet another benedict recipe?
The truth is that I would eat some form of benedict every single weekend if I could. I figure that I should offer some diversity though so I haven’t yet turned this into The Benedict Blog which I’m sure already exists.
Yes it does, but it’s not what you think.
Anyway, I really think that benedicts, like these Salmon Benedicts, can and should be made in the home. They are not just for fancy restaurant brunches, people.
Smoked Salmon Benedicts
Ingredients
- 2 sheets of puff pastry, cut into eight circles
- 8 eggs, poached
- 8 ounces smoked salmon
- Capers
- Old Bay Seasoning
- White vinegar, for poaching
Hollandaise Sauce:
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted (clarified is best)
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Dash of hot sauce
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Thaw puff pastry according to directions and use a large cookie or biscuit cutter to cut four circles from each sheet of puff pastry.
- Add puff pastry to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 375 degrees for about 18-20 minutes until puffed and browned.
- To make hollandaise, whisk together yolk, lemon, water, and salt. Set over a small pot of simmering water and whisk until steaming and frothy.
- Start adding melted butter to yolk mixture about 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking furiously while you add. Continue to add melted butter until all the butter is used and sauce is silky and thick. Season with salt and pepper.
- To poach eggs add about 1/3 cup of white vinegar to 1 gallon and bring to a simmer. Crack eggs, one at a time, into a small bowl. Swirl water with a slotted spoon and gently lower eggs into water. Depending on the size of your pot, you should be able to do at least 2 at a time.
- Let eggs poach for three minutes (large eggs). Remove immediately with a slotted spoon and let drain briefly on a paper towel.
- Split the puff pastry between four plates (2 per plate). Top each pastry with about an ounce of smoked salmon. Top each benedict with a poached egg and a drizzle of hollandaise sauce. Add capers and old bay seasoning as optional toppings.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Salmon Benedicts
The Pastry
Most benedicts are served on english muffins and you could definitely make these Salmon Benedicts on those, but because the salmon is pretty light, I think puff pastry works better.
Just thaw the sheets according to the instructions and then use a large cookie or biscuit cutter to cut out rounds. You should get about four per sheet.
Bake these guys in a 375 degree oven for about 18 minutes and they will, well, puff, and turn golden brown.
These are ready to be topped!
Obviously, you’ll be making the other parts of the dish while these bake so ideally they are still warm for serving.
The Hollandaise
Besides the puff pastry there are only two real parts to this dish, both of which scare home cooks: hollandaise sauce and poached eggs.
For the sauce, just add your egg yolk, water, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt to a medium mixing bowl like so…
Melt your butter, clarified is best, but it’s not necessary. I didn’t clarify my butter on this day and it still turned out great.
Get a small pot of water simmering on the stove and whisk your yolk mixture together over the simmering water. Whisk constantly as the yolk warms. After a minute or two the yolk mixture will start to froth and steam a bit. This is when you start adding your butter.
Start adding melted butter to the yolk mixture. Start small. Maybe a teaspoon or tablespoon of butter and whisk like crazy. As the sauce forms, you can add your butter faster and faster. One yolk should be just enough for a cup of melted butter.
Your end sauce will be silky smooth and thick. Once it’s done, season it with salt and pepper and keep it warm over the water bath. Kill the heat on the water though so it doesn’t cook any further.
The Poached Egg
I’ve written a lot about poached eggs, but again, you don’t need any fancy equipment to make it happen. You just need water and vinegar and a big fat pot.
The important parts of poached eggs:
– Make sure your water and vinegar mixture is simmering, not boiling. Give it a swirl before adding the eggs.
– Crack your eggs into a bowl first and then gently drop them into the water. Don’t crack them straight into the water.
– They will need about three minutes to poach.
– Remove them with a slotted spoon and let them drain briefly on a paper towel.
Finish this dish by layering on about an ounce of smoked salmon for each puff pastry round.
Then top with a nice poached egg and a drizzle of hollandaise.
Garnish with capers and a dash of Old bay.
This dish would probably cost $18 in a restaurant. You can feed four people these Salmon Benedicts for that price at home.
Go forth, readers, and make benedicts for all.
Daktari
Fantastic idea! Smoked salmon. I never much cared for Canadian bacon anyway. The puff pastry, however, is pure genius!
Samantha @ food flavor fascination
You are right on with how much a restaurant would charge. lol I had a smoked salmon eggs benedict in Las Vegas a little over a month ago and they called it the Manhattan Benedict, which was exactly $18. I love homemade hollandaise sauce. Too bad you have to eat it pretty much right away and it doesn’t keep in the fridge.
Dana
Smoked salmon eggs benedict is my favorite way I’ve seen eggs Benedict done. There’s a great little cafe not too far away from home that does them, and their Hollandaise is this bizzarely wonderful Hollandaise-Beurre Blanc hybrid, picture Hollandaise that has spent some time with white wine, that is to die for. And at just under $12, apparently it’s a steal too!
Heather
For me, this meal was a ridiculous disaster. Probably one of the hardest times I’ve had following a Macheesmo recipe. I don’t know what went wrong, but I tried three times to make the sauce and all three times my egg mixture curdles, didn’t steam or anything, and refused to mix properly with the butter. I ended up with a bowl full of grainy, eggy, melted butter.
Somehow, I also burned my puff pastry, which didn’t puff. Wasn’t my day, I guess.
Thinking I was lucky to find a package of Hollandaise sauce mix to save the meal, I started mixing it up only to find the package was full of bugs…
Somehow I had a second package of the mix, and managed to end up with a completed meal, although the sauce was from a mix and the pastry was a little over-brown and flat.
I don’t know, it’s probably just not my day today. But if you have tips on what I did wrong with the sauce, I would love to try again.
Nick
That sucks Heather! Sorry you had such a hard time with it.
On the puff pastry, I usually like to bake mine on parchment paper. That can sometimes help with the burning which puff pastry is notorious for doing…
Hollandaise sauce is also finicky sometimes. I’ve had my fair share of issues. :) There are really only two things that can go wrong with hollandaise:
1) Overcook the eggs. You need to steam the eggs over a double boiler with the water, lemon juice, and salt. You have to whisk them like crazy while they steam and if you go too far, they will COOK instead of just heat up. If you overcook the eggs the sauce is ruined. You’ll never get them to liquify.
2) Adding melted butter too quickly. You need to whisk in the butter in very small batches. I seriously start with like a teaspoon of butter and whisk it in, then a bit more, until it’s all added. Take your time with it. If you add the butter too quickly it won’t mix with the butter and you’ll be left with a soup situation.
If you nail those two steps, that’s all there is to it.
Sorry you struggled though. I hope you give it another shot!
Heather
Thanks Nick. Yeah, I’ll be trying it again once I stock up on butter. Eggs benny is one of my partner’s favorite meals, so it would be nice to know how to make.
I’m sure the puff pastry just overcooked because I didn’t thaw it completely and then neglected it a bit when I was trying to make sauce.
It was funny because I have made both mayo and merengue before using the same kind of techniques and didn’t have an issue. But I think what happened was the bottom of my double boiler was too full, so the water was touching the top and it just got too hot.
My partner still thought it was an awesome meal. At least I can still poach eggs!
Zaphod
My children love Eggs Benedict for Sunday breakfast. Try brioche, rather than puff pastry sometime, to offset the saltyness of the salmon.