Andrew Zimmern's No-Fail Method For Perfect Hollandaise
Andrew Zimmern has conquered the world of weird foods no one ever wants to eat, but who also revel in the thought of others consuming these oddities. The celebrity chef who often appears as a guest judge on "Chopped" is pretty adventurous and inventive in his approach to culinary mastery. Zimmern is both resourceful and a fan of the waste-not want-not philosophy, doing everything from utilizing olive oil from his favorite jarred artichoke hearts to make tasty salad dressing to encouraging his fans to save the fat from their country ham to cook in. Zimmern is constantly sharing tips and tricks to make cooking easier and, dare we say, better for the average home cook who may not know how to stop their artichokes from turning brown or that Irish Whisky can up their bread pudding game.
Well, now Zimmern is helping us tackle the sauce of all sauces, hollandaise sauce. This is one of those recipes that newbie cooks may shy away from, but Andrew Zimmern, the host of the Travel Channel's "Bizarre Foods" wants to change that. While this egg yolk, butter, lemon juice, and mustard emulsion can be tricky to get just right, Zimmern has a no-fail method so it will be absolutely perfect.
Continuous whisking is the key
Andrew Zimmern acknowledged in a tweet that hollandaise sauce can be a tough recipe to make, writing, "Making traditional hollandaise can be intimidating... but this NO-FAIL method for hollandaise is so easy and holds well! It's a silky, luxurious addition to any brunch Benedict, poached salmon, or vegetables like asparagus. Perfect for Mother's Day!" Sounds too good to be true, but if you visit the link to the YouTube video where he demonstrates, Zimmern makes it look so easy.
In the video, he starts by heating his lemon juice, a little cayenne pepper, and some mustard in a sauce pan before he adds in his egg yolks. Once the egg yolks enter the pan, it is all about whisking continuously. But before he starts adding in that velvety butter, Zimmern says it's best to let the eggs set and the sauce thicken. Once it's ready for the addition of butter slices, it's back to whisking. And that's it. Zimmern's method sounds almost too easy, but when he pours the hollandaise sauce over his eggs Benedict, it looks absolutely sumptuous. Thanks, Chef Zimmern!