Slow and Steady
At Toast, we make a non-traditional Hollandaise that is more stable, dense, and fail-safe than the classic emulsion. We also use whole butter rather than clarified, and infuse both the lemon juice and butter with herbs to impart a subtle, layered flavor.

To begin, have all your ingredients measured and at room temperature. The first trick is to warm the egg yolks with a lemon juice reduction just above the melting point of butter. Heat the yolks and reduction slowly in a double boiler set over a pot of simmering water to maintain an even, low heat. As you whisk, feel the yolks with your finger. When they’re warm and a few air bubbles appear along the edges, begin drizzling in the melted butter. Work slowly, drizzle by drizzle. The yolks can only take in so much fat at once. Whisk continuously — sip some coffee, check the box scores, but don’t rush and don’t walk away.

As you whisk, you’ll watch and feel the sauce thicken. When the butter is fully incorporated, increase the heat and continue to stir until the sauce is like a loose mayonnaise. Take the bowl off of the simmering water and while still stirring, add warm water from the pot to thin the sauce.

With your whisk, lift a little sauce from the bowl and let it fall back in. If the Hollandaise “lays on itself,” not fully reincorporating, but instead leaving an outline where it falls (the French term is nape), then you’re good to go.

If you plan to toast English muffins and poach eggs, keep your sauce in a covered container set in warm water — around 145 degrees, or the temperature of a perfect cup of coffee. Stir the sauce occasionally to keep it from over-thickening. Before serving, taste the sauce again. It may need another squeeze of lemon juice and salt and pepper.

Hollandaise teaches us to appreciate the natural vibrancy of good, clean ingredients. For all its contradictions — its richness and lightness, its clean and complex flavor — Hollandaise is timeless. It was as delicious in France a century ago as it will be in your kitchen this weekend.

[Recipe by Toast: Hollandaise Sauce]

Donald Kotler, a twenty-plus year industry veteran, opened his first restaurant, Toast, in 2007, serving brunch and dinner made from locally sourced ingredients to his Woodstock neighbors. Toast is located in Portland at 5222 SE 52nd Avenue.