It makes about ¾ cup
Hollandaise is tricky. If you haven’t had a lot of experience with it, do go back and reread the general information and specific hints.
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 to 1½ Tbs. lemon juice
• pinch of white pepper
• 1 Tbs. butter
• 7 Tbs. butter, melted
• salt
1. Put the yolks into the top of a double boiler* and beat them, cold, until they are creamy. Beat in 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and a pinch of white pepper.
2. Put the top of the boiler over hot, but not boiling water. Add the tablespoon of unmelted butter and beat the egg yolk-lemon juice mixture steadily with a whisk until the butter has melted and the egg yolks have thickened. Be sure to scrape the egg yolks down from the sides of the saucepan and out from the corners frequently. The yolks should stay perfectly smooth and creamy as they thicken. At any indication of curdling or lumping up, immediately remove the saucepan from above the hot water and stand it in a shallow bowl of cool water for a moment as you continue to beat.
3. When the egg yolks have thickened, add a tiny bit of the melted butter and continue beating with the whisk over hot water until the butter is absorbed. Add another tiny bit, and beat again.
4. When the sauce thickens and becomes glossy-smooth in texture, the emulsion has formed. Overheating at any point will undo it, however, and so will adding the butter too quickly. Keep beating in the butter gradually until it is all incorporated. Season to taste with salt and additional lemon juice, if desired.
5. If the sauce does not want to thicken, or if it separates, put 1 tablespoon of it into a smaller bowl with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, beat till thick and glossy, then gradually beat in the rest of the sauce, a spoonful at a time.
6. Serve the sauce warm with eggs or vegetables.
7. If you don’t have a double boiler, you can rig one up by fitting a stainless steel bowl snugly into the top of a pot so that the bottom of the bowl clears the bottom of the pot by several inches, leaving room for the water.
