Eggs Benedict with Maltaise Sauce
Swap out lemon juice for freshly squeezed orange juice to create a Maltese sauce that adds a new dimension to eggs Benedict.
Ingredients
Maltaise Sauce
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
- 2 tablespoons orange juice fresh squeezed
- 1/2 cup butter cut into fourths, softened
- 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
Eggs Benedict
- 4 cups water
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 whole English muffins split in half
- 4 whole Canadian bacon slices
Instructions
Maltaise Sauce
- In the top of a double boiler, combine egg yolks and orange juice.
- Add a piece of the butter. Place over gently boiling water (upper pan should not touch water). Cook, whisking rapidly, until butter melts and sauce begins to thicken. (Sauce may appear to curdle but will smooth out when remaining butter is added.)
- Add the remaining butter, a piece at a time, whisking constantly until melted. If the sauce seems like it starts to ‘cook’, lift from bottom pot while continuing to stir, then place back once cooled a little. Cook and stir for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes more or until sauce thickens.
- Immediately remove from heat and stir in orange zest and pepper. If sauce is too thick or curdles, immediately whisk in 1 to 2 tablespoons hot water. Set aside while preparing the eggs Benedict.
Eggs Benedict
- Toast, then butter English muffin halves
- Heat the Canadian bacon using your preferred method. I microwaved them for 30 seconds on a microwave-safe plate. Remove from oven and place each Canadian bacon slice on top of each English muffin half.
- For eggs, I used the same water for the sauce in the bottom of the double boiler. Add the vinegar and bring a to a boil. Reduce heat to a slow boil and break eggs, one at at time, into boiling water. 3 minutes for a soft boil, 4 minutes for a more solid but still liquid yolk.
- Remove each egg with slotted spoon, draining each as well as you can, and gently place on top of Canadian bacon.
- Spoon Maltaise sauce over each egg. There is enough sauce for a generous pour over each egg.
Notes
Upon researching the history of this recipe, it appears the French traditionally use blood oranges for this recipe. Funny enough, I started out juicing blood oranges for the recipe. I found the juice to be too tart, meaning too similar to lemon juice. So I switched to regular oranges, which provided a much more satisfying flavor (and what the recipe I used a base actually called for). I’d recommend regular using fresh orange for both juice and zest.