The Greatest Eggs Benedict

Prep
10m
Cook
20m
Total
30m
Bigly says
Listen. Eggs Benedict. THE GREATEST Eggs Benedict, the one your weekend has been waiting for — assembled by hand, by me, after a lifetime of poaching, more poached eggs than anyone alive, probably more than anyone in recorded history — and the brunch plate I am about to hand you, no charge, no e-book upsell, leaves every other version in the dust. Game over. It is what it is.
Most people see Eggs Benedict on a menu and they FREEZE. They shrink. They think hollandaise is chef territory, white-tablecloth stuff, the kind of place that charges $22 for one egg at brunch — and they order the sad little omelet instead. The defeat omelet. We are NOT doing that here. At BiglyEats we poach. We emulsify. We STACK. Other sites bury this behind 47 popups and a cookie banner with 18 toggles before you can find the recipe — meanwhile I am giving you the whole blueprint right here, on this page, free. Plain and simple.
Here's what nobody tells you. Hollandaise is one of the EASIEST sauces in existence if you respect the rules. Three things. Egg yolks. Butter. Lemon. That is the whole document. People come up to me — big strong men, men with broken hollandaise stories, tears in the eyes — and they say 'Bigly, the sauce broke, I cried into the pan.' I tell them: you went fast. You got scared. You let the heat win. Don't let the heat win. Slow stream. Steady hand. Trust the blender. The hollandaise rewards the brave and humiliates the rushed. Hands down.
Ingredients
- 4large eggs (for poaching)(the freshest you can find — old eggs poach like sad ghosts)
- 2English muffins, split
- 4 slicesCanadian bacon
- 1 tbspunsalted butter (for toasting)
- 1 tbspwhite vinegar (for poaching water)
- 3large egg yolks (for hollandaise)
- 1 tbspfresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup (1 stick)unsalted butter, melted and hot
- 1/2 tspkosher salt
- pinchcayenne pepper
- 1 tbspfresh chives, finely chopped
- to tasteblack pepper, freshly cracked
Steps
- 1
Fill a wide saucepan with 3 inches of water, add the vinegar, and bring to a bare simmer (small bubbles on the bottom, not a rolling boil).
- 2
Crack each egg into its own small cup or ramekin. This makes the poaching much easier.
- 3
Melt the 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave until very hot but not browned. Keep it warm.
- 4
Make the hollandaise: in a blender, combine the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, and cayenne. Blend on medium for 10 seconds. With the blender running, slowly drizzle in the hot melted butter in a thin steady stream. The sauce will thicken and emulsify. Taste and adjust with salt and lemon. Keep the blender jar in a bowl of warm water until ready to serve.
- 5
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the Canadian bacon and cook 1-2 minutes per side until lightly browned on the edges. Remove and set aside.
- 6
Toast the English muffin halves cut-side down in the same skillet with 1 tbsp butter until deeply golden.
- 7
Stir the simmering poaching water gently to create a slow whirlpool. Slip one egg at a time into the center of the swirl. Poach 3 minutes for a runny yolk. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.
- 8
Build each plate: two toasted muffin halves, one slice Canadian bacon on each, one poached egg on top, generous spoonful of hollandaise over the top. Garnish with chives and cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.
One more thing
This is the brunch you make for somebody you want to FLOOR. A date. A mother-in-law. Yourself, Sunday, in a robe, alone, no judgment, all valid. The yolk breaks. The hollandaise spills. The muffin shatters under the fork — four-part harmony on a plate, and YOU built it, with your own two hands, no $42 brunch line, no terrible playlist, no server asking sparkling or still for the fourteenth time. You did this. Be proud. Now go eat.

★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
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Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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