This Super Simple Tennessee Cherry Chili Hollandaise is one of my favorite things.
I seriously think hollandaise should be it’s own food group. It is my go-to hangover cure (yes, yes, I know we should never have a hangover, but you know, sometimes life happens!). Well, hollandaise paired with a bloody mary, anyhow, is my hangover cure ;). I fell hard for hollandaise in New Orleans, where brunch reigns supreme. Have I mentioned before how much I miss brunch in New Orleans? I have? Multiple times? Oh. Blushes, shrugs….
Personally, it is not something I ever ate growing up. Hollandaise was FANCY. Hollandaise was French. Hollandaise was not something we would ever eat. In fact, I recently introduced my mother to it, and she loves it now as much as I do. Because what’s not to love? Hollandaise is creamy, salty, and has just a hint of tang from the added lemon.
I have made it many times now, and I am always astonished by how easy it is to make at home in a blender. But that can be our little secret, right? Because when your friends come over for brunch and you whip them up some Super Simple Tennessee Cherry Chili Hollandaise you win mega hostess points. Plus, you get to eat it too, which is win win right?
The first time I made it at home I was nervous. Sauces are fancy right? And I’m just a home cook. A determined home cook though! So I made a basic sauce, and had just a few friends over who I knew would forgive me if I screwed something up. It really was so easy though, and we ate every last drop of it.
I started playing with the amount of lemon juice (I like a bit more for a fresher flavor) and the spice level. The truth is, though, you don’t need to use the cherry chili at all. You can omit the cherry chili or hot sauce and still have good old fashioned hollandaise.
Hollandaise: The Mother of All Mother Sauces
Do you know what the five mother sauces are? Or are you like, wait, mother sauces? What in the sam hill is that? Frankly, I only know because I am a food geek. But luckily enough, I AM that food geek, and when you host that next brunch, you can talk about mother sauces too. This article from The Kitchn talks about the Mother Sauces. The difference between hollandaise and the other sauces is that it is the only one that doesn’t begin with a roux. It’s also a pretty delicate sauce, so you want to be careful when you make it so as not to over mix it. When you over mix it, that’s when the sauce “breaks,” or in other words, starts looking very grainy and unappetizing.
Serving Suggestions
Some classic preparations for hollandaise include using it as a topping for eggs benedict, as a sauce to dress asparagus, and as a topping for a fish, like salmon. I like to play with the classic eggs benedict and make vegetarian and pescetarian versions by using this spicier version, and topping a southern biscuit with veggie sausage, fried catfish, spinach, heirloom tomatoes, or even mirliton or squash. The version in our photo was served over some jalapeno cheddar bread and topped with a poached duck egg.
How do you like to serve your hollandaise? Did you have it a child? Let me know in the comments! And if you wouldn’t mind, would you consider sharing this on Pinterest or another social media outlet? I’d be so super grateful!
Super Simple Tennessee Cherry Chili Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Egg Yolks Separate the yolks by cracking an egg over a bowl, and gently transferring the yolk between the two egg shell halves, letting the egg shite drip into the bowl underneath, until all you have left are yolks.
- 12 Tablespoons Butter May use more or less depending on the consistency of sauce desired. More butter equals a thinner sauce, less butter equals a thicker sauce.
- 1 Half Lemon
- 1/2 to 1 Teaspoon Tennessee Cherry Chili or other Hot Sauce Unless you are like us, and think things can't get too spicy, start with less and add more to taste. This is also optional - you can make it without any
- Pinch Salt I say just a pinch here, because I frnakly feel like it depends on the kind of salt you are using. Also, if you use salted butter I would omit this entirely. I used Kosher salt in my last batch, and used about a quarter teaspoon. If I use my French Grey salt, I use even less. Remember, you can always add more, but you can't take it out!
Instructions
- Melt butter in the microwave, and set aside. Do not allow it to cool too much, though, because you want to get the reaction of the hot butter melting into the whipped egg yolks.
- Add two egg yolks, salt if you're using it, and juice of half a lemon to the blender. Add Chili Sauce or Hot Sauce.
- Blend to combine the ingredients.
- Once those ingredients are blended together, remove the top of the blender, and set it on its slowest blend setting. Slowly drizzle in the melted butter. You can pause to check the consistency, after about 2/3 of the butter has been added. Keep adding melted butter slowly until you get the consistency you want.
- Hollandaise is best served immediately. Do not let it sit out longer than an hour, and discard what you don't immediately use.