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Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon & Chives

Ready in 35 mins

Recipe by Graham 

Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon & Chives is a recipe that's actually very easy to follow. It's relatively simple to get all the separate bits ready at about the same time, and the Hollandaise comes together perfectly. A lovely recipe for a breakfast treat or a regular weekend breakfast.

There are conflicting accounts as to the origin of eggs Benedict, including: In an interview recorded in the "Talk of the Town" column of The New Yorker in 1942, the year before his death, Lemuel Benedict, a retired Wall Street stock broker, claimed that he had wandered into the Waldorf Hotel in 1894 and, hoping to find a cure for his morning hangover, ordered "buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon, and a hooker of Hollandaise". Oscar Tschirky, the famed maître d'hôtel, was so impressed with the dish that he put it on the breakfast and luncheon menus but substituted ham for the bacon and a toasted English muffin for the toast. In fact, in his famous "Cookbook of the Waldorf" of 1896, Tschirky mentioned a very similar dish as Philadelphia Eggs, which is made of a split muffin, white chicken meat, poached eggs and Sauce Hollandaise arranged in the described way.

Preparation Time

15 Minutes

Cooking Time

20 Minutes
A Top Choice Recipe for Simplicity

Ingredients for Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon & Chives

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Currently displaying quantities in US Imperial Measurements

To serve 4:

FOR THE HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
3 egg yolks
4½ oz unsalted butter
  salt & pepper
FOR THE EGGS BENEDICT
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 eggs
2 English muffins
2 oz butter (for spreading)
8 slices smoked salmon
10 - 12 chives

How to Cook Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon & Chives

  1. First make the Hollandaise sauce... place the lemon juice and white wine vinegar in a bowl, add the egg yolks and whisk with a balloon whisk until light and frothy. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk until the mixture thickens. Gradually add the unsalted butter, whisking constantly. If it seems that the sauce might be separating, remove from the heat for a few minutes, but keep whisking. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and keep warm while you cook the eggs.
  2. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the white wine vinegar. Lower the heat so that the water is just simmering gently, then stir the water to create a slight whirlpool. Crack the eggs into a cup or saucer and slide them one by one into the water. Cook them for about 4 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon.
  3. Meanwhile, halve the muffins and lightly toast them. Butter them and place a couple of slices of smoked salmon on each half. Top each with an egg and spoon over some Hollandaise sauce. Garnish with chopped chives.
GRAHAM'S HOT TIP:
Alternatively, you can use ciabatta instead of muffins and dill instead of chives (it goes well with salmon).