Bacon Eggs & Asparagus Benedict

There are two and possible more accounts as too how Eggs Benedict came to be a sought after breakfast and Sunday brunch item.

The first account is from 1894 when Lemuel Benedict, a Wall Street broker, went into the Waldorf Hotel to get something to eat in the restaurant. It was said he had a hangover at the time.

He ordered some toast, crisp bacon, two pouched eggs, and a side of hollandaise sauce.

Photo Credit: Chest of Books

A column in The New Yorker – Talk of the Town – had interviewed Mr. Benedict just before he died, in 1942.

During the interview he had made the claim that he had put the dish on the breakfast and luncheon menu of the Waldorf Hotel.

Mr. Benedict even claimed the Eggs Benedict recipe was published in the cookbook – Cookbook of the Waldorf  (author Oscar Tschirky – printed 1896) because of him.

The second account is from 1967 when a claim was made by Edward P. Montgomery on behalf of commodore E.C. Benedict, as he wrote a letter to the New York Times, that included the recipe.

In the letter he claims to have received the recipe from his uncle, a friend of the commodore.

Variations of Eggs Benedict

There have been several different ways to make Eggs Benedict since its appearance to the culinary world.

Most of us know it is an American breakfast dish that consists of two halves of an English muffin, topped with ham or bacon, poached eggs, and Hollandaise sauce.

There are ten variations to date, and they include:

• Eggs Blackstone – made with  streaky bacon and slices of tomatoes are added
• Eggs Blanchard – Béchamel suace is used in place of the Hollandaise
• Eggs Florentine – made with spinach in place of the ham or the spinach is added just underneath the ham
• Eggs Mornay – made with a Mornay cheese sauce in place of the Hollandaise
• Eggs Atlantic (also called Eggs Hemingway, or Eggs Copenhagen) – made with  smoked salmon. This variation is called “Eggs Benjamin” in a few restaurants in Canada
• Huevos Benedictos – a Spanish style that is made with either sliced avocado or Mexican chorizo and is topped with both a salsa roja (red sauce) and hollandaise sauce
• Eggs Hussarde – made with Holland rusks in place of the English muffin and adds Bordelaise sauce
• Irish Benedict – is made with corned beef or Irish bacon
• Eggs Chesapeake – is made with crab cake, and tops the hollandaise sauce with a sprinkle of Old Bay Seasoning
• Eggs Hebridean – is made with Black Pudding. This variation is common in Scotland, and uses black pudding from Stornoway

Bacon Eggs and Asparagus Benedict

In large pot of boiling salted water, blanch asparagus until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer to bowl of ice water; drain and pat dry.

1 pound asparagus, trimmed

4 slices Canadian ham

4 slices 100% whole grain English muffin, toasted

Hollandaise Sauce:

4 egg yolks

1 stick of butter, no salt, melted

1 teaspoon lemon juice

sea salt and pepper to taste

Poached Eggs

4 eggs

1 tbsp white vinegar

Making the Sauce:

In a 6 quart pot add water 1/4 way up. Bring water to a soft boil.

Add yolks and lemon juice to either a large glass or metal mixing bowl.

Place the bowl over the pot of soft boiling water and start to whisk the yolks over the simmering water until yolks become thick, about 2 to 3 minutes, removing from heat and putting back on. Do not stop whisking.

Remove from heat and add butter and whisk in. Next add sea salt and pepper to taste, whisk some more. If the sauce is to thick just add a few drops of water until you get a sauce again.

Poaching the Eggs

Using the same pot of water add 2 to 3 teaspoons of white vinegar.

Next crack an egg into a small glass bowl and gently drop egg into boiling water for 2 minutes.

Do this with each egg. Remove pouched egg with a slotted spoon and place one egg on each slice of muffin.

Arranging the Plate

Place 1 or two slices of the toasted English muffin on a plate. Next add 3 or 4 asparagus spires, then add ham, poached egg, and spoon on sauce.

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