I think I'm this close to perfecting the roast turkey for the holidays.
I've been a big fan of the lemon-rosemary flavor combo for a long, long time, but never used it with turkey until this past Thanskgiving. I was inspired by the Trib's Good Eats Thanksgiving story, where super thin slices of lemon and whole rosemary sprigs are tucked under the skin. I hadn't yet bundled up the rosemary and that was a great way to use a lot at once. This approach didn't work out so hot as written. The flavor was great, but the lemon slices heated differently than the rest of the bird, scorching the skin above, giving this gross polka-dot effect.
My brother, who was my partner on this dish, has some great rosemary bushes at his place, so I took that idea and improvised. We also added a brining step at his suggestion. I hadn't had great luck with that before, but we had time and I figured it certainly couldn't hurt. He picked out a 17 lb bird for our group of 10 adults and 3 young kids.
The night before, I took the basic brine recipe:
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 gallon water
Bring to a boil for five minutes and then completely cool.
And tweaked it for seasoning and volume to:
1.5 cup kosher salt
1.5 cup sugar
zest and juice of a three (3) lemons
small handful of fresh minced rosemary (a few tablespoons)
small handful of peppercorns
and
6 quarts of water.
We then brought this to a boil to supersaturate the solution and then let it cool completely outside (This is so you don't essentially poach the bird). We were able to fit the bird in a small (disinfected) Igloo cooler, cover it with the brine, set it out on the 35F porch (I would have added a bag of ice if it had been warmer outside) and covered the whole thing. Easy enough.
The next morning (Christmas Day), I softened two sticks of butter and mashed in another couple of tablespoons of minced rosemary and lemon zest and a few pinches of kosher salt. I rinsed off the bird, patted it dry, and rubbed the butter under and over the skin. I then cut a lemon and an onion in eights and crammed them into the cavity with a few more sprigs of rosemary. A quick truss and we were ready to cook
Due to oven space, we used the grill, by simply putting the roasting pan on the grate. My brother manned the grill while I worked on the sides in the kitchen. He did have a bit of a problem keeping the temperature steady. I found that the only way around that is to practice with your grill to find the right setting, unfortunately. The only problem is basting. Once you open the grill lid, you lose all of the heat and you have to start again. The oven has pretty much the same problem, but it's less extreme in the variances. I think it's Alton Brown who says that you shouldn't baste at all, in favor of the constant temperature. Not that I like him that much (okay, not at all), but it's a vote in my favor. We did run out of gas, so we finished it in the oven for the last 20 minutes.
The end result was really quite nice. The breast skin blackened a bit, which made me realize I'd forgotten to warn my brother to tent the the breast with foil for the first hour (which evens out the colorization). But it was still quite tasty.
The meat was moist enough that it really did not need gravy, but I decided to give it a quick shot, since the pressure was off. I've never been really comfortable with gravy, as it always seems to be a rush job, by definition, and risky. I deglazed the roasting pan with a bit of chicken stock, whisked in some flour, cooked that into a nice roux and then added stock and white wine to get to the right volume and viscousity.. The drippings from the brine and seasoned butter were just salty enough, but not too much.
So, in the end, there was no magic trick. Just carefully working through the basics and working with a consistant flavor mix paid off.
Showing posts with label Basics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Basics. Show all posts
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Sauces 101, Pt 2
Last night was Part 2 of my Sauces 101 class as the Chopping Block. This time around we learned the rest ofthe "Mother Sauces," which were:
We had a different instructor and assistants this time. They were all great, solidifying my impression of quality at the store across the board. If I had noted names, I would definitely give them props here.
I made sure to work towards more equal time with my table partners on the hands on stuff , which I facilitated by moving to the other side of the table from the stove. That worked out pretty well.
The downside was that I only ended up being hands on with the hollandaise. I didn't worry about the vinaigrette or mayonnaise, because I've done the first and the second seemed really, really easy. But I wasn't paying attention like I should have and missed out on the buerre blanc.
I actually started the hollandaise, but handed off the whisk. My partners then had the dreaded curdle, which I think was function of keeping the egg over the heat too long. I was handed the whisk for the second attempt and I rocked it. Practice. It paid off.
I also got compliments from the staff for my knife skills on my shallots. I'm still slow, but those are coming along.
A few observations/things I learned:
Mustard is, apparently, a common ingredient in mayonnaise, used as an emulisfier. What I don't get is how you get any other flavors like a regular mayonaisse or an ailoi with the mustard in there. The instructor said that you wouldn't be able to tell, but I'm not yet 100% convincd. I could definitely taste it in ours. So, I'm thinking that egg yolks are the way to go.
A few years ago, the Pulse button on my KitchenAid food processor died, so I have to use the On and Off buttons quickly to pulse, or twist the feeder/lid. Another guy in the class mentioned that his KitchenAid had the same exact problem, but that his father-in-law was able to fix it. I'm very, very tempted to give this a try. Not quite at the point of getting out the tool box, but... This came up because we used the exact same model that I have for the mayonaisse.
We made the hollandaise with a double-boiler, which Peterson recommended against. I asked about it and they thought the direct heat method is harder to control the heat (the opposite of what Peterson says),but is done in kitchens more for time, fewer pans, etc. The boiler is definitely more forgiving with the heat. Now that I know the direct heat way, I may stick with it.
Clarified Butter/Ghee
You've probably noticed a lot of references to clarified butter or ghee here. I had been content to use jarred ghee from the Indian market until I noticed how much it actually cost. The first time I had a recipe that called for it, I had made it at home, not knowing I could buy it in the store. That recipe, from an Indian Vegetarian Cooking book, directed you to bake a pound of butter in a 9x12 pan at very low heat (200F?) for a hour or two. (I think this may have been when I realized that good percentage of Indian cooking instructions are designed just to make you miserable. For some examples, take a look at the kitchen and cookware designs found in the book 100% India. Yikes). Needless to say, as soon as I saw that it was on the shelf, I started buying it pre-made.
So, as the pain in the butt factor drove me from making my own to buying it, my recent increased use of clarified butter (particularly with the hollandaise) made me more aware of the price. Staring at the $3.49 price tag for a small jar while whisking the sauce really bugged me. Thereby driving me back to making it on my own.
Basically, when clarifying butter, you're heating it to separate out the milk solids. Once those are removed, the butter can be heated much higher without burning. The second effect is to boil out the water content. Depending on what book you're reading, it's this second phase that makes clarified butter technically ghee.
A friend told me about his method, which was to nuke the butter and then skim off the solids with a swipe of the paper towel. Having read a few other sources, I realized that the microwave method sounded good, but you weren't going to get rid of the water well that way.
So, I got out my tiny glass sauce pans, chopped up some butter and set it going at medium-low/low heat. After a while, the solids came to the top. Here's the problem: skimming off the solids is a messy pain. I tried using the paper towel method, but a) you soak up some of the good stuff in the process and b) you use a LOT of paper towels. That's too much waste for me. On my second and third rounds, I tried my various slotted instruments, but no dice. I still had to resort to the paper towels. I'll look at the Chhopping Block tonight for a proper skimmer.
After I tackled the solids, I let it sit more to get the water out. This is really kind of neat. It seems that as the water molecules circulate to the bottom of the pan, they heat up enough to boil. So, you get these sudden small bubbles. It's like the movie versions of lava. I caught myself just getting mesmerized waiting for the next micro-boil. Anyway, I just let that go until the bursts stopped, like waiting for your microwave popcorn to stop popping.
Update: Okay, it seems there are two places the solids go: floating to the top (the foamy scum) and drifting to the bottom. So, it seems like straining it may be the best route to go. Also, my skimmer seems to be just fine. I couldn't find any that seemed better designed at the Chopping Block.
So, as the pain in the butt factor drove me from making my own to buying it, my recent increased use of clarified butter (particularly with the hollandaise) made me more aware of the price. Staring at the $3.49 price tag for a small jar while whisking the sauce really bugged me. Thereby driving me back to making it on my own.
Basically, when clarifying butter, you're heating it to separate out the milk solids. Once those are removed, the butter can be heated much higher without burning. The second effect is to boil out the water content. Depending on what book you're reading, it's this second phase that makes clarified butter technically ghee.
A friend told me about his method, which was to nuke the butter and then skim off the solids with a swipe of the paper towel. Having read a few other sources, I realized that the microwave method sounded good, but you weren't going to get rid of the water well that way.
So, I got out my tiny glass sauce pans, chopped up some butter and set it going at medium-low/low heat. After a while, the solids came to the top. Here's the problem: skimming off the solids is a messy pain. I tried using the paper towel method, but a) you soak up some of the good stuff in the process and b) you use a LOT of paper towels. That's too much waste for me. On my second and third rounds, I tried my various slotted instruments, but no dice. I still had to resort to the paper towels. I'll look at the Chhopping Block tonight for a proper skimmer.
After I tackled the solids, I let it sit more to get the water out. This is really kind of neat. It seems that as the water molecules circulate to the bottom of the pan, they heat up enough to boil. So, you get these sudden small bubbles. It's like the movie versions of lava. I caught myself just getting mesmerized waiting for the next micro-boil. Anyway, I just let that go until the bursts stopped, like waiting for your microwave popcorn to stop popping.
Update: Okay, it seems there are two places the solids go: floating to the top (the foamy scum) and drifting to the bottom. So, it seems like straining it may be the best route to go. Also, my skimmer seems to be just fine. I couldn't find any that seemed better designed at the Chopping Block.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Do Over: Hollandaise Sauce
Since we're doing the Hollandaise in class on Wednesday, I wanted to give it another shot so that I wouldn't be so far behind the curve. I was going to try several small batches until I got it right.
I got out my fresh eggs and followed the Peterson instructions from before. I looked at a couple of other books and they didn't seem to be as technique focused or something. The first batch was exactly the same as the previous attempt. I ended up with scrambled egg yolk. Ugh.
I noticed when whisking the egg yolk and water that I was splashing the mixture out of the brasier, because of the shallow sides. I has used that because of the rounded bottom and the heat resistence. Peterson made a big deal about being able to get at all of the sauce with the whisk and a regular sauce pan had the problematic corners.
I realized that I had a more pointed whisk that could get into the corners easily, so for the second try today, I used my regular sauce pan. It worked! I was able to get a much better froth before it went on the flame. As soon as I could see the streaks on the bottom of the pan (which was the point before when the eggs scrambled), I yanked it off of the fire, whisked more to cool it down (~20 seconds) and added my clarified butter. At that point I was satisfied that it had worked and then proceeded to flavor it with the lemon juice and the salt.
Because I was focusing on the egg part, I didn't bother with juicing fresh lemons and just used the bottled stuff. Then I threw in about a teaspoon of salt. This was a bit much, but overall, it turned out very nice.
So, it seems the key thing I was missing before was a strong enough whisk. Once I was using a pan where I could let loose like I should, all was good.
To make sure that I actually had the technique down, I made a second batch about 10 minutes later. It was no fluke, this worked well, too. I did only put in lemon and mixed the two batched together to reduce the salt taste. Eggs Benedict tomorrow!
I got out my fresh eggs and followed the Peterson instructions from before. I looked at a couple of other books and they didn't seem to be as technique focused or something. The first batch was exactly the same as the previous attempt. I ended up with scrambled egg yolk. Ugh.
I noticed when whisking the egg yolk and water that I was splashing the mixture out of the brasier, because of the shallow sides. I has used that because of the rounded bottom and the heat resistence. Peterson made a big deal about being able to get at all of the sauce with the whisk and a regular sauce pan had the problematic corners.
I realized that I had a more pointed whisk that could get into the corners easily, so for the second try today, I used my regular sauce pan. It worked! I was able to get a much better froth before it went on the flame. As soon as I could see the streaks on the bottom of the pan (which was the point before when the eggs scrambled), I yanked it off of the fire, whisked more to cool it down (~20 seconds) and added my clarified butter. At that point I was satisfied that it had worked and then proceeded to flavor it with the lemon juice and the salt.
Because I was focusing on the egg part, I didn't bother with juicing fresh lemons and just used the bottled stuff. Then I threw in about a teaspoon of salt. This was a bit much, but overall, it turned out very nice.
So, it seems the key thing I was missing before was a strong enough whisk. Once I was using a pan where I could let loose like I should, all was good.
To make sure that I actually had the technique down, I made a second batch about 10 minutes later. It was no fluke, this worked well, too. I did only put in lemon and mixed the two batched together to reduce the salt taste. Eggs Benedict tomorrow!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Sauces 101, Pt 1
On Wednesday, I took another class at the Chopping Block. This was the first of two parts on sauces, the second to be on the following Wednesday. This time, I learned a LOT more and not only about sauces. In part, I think it was the structure of the skills classes (like my Knife Skills class) versus the menu classes (like my Indian class). But the quality of the instructor and the smaller class size made a big difference, too.
We learned four sauces hands-on, with a demonstration. The hands-on were:
We learned four sauces hands-on, with a demonstration. The hands-on were:
We got a demonstration for a pan sauce from a pork tenderloin sear with red wine for the deglazing.
All of these were quite good. The big surprise for me was the veloute'. It looked a lot like the crappy chicken gravy you see so often, like on mashed potatoes. But this was really tasty. The white wine reduction really gave it some bite. I was also surprised at the tomato sauce. I'd seen that made on TV and the ubiquitous scenes in movies, but never in real life. It's surprisingly not too difficult. I doubt I'm going to swear off jarred pasta sauce like I did with chutney, but I will definitely give it a shot.
Things I learned that had nothing to do with the recipes:
- Meat needs to warm to room temperature before you grill or fry it. I had no idea. It certainly hasn't been mentioned in my grilling books. When cold meat is cooked on a high heat, the difference between the outer and inner temeratures is much greater. i.e. you're get charred on the outside and raw in the middle.
- A really good reason to use unsalted butter. I always used salted butter, just because. It's certainly better on toast. But if you use a salted butter in a sauce that gets reduced, it will get incredibly salty due to the concentration.
- Add ingredients in the order they're listed, even if it seems they're all at once. Well, this explains my issues in the ubiquitous (word of the day) saute' of onion and garlic. Particularly with these two, you're supposed to saute' the onion first, then add the garlic.
- Don't stir constantly in a saute'. I thought that you were supposed to, but apparently, this releases heat from the pan. Stir just enough to get an even heat on all the things being sauteed, but no more.
So, this is what I was talking about regarding gaps in my knowledge. These all seem really basic, but I didn't know any of them.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Smoked Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese
Damn. Knocked it out of the park. We had a great Smoked Cheddar Mac 'n' Cheese at Glenn's last week and this was my attempt to recreate it. I looked at a lot of recipes and went with this recipe from Epicurious.com, which was originally from the Fanny Farmer Cookbook.
The excuse for making such a health hazard at home was that Channing was going to be swimming the Big Shoulders on Saturday morning and needed to carbo-load. It was pretty clear late Friday afternoon that work stuff was going to interfere with his ability to participate (3:30 am log-ins, etc), but I was committed (and craving).
I picked up a Wisconsin Smoked Cheddar at Whole Foods which was, unfortunately, massively expensive. Something like $13/lb. There was a less expensive one, but it was reduced fat, which the manager of the cheese area confirmed would make for a crappy sauce.
The result was really, really nice. It wasn't anywhere close to Glenn's, as the sauce didn't bake up as creamy. But I dare say that it was a success in its own right. I think I might try a mix with a smoked gouda next time, for texture, flavor and price.
This also counts as a Basic Skill since the Cheese sauce is a bechamel (white sauce). There's a link to the sauce recipe within the main recipe, but here's a direct one. I had never made one before and had actually made sure to avoid them. I've never made a gumbo or jambalaya as a result (roux being very similar to a bechamel - cooked a bit more to get to a golden brown, I believe). Needless to say, the reference they make that, "This used to be one of the first lessons in home economics classes" stings a bit. Nonetheless, I executed it flawlessly - no burned butter, no lumps of flour and all the flour got cooked completely. Woo-hoo!
The excuse for making such a health hazard at home was that Channing was going to be swimming the Big Shoulders on Saturday morning and needed to carbo-load. It was pretty clear late Friday afternoon that work stuff was going to interfere with his ability to participate (3:30 am log-ins, etc), but I was committed (and craving).
I picked up a Wisconsin Smoked Cheddar at Whole Foods which was, unfortunately, massively expensive. Something like $13/lb. There was a less expensive one, but it was reduced fat, which the manager of the cheese area confirmed would make for a crappy sauce.
The result was really, really nice. It wasn't anywhere close to Glenn's, as the sauce didn't bake up as creamy. But I dare say that it was a success in its own right. I think I might try a mix with a smoked gouda next time, for texture, flavor and price.
This also counts as a Basic Skill since the Cheese sauce is a bechamel (white sauce). There's a link to the sauce recipe within the main recipe, but here's a direct one. I had never made one before and had actually made sure to avoid them. I've never made a gumbo or jambalaya as a result (roux being very similar to a bechamel - cooked a bit more to get to a golden brown, I believe). Needless to say, the reference they make that, "This used to be one of the first lessons in home economics classes" stings a bit. Nonetheless, I executed it flawlessly - no burned butter, no lumps of flour and all the flour got cooked completely. Woo-hoo!
Monday, September 3, 2007
Vinaigrette
Ever since a certain episode of Martha Stewart's The Apprentice, I've wondered about making my own vinaigrette. She made a really big deal about how she always made her own salad dressing from scratch (while product placing/endorsing Wish-Bone. Go figure). That stuck with me, for some reason. Our friend Marsha had also given us a really nice olive oil from City Olive as a house-warming present.
So, I grabbed my Essentials of Cooking and looked at what mustards we had in the fridge. We had a nice Cracked Pepper Lemon & Thyme mustard from Terrapin Ridge, which went with the other herbed courses of the meal. I didn't know how much mustard to use, so I winged it. Honestly, this book is starting to piss me off for it's lack of specific measurements. The only guidence was 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil and beat the mustard and vinegar together before adding the oil. Thank God, I guessed right with 1 tbl mustard, 1 tbl white wine vinegar and 3 tbl olive oil. It tasted a little strong by itself, but just right on a mixed greens salad.
So, Martha wins. It was really, really good and I'll be making my own dressings going forward. Not that I ever bought Wish-Bone anyway.
So, I grabbed my Essentials of Cooking and looked at what mustards we had in the fridge. We had a nice Cracked Pepper Lemon & Thyme mustard from Terrapin Ridge, which went with the other herbed courses of the meal. I didn't know how much mustard to use, so I winged it. Honestly, this book is starting to piss me off for it's lack of specific measurements. The only guidence was 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil and beat the mustard and vinegar together before adding the oil. Thank God, I guessed right with 1 tbl mustard, 1 tbl white wine vinegar and 3 tbl olive oil. It tasted a little strong by itself, but just right on a mixed greens salad.
So, Martha wins. It was really, really good and I'll be making my own dressings going forward. Not that I ever bought Wish-Bone anyway.
Pie Crust
I don't know why I've had such a problem with pie crusts over the years. In particular, I had problems with one for a Chocolate/White Chocolate/Raspberry tart. A long time back, I just gave up in general. Whenever I had to make something with a crust, I would just buy the Pilllsbury pre-made, pre-rolled frozen crusts (they come folded in quarters).
I tried the basic recipe in the Joy of Cooking and, lo and behold, they came out perfect. I don't know what magic words in their suggestions made a difference, but something did. I used the "happy medium" recipe of shortening and butter and I could tell from the first batch of dough that it was just right, so I immediately made a second one to freeze.
The instructions for rolling the dough in the book, plus some of the hands-on instruction for the paratha worked out pretty well. My two big changes on technique were: 1) I erred on the side of too much flour, as suggested, and dusted the top of the dough, rather than the rolling pin. 2) When rolling, I worked to keep the pressure horizontal, rather then vertical as usual.
Recipe to be posted soon
I tried the basic recipe in the Joy of Cooking and, lo and behold, they came out perfect. I don't know what magic words in their suggestions made a difference, but something did. I used the "happy medium" recipe of shortening and butter and I could tell from the first batch of dough that it was just right, so I immediately made a second one to freeze.
The instructions for rolling the dough in the book, plus some of the hands-on instruction for the paratha worked out pretty well. My two big changes on technique were: 1) I erred on the side of too much flour, as suggested, and dusted the top of the dough, rather than the rolling pin. 2) When rolling, I worked to keep the pressure horizontal, rather then vertical as usual.
Recipe to be posted soon
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Hollandaise Sauce
I suck at sauces. And as a result, I tend to avoid recipes that call for them. Also, I love Eggs Benedict. So, I threw myself into the breech and gave it a try. I have several recipes in various cookbooks, but I went with the one in Jame's Peterson's The Essentials of Cooking.
The result? Not so good. My third and final try for the day was not thick enough and ended up separating a bit. It tasted okay, though. Will definitely have to try this a few more times to get it right.
The recipe called for sloped side sauce pan, which I didn't have, but Peterson seemed to make a good case. While whisking, you don't want sauce trapped in the corner of the pan where you can't get at it. Made sense, so I used a braiser as it seemed deep enough and not too wide (like an omelette pan might be). That was pretty workable.
I had clarified butter already (Indian ghee), so I went that route.
The first two tries, the egg started scrambling before the froth went down as described. The third time, I think I overcompensated and pulled it off the flame too fast. I think the mixutre didn't thicken or emulsify enough as a result.
I ended up putting about 5 times the amount of lemon juice the recipe called for, just to get it to taste like the sauce I'd had before.
It was also kind of gritty. That may have been undissolved salt, though now that I think about it... I ran it through the blender and that semed to help.
I suspect that part of my problems was that I was using old (but not rotten, of course) eggs. They were kind of small, too. I used to use Jumbo size eggs for everything because, well, more is better, right? But I read somewhere that recipes are actually geared to regular sized eggs and combining that with the other pearl of wisdom I picked up that "baking is chemistry," i.e. proportions need to be exact for it to work, I switched. I think I'm switching back. More on that later.
Next time around, I'm also going to only use one yolk, as two or three makes a LOT of sauce.
And I'm going to cut back on the butter. I think that "bulk" is what made me have to add such an insane amount of lemon juice.
HOW TO MAKE A HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
Hollandaise is a light, airy sauce made by whisking butter and lemon into an emulsion of egg yolks and water. The principles for making hollandaise (and its derivatives, such as bearnaise sauce) are almost the same as for mayonnaise, except that the egg yolk emulsion for a hollandaise is hot, and butter is used rather than oil. A classic hollandaise sauce is made with clarified butter, but whole butter can also be used for a thinner consistency. Clarified butter produces a very thick sauce, almost the consistency of a mayonnaise, because it contains no water. Use clarified butter when the sauce must be thick enough to coat foods like oysters that are to be gratineed, or to top eggs Benedict, or when the sauce is to be served on top of a steak. Whole butter contains water and so makes a thinner hollandaise. Whole butter can be added as melted butter or whisked into the sauce in chunks, as though you were making a beurre blanc. Use whole-butter hollandaise to sauce seafood and other dishes that are too delicate for a thick sauce.
To make a hollandaise, first make an emulsion of eggyolks and water (professional chefs sometimes call this emulsion a sabayon) by beating the egg yolks and water together until frothy, then beating the mixture over heat until barely stiff. Whisk in melted or clarified butter in a constant thin stream (or whisk in chunks of whole butter) until it's all been absorbed by the yolks and the sauce is thick. Once all of the butter has been added, flavor the sauce: A small amount of lemon juice is used to finish a hollandaise, and a strained infusion of tarragon, cracked pepper, shallots, and vinegar flavors a bearnaise, the most famous hollandaise variation.
Hollandaise Sauce
1. Combine 1 tablespoon cold water per egg yolk in a sauce pan with sloping sides (sometimes called a Windsor pan) or in a metal mixing bowl off the heat.
2. Whisk the egg yolks rapidly until frothy, about 45 seconds.
3. Place the pan or bowl over medium heat and continue to whisk rapidly. As you're whisking, the egg yolks will increase in volume. As soon as they start to lose volume slightly and you see streaks on the bottom of the pan, take the pan off the heat.
4. Whisk for about 20 seconds more to cool the pan and keep the yolks from curdling. Whisk in clarified butter or whole butter, melted or in chunks.
5. Add lemon juice to taste - about 1 teaspoon for a 4-yolk hollandaise - and season with salt and white pepper.
Peterson, James. Essentials of Cooking. New York: Artisan, 1999, p. 44.
The result? Not so good. My third and final try for the day was not thick enough and ended up separating a bit. It tasted okay, though. Will definitely have to try this a few more times to get it right.
The recipe called for sloped side sauce pan, which I didn't have, but Peterson seemed to make a good case. While whisking, you don't want sauce trapped in the corner of the pan where you can't get at it. Made sense, so I used a braiser as it seemed deep enough and not too wide (like an omelette pan might be). That was pretty workable.
I had clarified butter already (Indian ghee), so I went that route.
The first two tries, the egg started scrambling before the froth went down as described. The third time, I think I overcompensated and pulled it off the flame too fast. I think the mixutre didn't thicken or emulsify enough as a result.
I ended up putting about 5 times the amount of lemon juice the recipe called for, just to get it to taste like the sauce I'd had before.
It was also kind of gritty. That may have been undissolved salt, though now that I think about it... I ran it through the blender and that semed to help.
I suspect that part of my problems was that I was using old (but not rotten, of course) eggs. They were kind of small, too. I used to use Jumbo size eggs for everything because, well, more is better, right? But I read somewhere that recipes are actually geared to regular sized eggs and combining that with the other pearl of wisdom I picked up that "baking is chemistry," i.e. proportions need to be exact for it to work, I switched. I think I'm switching back. More on that later.
Next time around, I'm also going to only use one yolk, as two or three makes a LOT of sauce.
And I'm going to cut back on the butter. I think that "bulk" is what made me have to add such an insane amount of lemon juice.
HOW TO MAKE A HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
Hollandaise is a light, airy sauce made by whisking butter and lemon into an emulsion of egg yolks and water. The principles for making hollandaise (and its derivatives, such as bearnaise sauce) are almost the same as for mayonnaise, except that the egg yolk emulsion for a hollandaise is hot, and butter is used rather than oil. A classic hollandaise sauce is made with clarified butter, but whole butter can also be used for a thinner consistency. Clarified butter produces a very thick sauce, almost the consistency of a mayonnaise, because it contains no water. Use clarified butter when the sauce must be thick enough to coat foods like oysters that are to be gratineed, or to top eggs Benedict, or when the sauce is to be served on top of a steak. Whole butter contains water and so makes a thinner hollandaise. Whole butter can be added as melted butter or whisked into the sauce in chunks, as though you were making a beurre blanc. Use whole-butter hollandaise to sauce seafood and other dishes that are too delicate for a thick sauce.
To make a hollandaise, first make an emulsion of eggyolks and water (professional chefs sometimes call this emulsion a sabayon) by beating the egg yolks and water together until frothy, then beating the mixture over heat until barely stiff. Whisk in melted or clarified butter in a constant thin stream (or whisk in chunks of whole butter) until it's all been absorbed by the yolks and the sauce is thick. Once all of the butter has been added, flavor the sauce: A small amount of lemon juice is used to finish a hollandaise, and a strained infusion of tarragon, cracked pepper, shallots, and vinegar flavors a bearnaise, the most famous hollandaise variation.
Hollandaise Sauce
1. Combine 1 tablespoon cold water per egg yolk in a sauce pan with sloping sides (sometimes called a Windsor pan) or in a metal mixing bowl off the heat.
2. Whisk the egg yolks rapidly until frothy, about 45 seconds.
3. Place the pan or bowl over medium heat and continue to whisk rapidly. As you're whisking, the egg yolks will increase in volume. As soon as they start to lose volume slightly and you see streaks on the bottom of the pan, take the pan off the heat.
4. Whisk for about 20 seconds more to cool the pan and keep the yolks from curdling. Whisk in clarified butter or whole butter, melted or in chunks.
5. Add lemon juice to taste - about 1 teaspoon for a 4-yolk hollandaise - and season with salt and white pepper.
Peterson, James. Essentials of Cooking. New York: Artisan, 1999, p. 44.
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