Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict

Course	Breakfast, brunch
Place of origin	United States
Main ingredients	Eggs, English muffin, Canadian bacon, hollandaise sauce
Variations	multiple
Cookbook: Eggs Benedict  Media: Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict is an American brunch or breakfast dish that consists of two halves of an English muffin each of which is topped with Canadian bacon – or sometimes ham or bacon – a poached egg; and hollandaise sauce. The dish was first popularized in New York City. Many variations on the basic recipe are served.

Origin

There are conflicting accounts as to the origin of Eggs Benedict.

In an interview recorded in the "Talk of the Town" column of The New Yorker in 1942, the year before his death,^[1] 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.^[2]

Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon in place of Canadian bacon, also known as Eggs Royale

Another claim to the creation of Eggs Benedict was circuitously made by Edward P. Montgomery on behalf of Commodore E. C. Benedict. In 1967 Montgomery wrote a letter to then The New York Times food columnist Craig Claiborne which included a recipe he claimed to have received through his uncle, a friend of the commodore. Commodore Benedict's recipe — by way of Montgomery — varies greatly from chef Ranhofer's version,^[3] particularly in the hollandaise sauce preparation — calling for the addition of "hot, hard-cooked egg and ham mixture".^[4]

Variations

Eggs Benedict with bacon on toast is said to have been the original concept for the dish.

Several variations of Eggs Benedict exist.

• Eggs Blackstone substitutes streaky bacon for the ham and adds a tomato slice.^[5][6][7]
• Eggs Blanchard substitutes Béchamel sauce for Hollandaise.^[8]
• Eggs Florentine substitutes spinach for the ham or adds it underneath.^[9][10][11] Older versions of eggs Florentine add spinach to poached or shirred eggs.
• Eggs Mornay substitutes Mornay (cheese) sauce for the Hollandaise.^[12]
• Egg McMuffin substitutes Cheese for the Hollandaise sauce.^[13]
• Eggs Atlantic, Eggs Hemingway, or Eggs Copenhagen (also known as Eggs Royale and Eggs Montreal in New Zealand) substitutes salmon or smoked salmon for the ham. This is a common variation found in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom. This is also known as "Eggs Benjamin" in some restaurants in Canada.
• Huevos Benedictos substitutes either sliced avocado or Mexican chorizo for the ham, and is topped with both a salsa (such as salsa roja or salsa brava) and hollandaise sauce.
• Eggs Hussarde substitutes Holland rusks for the English muffin and adds Bordelaise sauce.^[14][15][16]
• Irish Benedict replaces the ham with corned beef or Irish bacon.^[17][18][19]
• Dutch Benedict replaces the ham or bacon with scrapple. Popular in the eastern region of Pennsylvania.^[20]
• Eggs Hebridean replaces the ham with black pudding,^[21] often from Stornoway.^[22]
• Eggs Cochon, a variation from New Orleans restaurants which replaces the ham with pork "debris" (slow roasted pork shredded in its own juices) and the English muffin with a large buttermilk biscuit.^[23][24]

See also

• List of breakfast foods
• List of brunch foods
• List of egg dishes
• List of foods named after people
• List of regional dishes of the United States

References

1. Benedict, Cutts. "Eggs Benedict New York: Feedback". Archived from the original on December 1, 1998. Retrieved February 23, 2007.
2. "Talk of the Town". The New Yorker. December 19, 1942. Notes: This hasn't been verified at the source, but is instead taken from the letter to Karpf by Cutts Benedict and the page of J. J. Schnebel.
3. "The epicurean — A complete treatise of analytical and practical studies on the culinary art, including table and wine service, how to prepare and cook dishes, etc., and a selection of interesting bills of fare of Delmonico's from 1862 to 1894". The Internet Archive. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
4. Claiborne, Craig (September 9, 1967). "American Classic: Eggs Benedict". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
5. Rombauer, Irma S.; Marion Rombauer Becker (1995) [1975]. "Egg Dishes". The Joy of Cooking. Illustrated by Ginnie Hofmann and Ikki Matsumoto (1st Scribner Edition 1995 ed.). New York, NY: Scribner. p. 222. ISBN 0-02-604570-2. Notes: Title of recipe is poached eggs Blackstone. Uses fried slice of flour dipped tomato, minced bacon, poached eggs, and hollandaise. No bread for base.
6. "The Heritage House – Menu". Archived from the original on May 1, 2006. Retrieved February 26, 2007. Eggs Blackstone, poached eggs served with house made English muffin, apple smoked bacon, tomatoes and hollandaise. Notes: Located in Mendocino, California.
7. "Rulloff's – Sunday Brunch Menu". Archived from the original on November 9, 2005. Retrieved February 26, 2007. Eggs Blackstone poached eggs over crispy bacon and thin sliced tomatoes on a toasted English muffin, with hollandaise sauce Notes: Located in Ithaca, New York.
8. Kustes, Scott. "How To Poach Eggs". Real Food University. Retrieved Aug 11, 2015.
9. "Rich mix of patrons makes Moto's special". The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution. December 18, 1986. pp. A/6. "eggs Florentine ($3.95), eggs poached and topped with Hollandaise sauce, served on spinach and English muffin" Notes: Not directly verified. Viewed through Google News Archive snippet view.
10. "Good Stuff Hermosa Beach – Menu". Good Stuff Restaurants. Archived from the original on April 18, 2006. Retrieved March 8, 2007. Eggs Florentine The same good stuff as the benedict, only with fresh spinach instead of ham Notes: Located in Hermosa Beach, California.
11. "The Buff Restaurant – Menu". The Buff Restaurant. Archived from the original on April 20, 2006. Retrieved March 8, 2007. EGGS FLORENTINE – SPINACH, CREAM CHEESE, TOMATO, AND MUSHROOMS TOPPED WITH HOLLANDAISE ON A MUFFIN Notes: Located in Boulder, Colorado.
12. Claiborne, Craig (May 26, 1960). "Maligned Vegetable Has Loyal Fans". The New York Times. p. 28.
13. "McDonalds Egg McMuffin".
14. DeMers, John (1998). Food of New Orleans: Authentic Recipes from the Big Easy. Food photography by John Hay (1st ed.). Boston: Periplus Editions. p. 44. ISBN 962-593-227-5.
15. "Recipes – Eggs Hussarde". Brennan's Restaurant. Archived from the original on February 6, 2006. Retrieved February 26, 2007. Notes: Located in New Orleans, Louisiana.
16. "Brunch & Lunch Menu". Mara's Homemade Restaurant. Archived from the original on January 7, 2006. Retrieved February 26, 2007. Eggs Hussarde Toasted English muffin, Canadian bacon, Marchand de Vin sauce, poached eggs and Mara's Homemade hollandaise sauce Notes: Located in New York, New York.
17. Townsend, Elisabeth (July 24, 2005). "Dining Out". The Boston Globe. "Irish Benedict ($7.50): two poached Eggs and corned beef hash on an English muffin covered with hollandaise sauce" Notes: Not directly verified. Viewed through Google News Archive snippet view.
18. "Breakfast Menu". The Field Irish Pub. Retrieved March 30, 2007. Toasted muffin topped with Irish bacon & poached eggs finished with Hollandaise sauce. Notes: Located in San Diego, California.
19. "Breakfast Menu". Strafford Farms Restaurant. Archived from the original on May 12, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2007. IRISH BENEDICT 3.95 two poached eggs on an English muffin with corn beef hash topped with a hollandaise sauce Notes: Located in Dover, New Hampshire.
20. Watts, Phyllis (December 8, 2009). Where Food and People Meet (1st ed.). Xlibris. p. 532. ISBN 1441571906.
21. "Glad Café Menu" (PDF). The Glad Café. Retrieved January 26, 2014. Eggs... Hebridean w. black pudding Notes: Located in Glasgow, Scotland.
22. "Breakfast Menu Café Gandolfi". Café Gandolfi. Retrieved January 26, 2014. Eggs Hebridean with Stornoway black pudding. Notes: Located in Glasgow, Scotland.
23. "Eggs Cochon du Lait" Eat Your World
24. "Five places for great cochon du lait" Gambit

External links

• Who Cooked That Up? page on origin of the dish with a recipe
• “Was He the Eggman?” An account in The New York Times about Lemuel Benedict and the efforts of Jack Benedict, the son of Lemuel's first cousin, to promote Lemuel's story. Article includes link to an audio slide show.