Use Brown Butter For A Decadent Eggs Benedict Upgrade

Some foodies scoff at the sociocultural organism that is brunch (per Spoon University). Others embrace it, eagerly anticipating Sunday morning and (subsequently) their next chance to order eggs benedict. Whichever side of the conversation you happen to be on, one thing is for sure: Americans are digging breakfast foods. In a study by Kitchen Infinity conducted in 2022, 80% of foodies in the U.S. said they eat breakfast daily. In 2021, a nationwide survey commissioned by General Mills found that U.S. consumers began eating more breakfast foods since the beginning of the pandemic (via ConvenienceStore News). 62% said breakfast is their favorite meal of the day, and 56% said they enjoy breakfast more now than they did in 2020. 

Perhaps most notably, 72% of voters named eggs as their favorite breakfast item. That's why we're talking about eggs benedict — and no eggs benedict would be complete without a killer hollandaise sauce. Hollandaise is one of the French "mother sauces," like béchamel, says Betty Crocker, and it's made from a combination of egg yolks, lemon juice, and butter. Sounds pretty simple, right? To take your eggs benedict to the next level, give brown butter a try in your next Hollandaise sauce. 

Brown butter (aka "beurre noisette," which translates to "hazelnut butter," per Martha Stewart) is the product of gently cooking unsalted butter in a saucepan until it begins to foam and turn brown. The result is a nutty, savory, fragrant spread that (once it hardens back up a bit) can take your caramelized onions, pastries, or even your eggs to a new and oh-so-decadent level. Since butter is one of the main ingredients in hollandaise, incorporating brown into your sauce is as easy as blinking an eye.

But, be sure to add that warm brown butter into your whisked eggs and lemon juice carefully, says Food & Wine, just a little bit at a time. Otherwise, you run the risk of causing your sauce to separate; the heat could even curdle those tender egg yolks. To kick it up another notch, Food52 suggests adding both miso and brown butter to your hollandaise for extra umami flavor. Salty capers, pickled shallots, peppery arugula, and smoked salmon would all make fitting accouterments to your eggs benedict. If you want to make a big batch of brown butter ahead of time, says The Spruce Eats, it'll keep in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for up to three months.