Days like New Year's Day call for something just a little extra special. And this recipe for Dungeness Crab Eggs Benedict is exactly one of those extra special recipes deserving of kicking off a whole new year.
It's so funny up until about 5 years ago you couldn't get me to eat an egg that wasn't either scrambled or fried until the yolks were hard. But now that I've found a profound kind of love for poached eggs breakfast has become somewhat limitless in possibilities. Once I learned how delicious eggs Benedict actually really is I've been playing around with all sorts of versions.
This particular one is combination of holiday extravagance and the beauty of living in the Pacific Northwest where Dungeness crab is definitely king.
As decadent as it is beyond the hollandaise sauce which can be tricky at times it really isn't that complicated to make. We've started getting fresh eggs from a friend's chickens so poaching these fresh eggs is a treat of sorts. We bought cooked Dungeness crab from our local Metropolitan Market fish monger.
Since becoming an eggs Benedict fan I've been trying to learn how to best poach eggs and make a good hollandaise sauce. To be honest I don't have much advice to offer in regards to poaching the eggs, sometimes they turn out great, sometimes it's a complete disaster so I'm far from an expert at making poached eggs.
Here's a link to the YouTube video that we watched over and over when we first started to learn how to best poach eggs: YouTube Video.
As far as the hollandaise sauce we've found using the blender version of the recipe from The Joy of Cooking makes a delicious and fresh sauce. Using clarified butter is key we believe in making it taste fantastic.
Recipe:
Dungeness Crab Eggs Benedict:
Makes 2 servings
For Benedict:
4 fresh eggs poached
2 English muffins, split and toasted
1/4 lb. cooked & prepared Dungeness crab meat
Hollandaise Sauce (adapted from The Joy of Cooking):
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Ground black pepper to taste
1 dash hot sauce (optional)
Salt to taste
1/2 Cup warm to hot clarified butter
In blender blend on high speed for 1 minute the egg yolks, lemon juice, pepper, salt & hot sauce. With machine still running slowly add in a steady stream the melted butter-about 1 minute until sauce is thickened.
On toasted English muffins add cooked crab meat, top with poached egg on each half muffin, drizzle warm hollandaise sauce over muffins. Add fresh ground pepper.