Mini Eggs Benedict
Bite-sized English muffins topped with Canadian bacon, poached quail eggs, and hollandaise
- 6English muffins
- 24quail eggs(or use halved poached chicken eggs)
- 12 slicesCanadian bacon(halved)
- 3egg yolks(for hollandaise)
- 1 tbsplemon juice
- 0.5 cupbutter(melted and hot)
- 0.25 tspcayenne pepper
- 1 tbspwhite vinegar(for poaching)
- fresh chives(minced, for garnish)
- kosher salt
Toast muffins and make hollandaise ahead. Poach eggs just before serving.
- 1Cut English muffins into quarters using round cutter or knife, toast until golden
- 2Make hollandaise: whisk yolks and lemon juice over double boiler until thickened
- 3Slowly drizzle in hot butter while whisking constantly until emulsified
- 4Season with salt and cayenne, keep warm
- 5Warm Canadian bacon in skillet, set aside
- 6Bring pot of water to gentle simmer, add vinegar
- 7Crack quail eggs into water and poach 1-2 minutes until whites set
- 8Remove with slotted spoon to paper towels
- 9Assemble: muffin quarter, bacon piece, quail egg, spoonful of hollandaise
- 10Garnish with chives and serve immediately
Quail eggs are adorable but tricky - crack into a small cup first. If using chicken eggs, poach whole and cut in half. Hollandaise breaks if butter is added too fast. Keep sauce warm in thermos or over barely warm water. Work quickly - these must be served hot.
Eggs Benedict has one of the most charming and well-documented origin stories in American restaurant history. The most cited account, reported by food journalist Mimi Sheraton in the New York Times, credits a Wall Street broker named Lemuel Benedict who, in 1894, visited the Waldorf Hotel in New York and requested a hangover cure of toasted bread, poached eggs, crispy bacon, and hollandaise sauce. The headwaiter Oscar Tschirky — known as "Oscar of the Waldorf" and one of the most influential maître d's in American hotel history — liked the combination and added it to the menu, substituting Canadian bacon for regular bacon and an English muffin for toast. A competing origin story credits Delmonico's restaurant in New York, where a regular customer named Mrs. LeGrand Benedict purportedly asked chef Charles Ranhofer to create something new in the 1860s — the Delmonico's version appeared in Ranhofer's 1894 cookbook The Epicurean. Hollandaise sauce, the emulsified butter-and-egg-yolk sauce that defines the dish, is a classic of French cuisine documented in cookbooks from the 19th century. Canadian bacon — cured, smoked pork loin — is leaner than American streaky bacon and was used in both versions to balance the richness of the hollandaise. The miniature format for party service adapts the brunch classic into a single-bite serving.