Eggs Benedict.
Recently I had a long phone conversation with my good friend Luigi in Panama. We were chatting about our good golf-life in Coronado and the time with the Buffalo’s. When we ended in memories about our, so often celebrated, brunches in Coronado’s Golf Resort restaurant. We talked about the fantastic „Eggs Benedict“ they had on menu and ended the call, both of us mouthwatering, with the promise we should do that once again.
Golf Buddy’s – The Panama Buffalo’s at the wonderful Coronado Golf Resort in Panama.
Doing so will be very tough because of the distance now. Meantime I decided to make some Eggs Benedict for myself and write a post about it. Naturally I went deeper into history and present to you a few ideas and recipes.
Coronado restaurant with brunch buffet prepared. Far above the Coronado Classic Egg Benedict, optionally with crisp bacon, Canadian ham or double slice of smoked pork-shoulder.Of course one could have it with greens and tomatoe or with smoked salmon, but that’s a different story. After four hours of golf, the best is to meet with family and friends for Sunday’s brunch and delicious „Eggs Benedict and Champagne“.
Who Invented Eggs Benedict – a Traitor, a Pope, or a Hungover Dude?
Commodore E.C. Benedict.
Craig Claiborne, in September 1967, wrote a column in The New York Times Magazine about a letter he had received from Edward P. Montgomery, an American then residing in France. In it, Montgomery related that the dish was created by Commodore E.C. Benedict, a banker and yachtsman, who died in 1920 at the age of 86. He was Commodore of the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club. Montgomery also included a recipe for eggs Benedict, stating that the recipe had been given to him by his mother, who had received it from her brother, who was a friend of the Commodore.
Commodore Elias Cornelius Benedict. Pic Wikipedia.
Elizabeth David
Another origin of the dish is suggested in Elizabeth David’s French Provincial Cooking, where she describes a traditional French dish named œufs bénédictine, consisting of brandade (a puree of refreshed salt cod and potatoes), spread on triangles of fried bread. A poached egg is then set on top and napped with hollandaise. This story would also explain the distinctly French syntax, where the adjective follows, rather than precedes, the noun (although Oysters Rockefeller has the same syntax without needing a Romance-language origin). No one knows how this dish got to America but If Charles Ranhofer could have known of the œufs bénédictine and thought of the coincidence of the LeGrande’s request and merged the two. Brilliant! The Canadian bacon or ham is probably preferred to the Salt Cod by most!
Elizabeth David (26 December 1913 – 22 May 1992) was a British cookery writer, specialized on European cuisines and traditional British dishes.
Isabella Beeton
Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management (Oxford World’s Classics) had recipes in the first edition (1861) for „Dutch sauce for benedict“ (p. 405) and its variant on the following page, „Green sauce, or Hollandaise verte“, This gives me the idea that this belonged to the salt cod, That Mrs. David writes about. This would have been the perfect Lent or Friday Catholic dish as well so would have been popular.
Isabella Beeton’s Household Management Book, first print 1861.
Delmonico’s New York.
Delmonico’s in lower Manhattan claims on its menu that „Eggs Benedict was first created in our ovens in 1860.“ One of its former chefs, Charles Ranhofer, also published the recipe for Eggs a la Benedick in 1894.
Delmonico’s in Lower Manhattan, New York.
Charles Ranhofer
Eggs Benedict“ – 1860s – credit is given to Delmonico’s Restaurant, the very first restaurant or public dining room ever opened in the United States. In the 1860’s, a regular patron of the restaurant, Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, finding nothing to her liking and wanting something new to eat for lunch, discussed this with Delmonico’s Chef Charles Ranhofer (1836-1899).
Charles Ranhofer and his cookbook „Epicurian“.
Ranhofer indulged her with Eggs Benedict. He has a recipe called Eggs a la Benedick (Eufa a la Benedick) in his cookbook called The Epicurean published in 1894. Eggs a la Benedick: Cut some muffins in halves crosswise, toast them without allowing to brown, then place a round of cooked ham an eighth of an inch thick and of the same diameter as the muffins one each half. Heat in a moderate oven and put a poached egg on each toast. Cover the whole with Hollandaise sauce.
The famous Delmonico’s restaurant.
Before Delmonico’s , diners ate at cafes or boarding houses, where food was offered prix fixe. Diners had no choice of dishes but ate the food that was served. Delmonico’s changed all that and claims the following FIRSTS:
* The first dining establishment called by the French name restaurant
* The first restaurant where guests sat at their own tables instead of communal tables
* The first printed menu
* The first tablecloths
* The first debutante ball outside a private home
* The first restaurant to offer a leisurely lunch and dinner
* Oysters Rockefeller
Chef Charles Ranhofer at the Delmonico’s.
* Lobster Newberg, first called Lobster Wenberg
* Baked Alaska in honor of the acquisition of the Alaskan territories
* Eggs Benedict
* Delmonico potatoes
* Delmonico steak
* Hamburger (known then as the Hamburg Steak)
*First use of the expression that something is „86’d“ (since the Delmonico Steak was item 86 on the menu and, when sold out, it was „86’d“).
Delmonico’s today. They have such a great history and invented so many culinary „new’s“, why not to leave them the honor to be the inventor of „Eggs Benedict“. I have my doubts, but who will know it better. However, if you are interested – it is so much fun to dive into Delmonico’s history. By example through their own website. https://delmonicos.com/
Oscar Tschirky.
In an interview recorded in the „Talk of the Town“ column of The New Yorker in 1942, the year before his death, 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 maitre d’hotel, 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.
The Waldorf Hotel, New York at 1897.
“We like to think that the eggs Benedict was really invented at the Waldorf, the original Waldorf-Astoria by the great Oscar of the Waldorf,” said Marc Ehrler, the corporate chef of the Americas for Hilton Worldwide, former owners of the New York City hotel. „Oscar of the Waldorf“ is Oscar Tschirky, who was working at the Waldorf-Astoria when it opened and served as its maitre d‘ for decades.
Oscar Tschirky, „Oscar of the Waldorf“.
The Waldorf’s version of the eggs Benedict origin story has, over time, become the more popular of the two—in no small part, it seems, because of the New Yorker article, which has been cited by the New York Times, Smithsonian magazine, and Wikipedia. „At the end of the day, the Waldorf-Astoria seems to own the eggs Benedict,“ Ehrler explains, and gives full credit to Oscar of the Waldorf. „Without Oscar, the eggs Benedict would’ve been like too many other dishes“, like his famous „Waldorf Salad“.
Waldorf’s Eggs Benedict.
Here’s the twist: Before he was Oscar of the Waldorf, Tschirky worked at Delmonico’s as a waiter and likely overlapped in the kitchen with Ranhofer. And while there’s no evidence that Tschirky stole the recipe from Delmonico’s and brought it over to the then-new Waldorf-Astoria, it’s not totally out of the question, especially since the recipe for eggs Benedict was already in print by the time Lemuel Benedict showed up at the Waldorf after a long night of drinking. „I think at this point, the only one who really knows the answer to this is Oscar and he took it with himself,“ Ehrler said.
Waldorf Astoria Breakfast menu from 1907, 30 different egg-style’s offered, but still no sign of „Benedict“.
Jeffrey Benedict, son of Jack Benedict, in turn the son of Lemuel Benedict’s first cousin.
Jack Benedict was the one who conducted a very personal battle and a deep search, lasted a lifetime, to make the whole world attribute them origins of the egg benedict to Lemuel Benedict. With his restaurant, entitled precisely to Lemuel, „L.C. Benedict Tavern and Restaurant „Jack intended to „educate“ customers about the true origins of this dish, proposing the two versions: that of Lemuel with toast and bacon, and that by Oscar (the chef at the Waldorf) with the English muffin and the Canadian bacon.
L.C. Benedict Tavern and Restaurant in Winter Park, a well known ski resort near Denver, Colorado ! Menu and story ! Is this now the „real“ inventor of the world famous „Eggs Benedict“?
Jack also tried to partner with McDonald’s, proposing an “Eggs McBenedict”, but apparently the Egg McMuffin was already in the works by the time Jack made contact.
Pope Benedict XIII. 1727 he inaugurated the famous Spanish Steps in Rome.
Pope Benedict XIII.
In fact, some give credit for the dish to Pope Benedict XIII (1649 – 1730), who ruled the Vatican from 1724 to 1730, and was put on a strict eggs and toast diet while there, dressed in a lemon based sauce, at his request. But it wasn’t eggs Benedict, exactly, and that pope’s ultimate legacy was sartorial, not culinary: he forbade the wearing of wigs by the cardinals. Every day he would order this specific meal when the opportunity presented itself, and so it was that it became deeply associated with him.
The Classic Eggs Benedict Recipe.
The ingredients you’ll need.
Ingredients.
Hollandaise.
4 egg yolks
3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 pinch ground white pepper
1 tablespoon water
1 cup butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
Full main meal with baked potatoes aside.
Eggs Benedict.
8 eggs (always are served 2 eggs per person)
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
8 strips Canadian-style bacon
4 English muffins, split in half
2 tablespoons butter, softened
THE BIG ONE. Double Ham, Cheddar Cheese and a Turkey Egg on top. How decadent is that ?
How to do.
To Make Hollandaise.
Fill the bottom of a double boiler part-way with water. Make sure that water does not touch the top pan. Bring water to a gentle simmer. In the top of the double boiler, whisk together egg yolks, lemon juice, white pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tablespoon water.
Add the melted butter to egg yolk mixture 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time while whisking yolks constantly. If Hollandaise begins to get too thick, add a teaspoon or two of hot water. Continue whisking until all butter is incorporated. Whisk in salt, then remove from heat. Place a lid on pan to keep sauce warm.
Preheat oven on broiler setting.
One of the best alternatives, smoked salmon instead of bacon and topped with caviar. This recipe will then be called „Eggs Royale“, not Eggs Benedict anymore.
To Poach Eggs.
Fill a large saucepan with 3 inches of water. Bring water to a gentle simmer, then add vinegar. Carefully break eggs into simmering water, and allow to cook for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Yolks should still be soft in center. Remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon and set on a warm plate. Season with some paprika powder or sprinkle with chives.
While eggs are poaching, brown the bacon in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and toast the English muffins on a baking sheet under the broiler.
Spread toasted muffins with softened butter, and top each one with a slice of bacon, followed by one poached egg. Place 2 muffins on each plate and drizzle with hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve immediately.
This one I had in Zurich once, Switzerland. The poached eggs are resting on crab meat and some fantastic spiced onion „Roesti“ !
Tips.
When poaching my eggs I always break them into a little bowl first, because I want an unbroken yolk in the water. Then I use the back-end of a wooden spoon and swirl a bit around the water, then let gliding in one by one egg into the swirl center. That will keep the whole egg nicely round and compact. Down here some ideas to use poached eggs.
Eggs done as scrambled eggs mixed with ham or as an egg casserole. Good idea for a larger group of guests.
Served at restaurant Granados in Barcelona. WOW !!
Crabs instead of meat. Served in San Francisco harbor.
This is a wonderful meal at the end. Poached eggs on muffins, baked ham, salad of baby tomatoes and basil spinach, aside with potato roesti and topped with a fresh lemon-hollandaise. A glass of Champagne, orange juice and a good cup of coffee will round this excellent brunch menu. Ordered in Coronado, Panama.
I hope you enjoyed this post and will try Eggs Benedict once by yourself.
