Well-known and loved as the sauce that makes eggs Benedict, well, eggs Benedict, hollandaise sauce is also good on poached salmon, baked turbot, crab imperial, roasted broccoli florets, slightly blanched asparagus spears (made even more yummy with morels added to the hollandaise), and open-faced bacon, cheese and scrambled egg sandwiches. Do you know how to reheat hollandaise sauce?
Making hollandaise sauce is a hands-on task, which requires you to stand at the stove as it cooks. To help make your breakfast or brunch go more smoothly, we’ve put together a couple of tips on how to reheat hollandaise sauce.
Compared to the task of making hollandaise from scratch, reheating hollandaise is quick and simple. This method also works well for hollandaise sauce that comes in a jar, already made and ready for reheating.
Reheat Hollandaise Sauce in the Microwave
You’ll need a microwave safe bowl, a whisk, and of course, a microwave for this method.
- Pour hollandaise sauce into the microwave safe bowl.
- Place bowl in microwave.
- Set the power level to 20% to 50% of full power, depending on your microwave’s highest power level. For example, if your microwave’s full power is 1000 Watts, set it to 20% of full power. If you microwave operates at less than 1000 Watts on full power, set it at a level that produces about 200 Watts of power. For a microwave that outputs 800 Watts at full power, set it at 25%.
- Set the timer for 15 seconds.
- Remove bowl and whisk the sauce.
- Continue to microwave for 15-second intervals, whisking after each interval, until the sauce is warm, but not hot.
Reheat in Bain Marie or Double Boiler
For this method, you’ll need a double boiler or a regular pan and a heat-proof bowl large enough to rest on the top of the pan, with about 1/3 of the bowl’s depth beneath the top of the pot.
An advantage to this method is you can use the bowl in which you plan to serve the sauce, providing it is tempered glass or earthenware.
- Fill the pot or the bottom of the double boiler with about two to three inches of water. Ensure that the water does not touch the bottom of the top piece of the double boiler or the bottom of the heat-proof bowl.
- Heat the water to just below the boiling point. You should be able to see steam rising from the water.
- Turn the heat down to maintain this level.
- Put the hollandaise sauce into the top of double boiler or heat-proof bowl.
- Place the top of the double boiler or heat-proof bowl on top of the pan of simmering water.
- Whisk the hollandaise sauce slowly.
- Allow it to sit for half a minute or so, then whisk again. Repeat as needed until the sauce is at the desired serving temperature. The sauce is ready when it is warm, not hot, to the touch.
Both of these methods of how to reheat hollandaise sauce allow you to make the sauce ahead of time.
While the microwave method is faster and less “hands-on,” it does carry with it the danger of overheating the sauce and causing it to separate. If it does separate, you can sometimes save it by whisking in another egg yoke.
Using a double boiler or bain Marie requires that you attend to the sauce as it heats up, so you have more control over how fast it heats up.