Eggs Benedict is one of those dishes that everybody has an origin story for and nobody can prove. One version credits a hungover stockbroker at the Waldorf in the 1890s. Another credits a regular at Delmonico's. There is a Lemuel Benedict and a Commodore Benedict, and both families would like the credit.
We are not going to settle that. What we can tell you is what a Benedict is supposed to be, where ours departs from the script, and why.
The four parts, and what each one is for
- The base. Traditionally a toasted English muffin. Its job is structural: something with enough crust to hold up under a runny yolk and a spoonful of sauce without turning to paste.
- The meat. Canadian bacon in most American kitchens, which is really just lean cured pork loin. It is there for salt and a little chew, not for smoke.
- The egg. Poached, with the white just set and the yolk fully liquid. The yolk is the second sauce. If it comes out hard, the dish has lost half its point.
- The hollandaise. Egg yolk, butter, lemon, and patience. It should coat the egg and slide, not sit on top like frosting.
Where we go our own way
Peameal instead of Canadian bacon. Peameal bacon is cured pork loin rolled in cornmeal, and it comes from Toronto, which is about as close to Buffalo as it is to anywhere. Ours is cured with maple sugar, so it sears up sweeter and more savory than the plain stuff, with a crust from the cornmeal that gives the sandwich a little crunch in the middle. If you have never had it, here is the full explanation of the difference. If you have had it, you already know why we did this.
Baguette instead of English muffin. This one is simpler: we bake our own bread every morning, and a lightly buttered baguette, split and griddled, holds a yolk at least as well as a muffin and tastes like something. It is the same reason we bake everything else in the building. If the bread is already here and it is better, use the bread.
Home fries on the side. Not optional, not negotiable. A Benedict with nothing under it for the extra hollandaise is a missed opportunity.
The Chesapeake, for the ambitious
Same construction, but the peameal comes off and a house-made lump crab and shrimp cake goes on. That one is called Eggs Chesapeake, and it is the plate to order when you want to feel like you are on vacation at seven in the morning.
The vegan one that got on television
The version we are proudest of has no eggs in it at all. The Veggs Benedict is a tofu scramble with our own seitan bacon, a grilled tomato, spinach, and a cashew hollandaise on the same toasted baguette. It is one of the dishes that got Guy Fieri's attention when Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives came through, and we have a whole post about that visit. Plenty of people who eat eggs order it on purpose.
The yolk is the second sauce. If it comes out hard, send it back.
How to order it well
Tell us how you want the eggs. The default is a runny yolk, which is correct, but if you would rather have it a little firmer we would rather know than guess. Ask for the hollandaise on the side if you like to control the pour. And do not let anyone talk you out of ordering it at 2pm. The griddle is on until we close, which is the whole point of a diner.