Problem-free tips for making Hollandaise and other sauces

Have you ever tried making hollandaise sauce at home? It can be pretty tricky -- one tiny mistake and you'll end up with a lumpy mixture of varying thickness. Needless to say, this doesn't look good on poached eggs or a piece of fish!

Here's how to whip up the perfect hollandaise and béarnaise sauces at home. We've also included tips on how to rescue a sauce that looks like its going to be a trainwreck. Thank us later!

Hollandaise sauce is a variation on mayonnaise, served hot with fish, eggs or vegetables such as asparagus.

Béarnaise sauce is similar but flavoured with tarragon and served cold with grilled meat or fish.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp. water
• 6 black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Before you start, part fill a large basin with cold water (more on that in the "Rescue the sauce" section below).
2. Boil the lemon juice or white wine vinegar, water, peppercorns and bay leaf together until the liquid is reduced to about 15 millilitres (one tablespoon). Let cool.
3. Cream the egg yolks with 15 grams (one tablespoon) butter and a pinch of salt in a heatproof bowl.
4. Strain in the lemon juice and set over a pan of barely simmering water and turn off the heat.
5. Whisk in the remaining butter, one teaspoon at a time, until the sauce is glossy and has the consistency of thick cream. Season to taste.

Tips

• To make in a food processor: Lightly blend the egg yolks and lemon or vinegar reduction, then pour in warm melted butter in a thin stream, keeping the motor of the processor running.
• To rescue a curdling sauce: If the sauce becomes granular or starts to curdle, immediately put the bowl into the basin of cold water and stir vigorously to cool. Or remove from the heat and beat in 15 millilitres (one tablespoon) of cold water.
• To make Béarnaise sauce: Reduce 30 millilitres (two tablespoons) white wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons of tarragon vinegar with half a small onion, finely chopped. Let cool, then follow the above recipe starting from step #3.

Sauces are somewhat tricky: Here's how to rescue them when things go awry.

• Lumpy sauce or gravy: Off the heat, whisk hard in the pan with a balloon whisk or purpose-made smoothing whisk. If this doesn't work, process in a blender or rub through a sieve, then reheat.
• Too thin: In a bowl, use a fork to mix two tablespoons of plain flour into one tablespoon of butter. Add to the sauce a little at a time, stirring, until it thickens.
• Too salty: Add one to two teaspoons sugar or a little milk or yogurt.
• Too sweet:  Add a little lemon juice.
• Curdled custard: Blend or process or strain into a cold dish sitting in a bowl of ice cubes and beat vigorously.
• Separated mayonnaise: Add one tablespoon of warm water. Or start again with one egg yolk and gradually add the curdled mixture.
• Curdled hollandaise: Remove from the heat, then beat in one tablespoon of cold water a little at a time until the sauce becomes smooth. Or, off the heat, stir an ice cube into the warm sauce. Another proven way to rescue a curdled hollandaise is to beat in an additional egg yolk in a clean pan until thick, then, over low heat, gradually beat in the curdled sauce until smooth.
• Grainy or "seized" chocolate sauce: Add warm water, a little at a time, while stirring vigorously.