Smoked Cheddar Eggs Benedict

Inspired by Snooze AM Eatery - Denver, CO

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I often skip breakfast in favor of sleeping in that extra half hour each morning. However, when traveling for work, I often find my myself up near the crack of dawn. On mornings where there’s time to kill between appointments, I like to treat myself to something extraordinary and it was during one of these trips that I stumbled upon Snooze AM Eatery where you can choose from a number of extraordinary eggs benedicts. The smoked cheddar hollandaise on their classic ham benedict is an easy way to fall in love with breakfast food.

This recipe was inspired by the Ham Benedict III at Snooze AM Eatery in Denver, Colorado. They also have locations in California, Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, and Missouri. While they have several versions of eggs benedict to choose from (which will be covered in the notes), I’ve decided to focus in on what most would consider to be the classic eggs benedict recipe. The main difference being that your Hollandaise sauce will include smoked cheddar cheese. Mmmmmm.

INGREDIENTS

SMOKED CHEDDAR HOLLANDAISE (makes over 1 cup - enough for 6 eggs benedicts):

  • 3 large egg yokes

  • 1 TBS fresh lemon juice

  • 1 TBS hot water

  • ½ lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter

  • ½ cup shredded smoked cheddar

  • Pinch of cayenne

  • Salt to taste

ADDITIONAL NEEDS:

  • Poached eggs

  • English muffins

  • Ham steak (or ham slices)

  • Cayenne and chives for topping (optional)

GO FOR IT

SMOKED CHEDDAR HOLLANDAISE:

  1. Melt butter over low heat (do not heat to a boil - if you have a digital thermometer you are only shooting for about 190°F)

  2. In a food processor or blender, blend egg yokes, lemon juice, and hot water until smooth (only takes about 10 seconds)

  3. With blender still blending, slowing pour in melted butter (do not pour in the white liquid that will be at the bottom of the melted butter)

  4. As sauce thickens, add in shredded smoked cheddar and a pinch of cayenne, then taste and add salt to your taste

EGGS BENEDICT:

  1. Poach your eggs by carefully dropping them into boiling water and rolling them with a wooden spoon to keep them together (will take about 4 minutes to cook), then transfer to a plate

  2. Cut and toast your English muffins

  3. As English muffins toast, warm up your ham steak or slices in a skillet over medium heat

  4. When English muffins are finished toasting, top 1 half with some ham, then a poached egg, and then cover in the smoked cheddar Hollandaise sauce.

  5. Top with a sprinkle of salt, cayenne pepper, and chopped chives if desired and serve immediately

NOTES:

Hollandaise sauce is one of the 5 mother sauces of French cooking and is thus a simple way to impress all around you without too much effort. However, be warned. Hollandaise sauce does not keep without separating and so you will need to use it while it is still warm and you won’t be able to save any leftover sauce for future use.

In addition to using smoked cheddar in their Hollandaise sauce, Snooze AM Eatery also has a version that uses cream cheese and another that uses green chilies. If either sounds appealing to you then swap out the smoked cheddar for an equal amount of either ingredient and go for it.

In addition to ham, Snooze AM Eatery also has benedicts that use Lox, pork belly, pulled pork, barbacoa, prosciutto, avocado, tomatoes, pico de gallo, and much more. If any of this sounds appealing, then take a look at their website and create what sounds best to you based off their list of ingredients.

For this recipe I also made my own English muffins for my eggs benedict. It took some work but for someone who doesn’t always excel in bread making, they came out quite phenomenal. Store bought English muffins are perfectly fine to use here but if you want to try making English muffins from scratch then allow me to recommend the very easy to follow recipe from King Arthur Flour.