This beautiful Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict is rich, delicious, and deceptively easy to make.
Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict is one of my all-time favorite breakfasts ever! And our creamy, lemony 2-Minute Blender Hollandaise complements the smoky salmon perfectly, resulting in a Benedict that transcends all others.
Stunningly simple to make, it hard to believe that this Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict takes only 10 minutes to prepare! Its beautiful presentation makes it perfect for an intimate breakfast in bed to an elegant brunch gathering.
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Don’t let Hollandaise Sauce intimidate you!
For this eggs Benedict, we use Julia Child’s (nearly) foolproof recipe for 2-Minute Blender Hollandaise Sauce. You can find the recipe below the Benedict recipe, or click through to our Hollandaise Sauce post for more detailed instructions.
Poaching a perfect egg is simple if you know how.
Start with the freshest eggs you can find. (As eggs age, the white breaks down and becomes more watery, so the fresher the egg, the more viscous the white.)
Simmer, don’t boil: You want the water to be hot enough to immediately begin to cook the egg when it submerges, but you don’t want the water to move the egg around in the pan. In fact, you don’t want anything to move the egg in the pan, especially for the first minute. That’s means no shaking, no stirring, and for Pete’s sake, no swirling!
Fill a pot or deep skillet with 2 inches deep with water. Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the water. Bring to a rolling boil and then reduce heat so that the water is just barely simmering. There should still be bubbles on the bottom of the pan, but the surface of the water should look calm.
Crack egg into small sieve and allow watery albumin to drain off. Don’t worry; the white and yolk will stay intact inside the sieve. 
Holding the egg in the sieve just above the water, gently roll the egg out of the sieve and into the water.
Leave the egg alone. You can put about four or five eggs into the pan at the same time, but be sure they all have enough room. After about a minute, use a slotted spoon to unstick the egg from the bottom of the pan.
Allow it to cook a minute or two, and then use the slotted spoon to lift it up out of the water and gently poke it with your finger to see if it is done to your liking. If it is, remove it to a plate. If it needs to cook longer, simply lower it back into the water for another minute and check it again.
For more egg-poaching tips and detailed instructions, check How to Make Perfect Poached Eggs.
We had these beautiful lox for breakfast when we visited Meridian at Headlands. {Pacific City, Oregon}.
What kind of cured salmon works best for Smoked Salmon Benedict?
Cured salmon can be broken down into two basic categories: brine-cured salmon, and smoked salmon (hot & cold).
For best results, use Cold-smoked when making this Salmon Benedict recipe. (Lox or Gravlax also work fine, and will also result in a tasty Salmon Benedict.)
Smoked salmon is a blanket term for salmon of any origin (wild, farmed) or cut (fillet, steak) that is cured with hot or cold smoke. Cold-Smoked Salmon is smoked significantly longer and at a lower temperature than hot-smoked, which results in a texture that is similar to lox, but with an infused smoky flavor.
Brine-Cured Salmon
Lox is salmon that has been cured in a salt-brine. Authentic lox traditionally comes from the belly of the salmon, and is sliced very thin for serving. Lox are salt-cured, but unlike smoked salmon, does not go through a smoking process.
Gravlax is like Lox, in that it undergoes a curing process, but it isn’t smoked afterwards. The difference between lox and gravlax is in the brining spices: gravlax is cured with sugar, salt, and dill, rather than a salt brine.
Smoked Salmon Benedict
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 4 poached eggs
- 2 ounces smoked salmon sliced thin
- 2 English muffins
- 1 batch 2-Minute Hollandaise Sauce
Instructions
- Split and toast English muffins. Put one half on each plate. (Or two on each if you're hungry!)
- Lay a thin layer of smoked salmon on each toasted muffin half.
- Top each salmon-muffin with a poached egg.
- Spoon hollandaise sauce generously on top.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
Looking for Mother’s Day breakfast ideas? Try one these delicious recipes:
- Perfect Soft-Boiled Scotch Eggs (Air Fryer Recipe)
- Creamy Fresh Strawberry Crêpes {with Basic Vanilla Crêpe Recipe}
- Dutch Apple Cranberry Crepes {Recipe}
- Strawberry Soufflé Omelet with Caramelized Almonds
- Eggs Provençal (La Provence Copycat Recipe)
2- Minute Blender Hollandaise
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 eggs yolks
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch cayenne or a few drops of hot sauce
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
Instructions
- Place egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cayenne in a blender pitcher.
- Pulse for a few seconds to blend.
- Cut up the butter and place it in a small saucepan. Heat it until it is completely melted and foamy.I sometimes melt the butter for this in a microwave, but if you do this, make sure that the butter is bubbling when you take it out or it won’t be hot enough to “cook” the sauce.
- Start up the blender on high and uncover. Immediately start pouring the hot melted butter in a very thin stream. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to have patience here – under no circumstances should the pouring process be rushed.My blender has a little hole at the top through which you can pour liquids while it is running. I hope that yours does too! You may choose to omit the milk solids at the bottom of the pan, but I usually go ahead and add them. I don’t find that there is much difference in the consistency of my sauce, and I hate to throw anything away.
- The sauce will begin to thicken before you have added all the butter.
- Taste the sauce and add more lemon juice and seasonings if desired.
- Hollandaise sauce should be used immediately. If it sets out too long, it will begin to solidify.
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
Leftover Hollandaise Sauce Reality
Hollandaise gets lumpy and ugly when it is reheated, BUT it is still as delicious as ever! I use leftover hollandaise all the time. It isn’t pretty and I’d never serve it to company, but it still tastes fantastic, and no has complained yet.
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Smoked Salmon Recipes from GHW
These Smoked Salmon Pastry Cups with mascarpone & fresh dill are a breeze to throw together and perfect for any gathering.
Creamy Smoked Salmon Chowder is a rich bowl of comforting decadence; each ingredient carefully chosen to complement the delicate, smoky salmon and allow it to shine.
This beautiful Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict is rich, delicious, and deceptively easy to make.
A new twist on an old standby, this "impossible" quiche is perfect for any meal of the day. It goes together in less than 15 minutes, and is ready to serve – start to finish – in about an hour.
YUM. I’m sensing a salmon theme now… 😉 I’ve never made Hollandaise sauce from scratch at home but I’ll have to try it. Thanks for your 2-minute recipe!
what a delicious looking meal! i’ve had a similar one at irving st kitchen that i loved
Drooling looking at that sauce dripping from that great looking dish!
I love how you built your posts to end up with this awesome recipe. It was like..
“Heck yeah I can make a poached egg.”
“I’ve never tried hollandaise… but, this looks easy enough.”
“You mean I can make smoked salmon benedict!?!”
Can’t wait to surprise the hubby!
WOW!! I am very impressed by your hollandaise!! It’s on my to-do list to learn. This dish looks amazing!
This is one of my favorite items to order at brunch – I am such a sucker for hollandaise and smoked salmon! I will be trying your hollandaise recipe as well! thanks for sharing
You just can’t beat smoked salmon!
Ooh I love smoked salmon! And your two minute sauce looks perfect. I prefer making eggs benedict at home so I can control how much sauce goes on it too! This looks perfect for breakfast this weekend!
My husband is a die hard smoked salmon lover. I can’t wait to surprise him with this one weekend, very soon!
What a great idea! He’s going to love it!
This is always my go-to order when we go out from brunch. I get grilled halloumi with it too.
I’ve never made a Hollandaise sauce before because I always thought it was fancy and difficult. Happy to be wrong about this!
It’s SUPER easy! The key is patience: just a very, very little melted butter at a time.
I don’t know why I always thought it was hard to make eggs benedict! You make it sound so doable and incredibly delicious!
Hollandaise is super easy – you just have to be very patient as you pour in the butter.