Eggs with hollandaise

Two techniques in one plate: a poached egg that holds its shape and a sauce that holds its emulsion. Both come down to temperature.

4 pc — egg

20 ml — white wine vinegar

1500 ml — water

3 pc — egg yolk

180 g — clarified butter

5 ml — lemon juice

4 g — salt

Crack each egg into a small sieve first and let the watery outer white drain away. That loose white is what makes the ragged threads in the pan — thirty seconds of draining removes the problem entirely.

Bring the water and vinegar to 85 °C — steaming, with bubbles on the bottom but none rising. Slide the eggs in and poach three minutes without stirring or making a whirlpool.

Lift them out with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper and trim the ragged edge with scissors if you want them neat.

Make the Hollandaise while the water comes to temperature, not after. Both are finished things that will not wait, and the sauce waits worse than the egg.