End result:
By far the best Eggs Benedict I ever had was at the MexiBBQ brunch in Astoria, NY on 30th Ave. It consists of:
Jalapeno Goat Cheese Cornbread as the "English Muffin"
BBQ Brisket as the "Canadian Bacon"
A poached egg (as a poached egg of course)
and for the hollandaise sauce there are chipotles in adobo sauce added
What I learned about cooking from ATTEMPTING to recreate this at home:
The Brisket:
For my recreation at home I first had to figure out how to make the brisket. Marinating is probably the best but I did not want to wait forever when I decided to make this on a whim . I went to the store and figured out I did not know what part of the pig I needed to make brisket. So I consulted http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/porknography/pork_cuts.html. No brisket found, but I spent 20 minutes learning about other types of pig meat. (Side note: I found the picture of the butcher holding a baby next to the cut of baby back ribs mildly shocking) Finally I did a find on the page for "brisket" and learned nothing. Not that it mattered. I had purchased pork cushion already because it was cheaper.
As luck would have it, pork cushion is part of the picnic, or shoulder of the pig, and is excellent for pulled pork or Mexican carnitas. Perfect. Not brisket, but works for me. I rubbed olive oil all over the meat and added cumin, chili powder, adobo, salt and pepper, then covered it in whatever BBQ sauce I had in the fridge and put in the over at 350. I also poured a little red wine into the bottom of the pan. And I gotta tell you, it is starting to smell delish. About an hour in a sliced up the meat and let it finish cooking it the juices. I added more bbq sauce as well. Once again, marinating is probably the best as well as cooking for at least 8 hours but I decided to do this at the last minute.
The Poached Egg:
"Always use fresh eggs. If you can't see the difference between the "thick" white and the "thin" white, the yolks will probably break in the pan. Always deliver the eggs to the pan with a custard cup or large spoon. Avoid cracking directly into the pan. When using a non-stick skillet cook in no more than an inch of water. If you don't have a non-stick pan, poach in a deep saucepan containing at least 3 inches of water. Always acidulate the poaching liquid with either vinegar or lemon juice (1 tsp per each cup of water). Bring liquid to a boil, add eggs, then remove from heat and cover. How long you ask? It depends on how many eggs. I like my yolks barely runny so I'll cook 4 eggs for 7 to 8 minutes depending on there size. Since more eggs will absorb more heat from the water, they will take longer to cook, so for large batches always include an extra "test" egg. Always remove eggs with a slotted spoon. Poached eggs can be refrigerated in ice water for up to 8 hours, then reheated in hot water. Do not re-boil"
My Steps:
- The first thing I did was look up acidulate.
acidulate [əˈsɪdjʊˌleɪt]
vb
(tr) to make slightly acid or sour
[acidulous + -ate1]
Alright. Always make the water a little acidy with some lemon juice or vinegar. Got it.
- Next, this only takes 8 minutes, so I am going to move to the hollandaise sauce or the cornbread, depending on which one takes the longest
The Hollandaise:
I don't have a blender. Not sure if I need one. Once again, straight to food network for the recipe.
As you already now, I need chipotle hollandiase sauce, so I picked up a can of a can chipotles in adobo. Dont think I need a lot of it, but just enough to add some flavor.
The Jalapeno Goat Cheese Cornbread:
Next to the can of the chipotles in abodo sauce was also canned jalapenos in the spanish section, so I got those. I also picked up a small herb goat cheese and then corn bread mix. And probably a ton of butter. If you can pan fry cornbread I am going to do it that way because this will make it the closest it was in the restaurant. After some research, I find out you indeed can, and you just cook it the way you would a pancake, in oil on medium high heat. The cornbread needs to be about an inch thick and round the size of a english muffin. The first one I tried was burnt to a crisp. You only need to cook them a few minutes on each side on medium high heat.
HOW I FEEL NOW THAT I FINISHED:
Was it as good as in the restaurant? Of course not. I am an amatuer. But it was still pretty amazing and I was really happy with the end result.
