Recipe: Bourbon Benedict

Every Tuesday this summer we’re featuring a new recipe on the blog from one of our Savor the South^® cookbooks. Each little cookbook in our Savor the South^® cookbook collection is a big celebration of a beloved food or tradition of the American South. From buttermilk to bourbon, pecans to peaches, bacon to catfish, one by one each volume will stock a kitchen shelf with the flavors and culinary wisdom of this popular American regional cuisine. Written by well-known cooks and food lovers, each book brims with personality, the informative and often surprising culinary and natural history of southern foodways, and a treasure of some fifty recipes—from delicious southern classics to sparkling international renditions that open up worlds of taste for cooks everywhere. You’ll want to collect them all.

Today’s recipe is from Kathleen Purvis’s Bourbon.  Purvis is the food editor of the Charlotte Observer, a well-known food writer, and a long-time member of the Southern Foodways Alliance. After Pecans, this is her second book. Her recipe is great for those mornings when you feel like making something a little more special than your run-of-the-mill bacon and eggs.

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Print Recipe

Bourbon Benedict

Save this one for a special morning at home. I use bacon glazed with brown sugar and bourbon and a bourbon-flavored hollandaise. In my experience, the alcohol makes a traditional hollandaise more prone to curdling. So I reached back to the 1970s for a microwave version that not only is more forgiving but can be made in advance, refrigerated, and reheated when you need it.

Course: Main Dish

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. packed light brown sugar
• 5 tbsps. bourbon divided
• 4 slices thick-cut bacon
• 4 tbsps. unsalted butter
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tsps. fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• salt to taste
• 4 eggs
• 2 English muffins

Instructions

• Combine the brown sugar and 3 tablespoons bourbon in a small bowl or pie plate. Add the bacon and turn to coat. Let stand for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Remove the bacon from the bourbon mixture and lay the strips on the foil, leaving a little room between the strips. Bake for 20–30 minutes, until browned but not too crisp. Remove from the oven.
• Place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir. If the butter isn’t melted, microwave it for 30 seconds again. Remove it from the microwave and let it stand a few minutes.
• Whisk in the egg yolks, lemon juice, and cream. Return to the microwave and cook on high for 1 minute, whisking every 20 seconds. Remove from the microwave and whisk in the mustard and the remaining 2 tablespoons bourbon. Add salt if needed. The sauce can be set aside for up to 1 hour or refrigerated overnight.
• Add about 1 1⁄2 inches of water to a heavy skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a slow simmer. Carefully crack each egg into the water, swirling the water a little to bring the whites toward the yolk to create a compact shape. Cook until the whites are set but the yolks are still soft. Turn off the heat.
• Toast the muffin halves. Microwave the hollandaise for 30 seconds to rewarm it if needed. (If it’s refrigerated, you may need to microwave it for 1 minute.)
• Place a muffin half on a small plate and add about 1 tablespoon hollandaise. Cut 1 slice of bacon into 2 pieces and place the pieces on the muffin half. Remove a poached egg from the hot water with a slotted spoon and pat it dry around the edges with a paper towel. Place it on the bacon, then ladle more of the hollandaise over the top.
• Repeat with the remaining bacon, muffin halves, and poached eggs. Serve immediately.

Notes

From Bourbon: a Savor the South^® cookbook, by Kathleen Purvis. Copyright © 2013 by Kathleen Purvis.