Don’t Abandon Broken Hollandaise Sauce

When I worked at a bed and breakfast in college I learned how to make hollandaise sauce. I made it so frequently, I knew the recipe by heart. 

Fast forward to 2024 and change the backdrop from Charleston to Germany. 

It’s springtime, and white asparagus, a German delicacy, is in season. The classic preparation is served with a little hollandaise. Of course, I opted to make it from scratch. 

But here’ s the thing. I completely botched the recipe. My hollandaise refused to thicken. The sauce wasn’t entirely broken (when sauce ingredients separate) but very close to breaking. 

I was defeated. 

“Skill lost,” I lamented. 

My focus turned to cooking the remainder of the meal. 

The broken hollandaise nagged at me though. 

Right before we sat down to eat, I quickly Googled a fix. 

What to do with broken hollandaise. 

I came across a video with a simple solution. No throwing good ingredients after bad. Just heat a metal bowl with water, add a tablespoon of boiling water, and slowly whisk in the tiniest bit of the broken hollandaise.

Crazy enough, it worked. The sauces started to take on its proper consistency. I added additional bits of the broken sauce until it was all incorporated into a perfectly acceptable hollandaise. The white asparagus with hollandaise was a hit. 

The lesson? 

Sometimes you need to step away from something that isn’t working. Turn your focus to something else entirely. Regroup, consult an expert, and then try one more time. 

The outcome might be delicious.