Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict (Brunch Recipe)

Butter-poached eggs, silky hollandaise and cold-smoked salmon on toasted brioche — this is the brunch plate that makes a slow morning feel like a restaurant one. The trembling poached egg breaks over the salmon, the hollandaise pools, and the brioche soaks up every drop.

It’s one of the roughly 20 recipes inside our Brunch Cookbook, and we’re sharing Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict in full so you can taste the standard before you buy the book. It comes together in about half an hour, most of it hands-on but never hurried.

Why this recipe works

The hollandaise is built the classic way — yolks whisked over a bain-marie until they ribbon, then warm clarified butter streamed in slowly so the sauce stays glossy rather than splitting. Poaching the eggs in barely-simmering vinegar water sets the whites while leaving the yolks molten, so every layer stays soft and luxurious.

Ingredients

Eggs & brioche

• 4 large free-range eggs
• 2 thick slices brioche, halved
• 120 g cold-smoked salmon
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar

For the hollandaise

• 3 egg yolks
• 150 g clarified butter, warm
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Pinch cayenne and fine salt

Optional garnish

• Snipped chives and cracked pink pepper

Serves 2 · Prep 15 min · Cook 15 min · 620 kcal per serving

Instructions

1. Build the hollandaise. Whisk yolks with lemon juice over a bain-marie until pale and ribboned, then stream in the warm clarified butter until glossy. Season with cayenne and salt, cover and keep warm.
2. Poach the eggs. Bring a wide pan of water to a bare simmer with the vinegar. Swirl, slip in the eggs one at a time and poach for 3 min until whites are set and yolks still molten. Lift onto kitchen paper.
3. Toast and layer. Toast the brioche halves until deep gold and barely crisp at the edges. Drape generous folds of smoked salmon over each slice so the ribbons cascade down the sides.
4. Finish and serve. Settle a trembling poached egg on every stack, spoon over warm hollandaise so it pools across the salmon, and crown with chives and pink pepper. Serve immediately while the yolk is still running.

Chef’s tip

Keep the hollandaise alive by whisking in a teaspoon of warm water if it tightens; never let the bowl exceed hand-hot heat.

Get the full Brunch Cookbook

Loved this one? It’s a single recipe from a collection of weekend brunch built the same way — clear ingredients, exact timings, no guesswork. Grab the full Brunch Cookbook below.