• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
✮ The Food Dictator ✮

The Original Delmonico Eggs Benedict

November 6, 2018 by The Generalissimo 2 Comments

263
SHARES
FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditWhatsappYummly
Light Dark Dark Light
()
The Original Delmonico Eggs Benedict
Delmonico Eggs Benedict Image Used Under Creative Commons License From amny.com

Citizens, your rich and delicious tastes are well-documented here as members of TFD Nation – now let me blow your minds with the O.G. itself – Eggs Benedict! This is the original recipe from the place that invented the dish – the legendary Delmonico’s Restaurant in New York City, where the aristocracy of the Gilded Age dined!

Eggs Benedict was invented at Delmonico’s — America’s first great restaurant — in the late 1860s by Chef Charles Ranhofer. The dish, which was named for a regular Delmonico’s patron at the time, Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, consists of warm toasted brioche rounds topped with proscuitto cotto, poached eggs, Hollandaise sauce, and an elegant touch of Osetra caviar.

As further elucidated in a great article on amny.com:

Before bottomless brunch on the Lower East Side, NYC’s elite were feasting on Eggs Benedict.

But what came first, the Benedictines or the Benedict?

The popular brunch dish has hazy origins, with a number of Benedicts claiming to be ancestors of the original hangover dish.

Delmonico’s believes the dish was created for a pair of regular diners, Mr. and Mrs. LeGrand Benedictine, who reported to be bored with the regular menu circa the 1860s.

“The Delmonico brothers were notorious for naming dishes after their customers,” explains current Delmonico chef Billy Oliva. The restaurant even renamed Lobster Newburg from Lobster Wenberg when the dish’s original namesake fought with manager Charles Delmonico.

The Benedictines must have tipped nicely (or something like that) to keep the attribution with the original dish, cooked for them with cured ham, poached eggs and topped with Hollandaise sauce.

“It’s just a good combination, it’s very rich and it’s a good hangover food,” said Oliva on the dish’s lasting popularity. “It’s also tricky to make so it’s an item that people don’t want to try at home and they order it out.”

But the history of Eggs Benedict cracks more shells.

In 1942, ‘New Yorker’ ran a ‘Talk of the Town’ piece reporting that retired Wall Street stock broker Lemuel Benedict had inspired Eggs Benedict after a visit to the Waldorf Hotel in 1894. Reportedly made with “buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon and a hooker of Hollandaise” to cure a bad hangover, this dish sounds a lot like the one Mrs. LeGrand Benedict was such a fan of at DelMonico’s.

While recipes attributing various kitchens to the origin of this eponymous dish have been published for over a century, a 2007 ‘New York Times’ article says it best: “Eggs Benedict is a mystery rooted in a long-vanished version of New York.”

I have gilded the lily by adding a bit of minced flowering chives to this classic – feel free to omit for the version as served at Delmonico’s! Note that English Muffins are NEVER used at the restaurant – I urge you to follow their leadership, Citizens! 🙂

Battle on – The Generalissimo

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
The Original Delmonico Eggs Benedict

The Original Delmonico Eggs Benedict


★★★★★

4.1 from 7 reviews

  • Total Time: 0 hours
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3/4 inch-thick slices of brioche cut into 12 rounds
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter – room temperature
  • 1/4 lb. prosciutto cotto thinly sliced (cut into rounds the same size as brioche)
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 12 eggs (TFD has a preference for duck eggs as they are richer)
  • ***
  • Hollandaise sauce:
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • Dash Tabasco sauce
  • Dash Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 cup clarified butter (store-bought ghee works well)
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 1oz Osetra caviar (you can, of course, use less expensive varieties of caviar, but TFD prefers it with the original Osetra, when feeling sufficiently lavish)
  • Snipped heads of flowering Chives (not in original recipe, this is a TFD addition)

Instructions

  1. Hollandaise sauce:
  2. Whisk egg yolks, lemon juice, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce in a stainless steel bowl over a double boiler of lightly simmering water until the eggs have doubled in volume slowly drizzle in clarified butter while continuing to whisk vigorously until sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper and keep in warm place until ready for use. If the sauce thickens add a few drops of water.
  3. In a medium nonstick skillet lightly brown prosciutto cotto rounds and keep warm.
  4. Lightly brush brioche rounds with room temperature butter. Toast till golden brown on both sides.
  5. Fill a 10 inch skillet half full with water, add ¼ cup white vinegar & bring to slow boil and reduce to a low simmer. Slowly break eggs one at a time into water and cook till egg white has set (3 minutes). Remove eggs with slotted spoon and drain.
  6. To assemble:
  7. Place warm toasted brioche rounds on plate, top with prosciutto cotto, place poached eggs on prosciutto and top with hollandaise sauce. Garnish with Osetra caviar and snipped chives (if using the TFD addition of them).
  • Prep Time: 0 hours
  • Cook Time: 0 hours
  • Category: Recipes

Nutrition

  • Calories: 653.94 kcal
  • Sugar: 1.32 g
  • Sodium: 559.72 mg
  • Fat: 53.4 g
  • Saturated Fat: 27.52 g
  • Trans Fat: 0.4 g
  • Carbohydrates: 19.14 g
  • Fiber: 0.84 g
  • Protein: 23.66 g
  • Cholesterol: 774.45 mg

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @thefooddictator on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook and hashtag it #TFD

How useful was this post, Citizen?

Click to rate My Recipe, Citizen - 5 hearts are ALWAYS appreciated!

Average rating / 5. Vote count:

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

As you found this post useful...

Follow us on social media, Citizen!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Related posts:

The Hirshon Spiced Cranberry Cheesecake Cookies
‪The Hirshon Deviled Shrimp‬
The Hirshon Sichuan Chili Oil - 四川辣油
The Hirshon Greek Mastic Stretchy Ice Cream - Παγωτό Καϊμάκι
The Hirshon Albanian Cornmeal Flat Bread With Leeks And Cheese - Pispili Me Presh
Sri Lankan Curry Feast - Lamprais
The Hirshon Ottoman Intoxicating Saffron Rice Pudding - Zerde
The Hirshon Malaysian Laksa

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Egg

About The Generalissimo

The myth of the Generalissimo is far more interesting than the reality.

Previous Post: « The Hirshon Swedish Glassblower’s Herring – Glasmastarsill
Next Post: Paula Wolfert’s Cassoulet in the Style of Toulouse »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sylvia Harris

    August 11, 2019 at 11:06 AM

    Thank you for sharing your recipes and thoughts. Very interesting.

    Reply
    • The Generalissimo

      August 11, 2019 at 11:29 AM

      I’m so glad you like my recipes, Citizen Sylvia! Thank you!!! 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

Primary Sidebar

➤ Citizens – Please Support TFD Nation!

Donate to Help TFD!

⇔ Search, And Ye Shall Assuredly Find!

✮ Citizens ✮

TFD currently has a total of 1,365 posts and 1,162,744 words written since December of 2014! Add your voice to My 50,000+ dedicated readers, comment on My recipes and thus become an active member of TFD Nation! Looking for a particular recipe? Search for it in the box above or via the category tags below - there are THOUSANDS of the finest in world and historic recipes here!

❧ TREMBLE Before Our Categoric Zeal!

Appetizers (146)Beef (143)Beverages (24)Bread (112)Cheese (64)Chicken (132)Chinese (122)Chocolate (16)Condiments (262)Dessert (166)Drinks (23)Duck (20)Egg (47)Fish (56)French (56)Game (30)Georgian (34)Indian (60)Italian (58)Jewish (84)Lamb (73)Manifestos (1)Pasta (90)Pork (148)Salad (40)Sandwich (42)Seafood (84)Shrimp (53)Soup (110)Spices (12)Tofu (7)Turkey (15)Veal (18)Vegetables (108)

✺ Click to Follow Us Across Social Media!

Facebook   

    instagram

☥ TFD SPEAKS!!!

https://www.thefooddictator.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/TFD-Avatar-Cold-Open-FINAL.mp4

 Enjoy TFD’s Mellifluous Podcasts, Citizen!

Listen on Apple Podcasts

© 2023 · The Food Dictator is abjectly served by WORDPRESS

✮ The Food Dictator ✮
Manage Cookie Consent
Citizens!

Be advised that as an enlightened Dictatorship here at TFD, we are indeed on the side of right when it comes to protecting the privacy of TFD Nation!

We do use technologies such as cookies to store and/or access device information, solely to improve your browsing experience and to show personalized ads.

Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions - trust us, we really ARE on your side!

YOUR LOYALTY IS NOTED! 🎖️
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
263
SHARES
FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditMailYummly