Did you know that you can make restaurant-quality brunch at home? This Eggs Benedict with Jamón Serrano & Smoked Paprika Hollandaise is perfect for a special occasion or your regular weekend brunch! The jamón is balanced by sautéed chard, poached eggs, and smoky, peppery hollandaise. Serve it on top of homemade or bakery style English muffins and plate it with fresh cantaloupe and a nice flute of pineapple orange cava mimosa.

Perfectly Poached Eggs

When we set out to make this recipe, we knew we wanted to keep the eggs poached as they are with traditional Eggs Benedict dishes. But we quickly found out that there are MANY different ways to poach eggs. People with more culinary training than we (spoiler alert: we’ve had no formal training) have spent hours figuring out the best way to perfectly poach an egg, but each person seems to have a different method. After some trial and error, we discovered that we preferred the following method:

Crack an egg into a small mesh strainer set over a bowl. Let the runnier parts of the whites run off through the strainer into the bowl.
Place the egg into a separate bowl.
Set a large pot of water on the stove and heat it until it’s at a light rolling boil (not vigorous). Add a splash of apple cider vinegar to the water.
Using a spoon, stir the water slowly in a circular motion to create a vortex in the middle.
Carefully drop the egg into the vortex and cook for 7 minutes, or until whites are cooked and yolk is still soft and runny.
Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel lined plate until ready to use.

This is just our way of poaching an egg, but if you have your own preferred method of doing so, by all means, use that!

A Hollandaise That’s Good Enough to Drink

We love sauces, and hollandaise is one of those sauces that’s meant to be rich, meant to be savored and enjoyed and licked from your plate with your fingers. This hollandaise is even more special with the addition of smoked paprika (either American or Spanish pimentón). You can make a regular hollandaise if you’d rather, but we think the smokiness of the paprika is the perfect pairing for the jamón.

Here’s what you need for the sauce:

3 egg yolks – save the whites and use them in a scramble or meringue!
1 tbsp lemon juice – we prefer using fresh lemons here, but concentrated lemon juice would work too; it just may be a little more sour.
10 tbsp butter, melted & hot – we may get heat for this, but we almost always use salted butter. It just tastes better! If you do that, just be sure to taste the sauce for seasoning before adding more salt because you may not need it.
¼ tsp smoked paprika – if you don’t have smoked paprika, regular or sweet paprika could work, but you won’t get the same smoky notes.
⅛ tsp cayenne – just a little for a tiny hint of heat.
⅛ tsp white pepper – another one of our favorite spices. A little goes a long way in this recipe.
1 tbsp water + more if needed – this helps thin out the sauce slightly as it emulsifies.
Pinch of salt (optional if using salted butter) – if you’re using salted butter, you may not need any of this, but with unsalted butter, you likely will. Always taste for seasoning.

Here’s how to make it:

Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, spices, white pepper, & salt to a high sided container & blend with an immersion blender. You can also do this with a high powered blender like a Vitamix, but we find that an immersion blender works really well here (it’s also a super useful kitchen gadget to have on hand, in general).

While blending, slowly stream in hot butter until sauce is thick, smooth, and warm and eggs are cooked. Blend in 1 tablespoon of water to thin out the sauce, adding more, if desired.

Leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator, and can be reheated in a pot or pan on the stove with a little extra water whisked in to help loosen it up. We like to eat leftover hollandaise on salmon, roasted asparagus, or potatoes.

The Benny

Poached eggs and hollandaise get all the hype, but don’t overlook the importance of the other ingredients in a perfect benny (anyone else singing “Benny and the Jets” right now?). We really suggest using a good quality English muffin here, not just your typical fork-split ones that you can get at any supermarket. If that’s all you can find, that’s fine, but a nice one from a local bakery really takes this dish up a notch or two. Also adorning our eggs benedict are a couple of slices of jamón serrano for savory and umami notes and some sautéed lemony Swiss chard for a hint of bitter brightness to balance out all of the rich flavors.

The Sautéed Chard for the Eggs Benedict

For this perfectly sauteed lemony chard, you’ll need the following:

1 bunch Swiss chard, ribs removed & leaves chopped (about 3 cups) – any variety of Swiss chard will do here.
1 tbsp butter – unsalted or salted butter is fine.
Salt & pepper, to taste
Squeeze of lemon

To make the chard, first melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the chard along with a squeeze of lemon and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the chard has wilted slightly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Separate into 4 servings.

Making the Eggs Benedict

This eggs benedict is pretty rich, so one half is usually enough for one person (but we won’t judge you if you want to eat 2 halves yourself!).

4 oz jamón serrano (about 8 thin slices) – if you can’t find this, a good prosciutto would totally work!
2 large English muffins, halved & warmed in oven – we prefer homemade or bakery style English muffins, but store bought would also be delicious.
Butter, for English muffins – just enough to add some flavor and moisture to the warmed muffins.
4 poached eggs
Sautéed chard
Hollandaise
Diced chives + smoked paprika, garnish – a little pretty topping for a pretty, pretty breakfast!

To assemble the eggs benedict, butter each half of the warmed English muffins and top each with a quarter of the sautéed chard, then 2 slices of the jamón. Add a poached egg to each half and pour on some hollandaise. Garnish with chives and more smoked paprika, if desired.