Hollandaise sauce

How to Fix Hollandaise Sauce if it's too Thick

 
Nidhi Nangia
By Nidhi Nangia. Updated: October 5, 2017
How to Fix Hollandaise Sauce if it's too Thick

Hollandaise is an emulsion sauce made with a mixture of butter, egg yolk, and vinegar or lemon. It is the perfect dip to go with Eggs Benedict, fish and asparagus. But making Hollandaise sauce is what most cooks shy away from. No matter how much of an expert you are in the kitchen, hollandaise sauce and other such emulsion sauces frequently break or separate. It is a finicky creation, as it can easily split or curdle if it is too thin. Too much heat can curdle the egg yolks or turn the sauce to grain. As a result, the fat gets separated from egg foam, and the sauce looks lumpy and greasy. If you have made your Hollandaise sauce too thick, read this oneHOWTO article to find out how to fix hollandaise sauce if it's too thick.

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Contents
  1. The preventive step
  2. Step by step instructions
  3. Few other tips to fix hollandaise sauce that’s too thick

The preventive step

While making the hollandaise sauce, you have to mix in the ingredients and keep stirring it. While you are stirring it, keep an eye on how it looks. If it has started to thicken and it is looking shiny on its surface, it is a sign that it is going to break soon. As soon as you start feeling as if it is going to break, add a splash of water in it and continue whisking to mix. This will prevent your sauce from getting too thick to break, and it will come back to its normal texture. But if you did not notice this and your hollandaise sauce has finally broken due to thickness, here are some tips to fix hollandaise sauce if it’s too thick. You may also add salt to the thickened sauce, as salt will release some moisture which will help the sauce to thin a little bit. But remember, this tip is only if your sauce has not separated yet.

Step by step instructions

Once your hollandaise sauce has broken because it was too thick, it will start looking like curdle. The butter and eggs will separate and you will be left with lumps and clots. At this stage, you have to follow these step by step instructions:

  1. Transfer the contents into a container and wash off the pot you were making the sauce in.
  2. If you took two cups of butter for making your sauce, add two table spoons of water in the bowl and then two table spoons of broken sauce you have transferred in the container.
  3. Whisk properly until all the things combine. Once you have whisked, it will start looking like very thin hollandaise sauce.
  4. Start adding broken sauce into the bowl one spoon at a time, and keep whisking
  5. You will notice that the sauce has started thickening.
  6. If you have added too much of broken sauce and it has started thickening again, add some water to it and whisk.
  7. Water will smoothen things out, otherwise it will thicken again and break.
How to Fix Hollandaise Sauce if it's too Thick - Step by step instructions

Few other tips to fix hollandaise sauce that’s too thick

While the sauce is too thick and is about to break, add 1 tbsp of heavy cream into it and whisk constantly until the sauce becomes smooth again. You may also place your bowl over ice bath and stir properly. If the sauce is too thick, it means that you have cooked it more than enough, or you have added more than needed butter into it. So, know the appropriate quantities before you start your experiment. Adding lemon juice to the thick sauce and stirring it vigorously can be an effective step to fix hollandaise sauce if it’s too thick. This will stabilize your emulsion and prevent it from thickening. You may also fix a thick hollandaise sauce by adding some warm water to it and mixing vigorously. Vigorous whisking will combine together the broken sauce again, and will allow you to make the sauce thinner by adding the required ingredients.

How to Fix Hollandaise Sauce if it's too Thick - Few other tips to fix hollandaise sauce that’s too thick

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How to Fix Hollandaise Sauce if it's too Thick