10
Debate: Do you fix a broken sauce at the pass or start over?
Last Saturday night I was running the line at my spot in Portland. A ticket came back with a hollandaise that had split bad, looked like scrambled eggs in a pool of butter. My saute cook wanted to whisk in hot water and save it, but I said toss it and start fresh. The server was watching us argue for 2 minutes before I just grabbed new eggs. Has anyone else dealt with this call in the middle of a rush? I lean toward restarting because the texture never comes back right, but maybe I'm wasting time.
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
dianagreen6d ago
Have you read that article in Art Culinaire a few years back about how the viscosity of hollandaise changes once it breaks? Apparently the emulsion bonds are actually different after that point, even if you save it. I remember thinking that explained a lot about why saved yolks never feel the same on the palate. I lean toward your call on this one, especially during a rush. Starting fresh is a faster way to get a clean product out, even if it hurts to throw away all that butter for a second.
6
But honestly, how long does it take most cooks to really whip up a new hollandaise from scratch during a rush? I mean, if you've got your mise in order and the yolks are already broken out, you're looking at maybe three minutes tops. The argument over saving it always takes longer than just starting over, especially when the texture question Diana brought up is real - that saved batch never feels right on the tongue no matter what you do. Why risk sending out something that's just okay when the alternative is a clean, perfect sauce in almost the same amount of time?
2