Ingredients
- For the ham:
- 1 small Irish unsmoked ham, skin on (1.5 kg)
- 50g brown sugar
- 50g honey
- 50g soy sauce
- 1tsp (heaped) cornflour
- 1tsp fresh thyme leaves
- For the poached eggs:
- 2tbs clear malt vinegar
- 4 fresh eggs
- For the hollandaise:
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2tsp white wine vinegar
- 1tbs lemon juice
- 1/2tsp caster sugar
- Pinch of sea salt
- 250g salted butter, melted and allowed to sit until just warm
- To finish:
- 2 English muffins
- Handful of fresh chives
Method
- Place the ham on a baking tray and cover with a sheet of tinfoil. Place in the oven and cook at 200 degrees for 90 minutes.
- Take out the ham and let sit for 10 minutes, then carefully peel the skin off, leaving the fat on the ham.
- To make the glaze, add the brown sugar, honey and soy to a small pot and heat gently until the brown sugar has dissolved, stirring regularly. Whisk in the cornflour and bring to a simmer while stirring regularly until the glaze thickens, then remove from the heat. Spoon or brush the glaze over the ham until it is evenly covered and sprinkle over the thyme leaves.
- To poach the eggs, heat a large sized pot of water until it starts to boil. Add the clear malt vinegar and reduce the heat sightly to keep the water simmering. Carefully crack the eggs into the water (or crack the eggs into a bowl and carefully slide them into the water from the bowl) and cook for two minutes for soft poached eggs, then remove from the water with a slotted spoon and place on a tea towel or a few sheets of kitchen paper.
- To make the hollandaise, place a small saucepan of water on the heat. Place a metal or glass heatproof bowl on top and add the egg yolks, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and sea salt to the bowl. Begin whisking vigorously over the steaming pot until the eggs double in size, go pale in colour and thicken slightly. This takes about two minutes.
- Once the egg mix has doubled in size, remove the bowl carefully from the steaming pot. Place the bowl on a work surface with a damp tea towel underneath. Begin slowly pouring the melted butter into the egg mix, whisking all the time.
- Whisk and pour until the clarified part of the butter is gone; stop before the white milk solids are added. The sauce should be thick enough at this point to coat the back of a spoon. If you think it is too thick and at risk of separating, add a splash of milk and whisk vigorously. Adjust seasoning and serve immediately.
- To serve the eggs Benedict, slice and toast the muffins. Spoon some hollandaise on to the muffin followed by a thick slice of the ham. Place the poached eggs on the slices of ham and cover with some more hollandaise. Garnish with some freshly chopped chives.
