Spent 3 hours last Tuesday chasing a sauce that broke because I added cold butter too fast

Val Webb · 2026-10-03T17:35:03.69986+00:00

Had a hollandaise go grainy on me during a busy brunch shift at the spot I work at in Sacramento, and I kept trying to fix it by whisking harder. After about 3 hours of remaking it 4 times, my sous finally looked at me and asked if I was adding the butter cold. Turns out I was tossing in fridge-cold cubes instead of letting them soften for 20 minutes first, and that was the whole problem. I felt like a total rookie, not going to lie. Anyone else ever waste a whole morning on something that came down to one dumb detail?

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Spent 3 hours last Tuesday chasing a sauce that broke because I added cold butter too fast | Chefs - Chatter Central