Andrew Zimmern's Unique Take On Eggs Benedict Features Pastrami

Making eggs Benedict is an art form. This brunch staple takes a standard egg and turns it into the pillow-like star of a dish loaded with salty ham and savory Hollandaise. Though we know and love it as the dish it is today, its origin story has been a hot debate for centuries. According to What's Cooking America and Britannica, the first rendition of the recipe was allegedly established back in the 1860s at Delmonico's Restaurant in New York City, when a patron, Mrs. LeGrand Benedict, requested that the chef put together a new dish for her. The second-known creation was at New York's Waldorf Hotel when a man named Lemuel Benedict apparently requested the concoction; the chef loved it and added it to the menu.

Of course, regardless of where the dish got its start, it's known today as a popular breakfast or brunch treat and as one of the most well-known dishes that involves poaching eggs. Chefs have given their own spin to the classic recipe, and Andrew Zimmern recently shared a pastrami-packed alternative that takes the whole dish up a notch.

Classic eggs Benedict contains four main ingredients: an English muffin, ham, poached eggs, and Hollandaise. Poached eggs and homemade Hollandaise are often regarded as two fairly difficult ingredients, which leads many people to shy away from making the popular dish at home. For that reason, it's become especially popular on breakfast and brunch menus, commonly offered with alternative ingredients such as a crab cake or smoked salmon in place of ham.

Celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern recently tweeted about a variation of the dish, and it involves a different type of meat: pastrami. The pastrami is fried before being added to the dish, giving it a crispness that complements the soft poached eggs. The recipe is featured on Zimmern's website but is originally from "The Artisan Jewish Deli At Home" cookbook by Nick Zukin and Michael Zusman. The rendition, referred to as a "twisted modern Jewish deli version," swaps the English muffins with latkes, too.

At its core, the two most important ingredients in eggs Benedict are the poached eggs and Hollandaise. But beyond that, the dish can be varied to please any palate. While the "modern Jewish deli" version corporates the hearty, salty pastrami, other variations include anything from seafood to steak. Bobby Flay's recipe (via Food Network) gives the dish a seafood twist by replacing the traditional ham with lump crab cakes. Flay adds Old Bay seasoning to his Hollandaise to bring the flavors together, and he plates the dish with Johnnycakes rather than English muffins.

On the contrary, a Food & Wine recipe opts for turf over surf, serving the dish with tenderloin steak and a red wine Hollandaise. Food Network star Ree Drummond takes an even more unique approach with her recipe for The Pioneer Woman — she turns it into a strata for an easy, make-ahead option (though the Hollandaise should be made fresh).