Foolproof Homemade Mayonnaise.
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Josh’s late Uncle Bob lived in France and could make delicious homemade mayonnaise utilizing nothing more than olive oil, an egg yolk, a fork, and a few magic flicks of his wrist. Most everyone who lives in France can do the same. They’re special people who God blessed with a genetic ability to emulsify egg yolks at the drop of a beret.
The rest of us are doomed to fail miserably seven out of every ten times we attempt to make our own homemade mayonnaise. It’s in the Bible somewhere. Trust us.
Until now.
We recently discovered the most foolproof way to make homemade mayonnaise that turns out perfectly every time. No more broken emulsions. No whisking endlessly, futilely. All one needs are the ingredients, an immersion blender, and one minute.
If you check out most homemade mayonnaise recipes, you’ll find instructions for room temperature egg yolks, and slowly drizzling olive oil while whisking with the other hand, and adding the flavorings at different stages…forget all that. Here’s all you need to do.
In the cup that came with the immersion blender (or any tall narrow glass in which the immersion blender fits all the way to the bottom) add the following ingredients. The only order that matters is that the egg goes in first:
2 egg yolks (Don’t worry if some white gets in. Contrary to what you’ve been led to believe, it doesn’t matter in the slightest with this method. Of course you can always use the leftover egg-whites to make meringues…also like the french do.)
1.5 cups of oil. (We use mostly olive oil with a little canola. But if you don’t love a strong olive taste, you can use any ratio of any oils.)
1 Tblsp lemon juice
1 tsp vinegar (Any kind will do, but usually a light-colored variety looks better in the finished product)
1 tsp mustard (Any kind. Even dry.)
Salt, pepper, herbs, sugar, honey, hot pepper flakes, a whole garlic clove or two…a little of whatever you feel like. Go ahead, experiment a little.
Then place the blender all the way to the bottom of the cup and start whirling. As the emulsification begins, simply slowly pull up as the mayonnaise begins forming and thickening to incorporate the rest of the oil. It’s that simple. Or as the French might say: “No Problemo.” Or something like that.
Hopefully you saved the cup that came with your immersion blender. It’s helpful to have the markings on the side so you don’t have to dirty another cup measuing out the oil. But if you can’t find that original cup, any tall narrow vessel will do, as long as the blender fits all the way to the bottom.
It doesn’t matter what order the ingredients are added, as long as the eggs are in first they’ll stay at the bottom. They’re heaviest.
It will be fairly obvious that the yolks and oil are being emulsified. The texture will noticably thicken as it “catches” and will turn an opaque cream color. Then begin slowly pulling up on the blender to incorporate the rest of the oil.
The finished product. Perfect every time.
Mayonnaise will last about 2 weeks in the refrigerator, but for best taste and texture, we recommend consuming withing the first week after preparation.
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I read and inwardly digested your recipe and method, and delighted I had the correct blender for the job, I rushed off to make it. I didn’t measure anything, juice of half a lemon, a glug of white wine vinegar, a dollop of olive oil and a slightly bigger dollop of rapeseed oil and the egg was straight from the fridge (yes I halved the recipe). It was perfect, thank you.
the magic stick..blender! I thought if it works for mayo it would probably work at making my own butter as well, after adding about 8oz. of heavy whipping cream to the mixing glass and holding the stick at the very bottom, within about 2-3 minutes you get a large clump of fat aka butter, to separate any liquids form the butter into a ball and wrap in paper towels and chill, once chilled enjoy your butter
Quelle disastre! I have made mayo for years, including with a stick blender. Never any problem, always perfect. Just made this with 3 small egg yolks and therefore a tiny bit more oil, and it never emulsified. It appeared to, turned a nice yellow, but lifting the blender revealed a pure liquid. I did use half coconut oil (melted) so maybe it will firm up in the fridge, but right now it looks like an expensive mistake and I’m pretty unhappy.
OK, my first time ever making mayo.
So… two fresh goose egg yolks, a few drops of all natural sriracha, a spoon of chopped garlic, cracked pepper and sea salt, a spoon of dijon mustard, a combined cup and a half of coconut and olive oil….my first time making it and nearly perfect! It’s a little runnier than I expected but think it’s likely to firm up some in the refrigerator due to the coconut oil. Thank you!!!
Warming two goose eggs in some water to bring them to room temp. Using half extra virgin olive oil and half flavorless melted coconut oil. Not sure about seasonings yet… will report back!
How long is this supposed to take to thicken? I used olive oil and egg yolk and salt pepper etc. but mine didn’t thicken. It started to get very warm.
Hi, Rose. It should happen immediately and is foolproof with just a few rules:
1. Fresh high quality eggs at room temperature. (My wife knows I am going to make mayo when she sees an egg in my pocket!)
2. Allow the ingredients to settle for a minute after you put the blender in.
4. Star with blender on the bottom at lowest speed and pulsing. Then I tilt it to slowly suck in more oil and as it thickens. I finally bring it slowly up to get the rest. The tricky part of making mayo is to slowly incorporate the oil, the hand blender simply makes that process much more controllable.
5. Egg + oil + astringent = mayo. Did you put in the lemon and/or vinegar? The spices can wait until you have reached emulsification.
Good luck and good eating!
I just made some and it was SO cool! I didn’t have any trouble with cold eggs, but I did screw up and double the lemon juice, so maybe that’s what saved me…
Awesome! Just made some this morning. I received a immersion blender as a gift years ago and now have a reason to pull it out and use it. Thanks!
I have been making mayo for a few months and this is by far the tastiest version and easiest method. I use duck eggs as they provide a rich taste (and because I am allergic to chicken eggs) and creamy texture. I also use high oleic acid sunflower oil – it gives the mayo a taste that is delicate and closer to the store bought versions (only much better for you). Thank you Beekmans for a fantastic, foolproof recipe!
got a good ketchup recipe?
Hi, Matt
Of course we do! It’s AMAZING what you can find when you use the search bar on our homepage!!
http://beekman1802.com/kicky-chipotle-catsup/
I had to make this just to prove to myself it would work and it did, no more hellmans for me lol
Thank you, thank you for this amazing recipe! I will definitely test this out. I also would like to thank you for providing the blender that you use. I will be buying to use this recipe. Loving all the recipes you both share with us.
Yay worked so well after 2 unsuccessful attempts in the blender!
i’m so sad Josh& Brent. I live in Anchorage, Alaska & our local cable provider doesn’t carry the cooking channel, so no Thursday nights with the B Boys. But I will watch the Amazing Race on Sunday. How cool it will be if Josh & Brent win. Making home made mayo is not an option for me. I’m in an Assisted Living Facility (ALF) and don’t have a kitchen. Good luck guys, I miss you both & Farmer John & the animals.
I used to make homemade mayo in Liberia way back when. Ma did great with the Waring blender but I suffered the curse of separation time and again – will have to try your way!
Thank you for simplifying a simple process. When I was an early teen we lived in France and had a “Bonne a touit faire” ( housekeeper). She was an amazing cook and made delicious mayonnaise which I never learned from her, much to my regret.
Simply fabulous! Finally a recipe that makes it so simple that my 13 year old son made mayo. A thousand thanks to you.
Maybe he'll write a cookbook one day, Christina!
I just did this successfully!!!! I used avocado oil and red wine vinegar…yum! I feel like I just won a long standing battle against the broken emulsion. Thanks!
Just tried it with dijon, champagne vinegar, and dill weed, it worked wonderfully! And it only took about 30 seconds to whip up! Thanks for the great recipe, Kaley
I find homemade mayo just tastes so much better. We don't eat much of it so we just make it when we need to. It takes plain sandwiches to a whole new level!
This sounds absolutely wonderful. My Dad and I have been raising our own vegetables, herbs, and fruit for my entire life. Let's just say for over 45 years. Now I want your recipe book so that I can have these type of ideas. Thanks so much! Patti
You guys make me homesick for upstate New York, your farm is beautiful and I wish you the best. Are you coming back to TV?
Wow…I've tried this many times and only had true success once. THIS worked out perfectly. Well, actually the first time ended up (as another commenter pointed out) more like a vinaigrette. I think that the key, other than the tall, narrow vessel, is to pour the oils in until you get the right consistency. Most every recipe I've ever tried insisted that there was a set/definite amount of oil per egg yolk and it wouldn't work otherwise. In my experience, these don't hold true. But, thanks Josh for the recipe! We'll be serving homemade tartar sauce for cornmeal crusted fish at a dinner party tonight!
I have two goose eggs! I wonder if that might work. They are suppose to be nice and rich like a duck egg. I love Aoli
I leared to make mayo with an immersion blender in Spain, where they use the whole egg instead of just the yolks. It works great. In fact, it comes out a little lighter in tetxure when you leave in the whites, and tastes wonderful.
So do you use two whole eggs or one one whole egg for the two yolks?
Thanks! I have never tried it, and already have the stick blender, which I use when I put up canned tomatoes. I will give it a whirl and see what happens.
For Matt:
Mayonnaise really is so simple to make, but sometimes people fail when they try and it's usually not the ingredients. I learned many years ago by watching Julia Child make it on "The French Chef". They key is for the oil to be very gradually added to the rest of the ingredients so that an emulsion will form. It doesn't matter if you're using a mixer, a blender, a food processor, or a fork with a magic flicking wrist – with any method the oil needs to be slowly introduced to the rest of the mix.
Notice that Josh and Brent make a point of putting the eggs in the bottom first and then the rest of the ingredients. And it really is important that you pull up on your immersion blender SLOWLY. You'll notice that the oil is thereby gradually added to the rest of the mix and the emulsion will form. This is critical to success!
Anytime you try to just mix, stir or blend the ingredients all at once you'll usually end up with a mess. I know, because I've made that mistake too.
Thanks Josh and Brent for yet another way to do this. This method is by far the easiest to clean up after when you're done.
Thanks….You guys give GREAT tips…
I used to raise pekin ducks and loved the eggs. They are bigger and richer so I would just up the rest of the ingredients a bit.
I tried doing this using 1/2 olive + 1/2 grapeseed oil but mine wouldn't "catch"
I even transferred it to my commercial blender but all I got was a lemon vinaigrette. I wondered if it was because of the grapeseed oil but many vegan mayos use that oil. Thoughts?
Wonderful! I have been making homemade mayonnaise for many years, but I usually use my food processor. I'll surely try this method next time, as it is so much easier to clean the immersion blender. Homemade mayonnaise is a far different and superior product compared to store-bought, although Duke's is pretty darn good.
I am so going to try this!
I can't wait to give this a try. How long will it last in the fridge?
The mayo will keep for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator, but is probably at best taste if consumed within one week of preparation
Thank you very much for this….you have just taken the intimidation out of mayonnaise making @ home!!!
Thanks guys for this recipe. I use my stick blender to puree soups mostly. I'll give that a try. How long will it keep in the frig?
Wow! It looks delicious. Do you think this would work well with duck eggs? I'm imagining a richer, tastier mayo with duck eggs but they're so much heavier than chicken eggs that I'm not sure it would work.
Give it a try and report back, Robin. We've not tried it with duck eggs (yet)