Ox Kidney Bearnaise

I have never made hollandaise or bearnaise sauce before and I have to say that if I'd followed the instructions to the letter my sauce would have been a curdled disaster. Pomiane directs that the base of the pan containing the egg yolks should be held in a larger pan of boiling water, but I found that an initial quick dip, followed by holding the small pan above but not in the boiling water, provided all the heat required.

Having said that, the sauce did turn out well in the end and was a good accompaniment to the kidney.