160 replies to this topic

[Chris Amirault]

Wow: 91C. (At 47, I must be finally learning metric, as I had to convert this to celcius to understand it.) That's way above the usual hard-boiled temps recommended.

Are those whites solid enough to hold some tasty deviled yolk?

[Chris Amirault]

I tried the aerated scrambled eggs from the Ideas in Food book today (eggs, milk, salt, butter whisked, bagged and cooked in 72.5C bath for 25min, loaded in siphon with 1 charge). Result wasn't what we expected--more of a slightly foamy liquid sauce than solid foam scrambled eggs. My only variation was to scale down from 6 eggs to 2 eggs.

Has anyone else tried this? Are these the expected results?

Percyn did scrambled eggs at 72C, though his post isn't clear on time. I'll ping him to see if he can weigh in. They look delicious.

[Borgstrom]

I tried the aerated scrambled eggs from the Ideas in Food book today (eggs, milk, salt, butter whisked, bagged and cooked in 72.5C bath for 25min, loaded in siphon with 1 charge). Result wasn't what we expected--more of a slightly foamy liquid sauce than solid foam scrambled eggs. My only variation was to scale down from 6 eggs to 2 eggs.

Has anyone else tried this? Are these the expected results?

Percyn did scrambled eggs at 72C, though his post isn't clear on time. I'll ping him to see if he can weigh in. They look delicious.

My eggs looked similar to Percyn's photo, perhaps a little looser, before going into the siphon. Coming out of the siphon was the problem -- more of a sauce than a stiff foam as I expected...should have taken photos...

[percyn]

Haven't tried the Ideas in Food method yet.

While my "eggsperiment" was not very scientific, I recall the egg mixture being in the 72C-73C range for over 20 minutes. There was a bit of trial and error as the "correct" consistency is a bit subjective. I like mine on the looser side but cooked through. They also firmed up a tad once removed from the water bath.

Hope this helps - happy to do more experimentation if needed.

[Chris Amirault]

Yes, let's do more. I think that those scrambled eggs look heavenly, percyn.

[coz]

My water circulator arrived but not my vacuum sealer so I decided to try some eggs last night. I put a dozen in at 154F for 2+ hours. The yolk was great but the white was not what I wanted. The eggs rolled around a lot in the tank does that matter? Thanks

[coz]

Edsel, I tried your soft boil eggs tonight from that link you provided on p.1

They came out great basically what you had in that photo. 7.5 minutes at 194F and then 5 minutes at 130F.

Thanks!

[percyn]

OK, so I did some more egging around...

Decided to use 4 Large Eggs, 1/8 cup Cream (half&half), a tsp Truffle butter and a few shavings of Truffle Cheese


Mixed the eggs, cream and truffle butter by hand.


Instead of taking out the vacuum sealing machine and bags, I put it in a ziploc type bag which you can pump the air out off.



At first, I started it at 73C. After 20 minutes, it had the consistency of Crème anglaise or an ice cream base. The ingredients I used were straight from the fridge so were a bit cool. Around the same time, I came across some articles which said they had good results at 75C - http://www.fiftyfour...us/archives/607

So, getting a bit impatient, I raised the temp to 75 on the immersion circulator and presto - within 7 additional minutes, I had lucious, custard like scrambled eggs.


Topped with Miti Sottocenere cheese w/truffles from Italy.


Topped w/Columbus Secchi Salame


And couldn't resist topping it with some smoked Duck Breast from D'Artgnan.






So to summarize, whip up a few eggs, cream and (tuffle) butter, place in an air tight bag and 75C water bath for 25-30 minutes (depending on how many eggs you have) and you should be able to enjoy these wonderful eats.

[Chris Amirault]

That is excellent, percyn. What do you think would happen if you kept them in longer?

[percyn]

If it was in longer, at 75C it might have firmed up a bit more. If the temp were higher, it may take on the consistency of an omelet, which is too thick for me.

I also came across an article saying a small amount of acid in the eggs will yield fluffy eggs due to a reaction of the acid and the protein in the eggs.

[edsel]

Coz, glad to hear that the SB egg technique was successful. My main problem has been peeling the eggs once they're done. The whites are very tender and have a tendency to shred when the shell is removed.

Percyn, interesting thought about using acid to make the eggs fluffy. I'm assuming one would use a very tiny amount so as not to screw up the flavor. Your results look very good as-is, though. Thanks for posting your results.

[stomsf]

Question -- if I make sous vide egg in the shell (my normal MO has been about an hour at 146.5 deg F), will the eggs be safe for awhile if I lower the temperature? I want to keep the eggs warm for dinner (roasted asparagus/miso butter and a sous vide egg) but also warm up my proteins (SV Chicken and 72 hour short ribs). If I drop my bath to say, 120 deg F, would it be safe to keep my eggs in the bath until serving, along with the warmed proteins (to be seared/deep fried right before serving)?

I'm thinking of keeping the eggs at temp for the cooking time, quick dunk in an ice bath, while the water cools, then back in the bath until dinner.

[percyn]

Stomsf, as you may know, please all over the world keep hard boiled eggs at room temp for a day or two. Not a safety expert here, but I would think that if you make a "hot spring egg" at 146.5 (63.6C), cool them rapidly, store in fridge until ready to reheat, that they should be fine.

[Chris Amirault]

Lots of home cooks (and restaurant chefs I know) do what percyn is suggesting all the time.

[ScottyBoy]

Messing around with quail eggs I found that 146 for 20 minutes is my favorite. I was able to pop them out of the shell only losing one out of 5.

[mkayahara]

Thanks, ScottyBoy. I've been wondering about quail eggs for a while...

[twodogs]

Great to see this topic here. Our book has cooking times, temps and reasons for many of these eggs and the desired results. To add, we found quail eggs at 75 °C for five minutes produced wonderful onsen eggs and well, the book does tell a ton more than I can type.

if there are questions, please feel free

[Kent Wang]

I don't see much white in that photo. Did any of that fall out or is it just very translucent and look like the yolk?

[percyn]

Great to see this topic here. Our book has cooking times, temps and reasons for many of these eggs and the desired results. To add, we found quail eggs at 75 °C for five minutes produced wonderful onsen eggs and well, the book does tell a ton more than I can type.

if there are questions, please feel free

Alex and Aki, congratulations on your book, it is as informative and inspiring as your blog.

[PedroG]

Thank you, Douglas, for your Egg cooking time table in post #28.
I did "perfect eggs" for the first time. The eggs had 14.0-14.5cm circumference, so at 75°C your table recommends 16 minutes.
With 16 minutes, to our taste the egg yolk was a bit overdone with just a small creamy center. So I tried 14.5 minutes, the yolk had remained creamy, rather a bit liquid, and the white was also a bit liquid, the eggs easily slided out of the decapitated shells. The third run with 15 minutes resulted in "the perfect egg" to our taste with a sufficiently firm yet soft white and a perfectly creamy yolk. So at 75°C it is really time-critical, and next time I'll start with 1 minute less than recommended in the table.
For fast and easy removal of the eggs from the water bath without scalding my hands, I had placed them in an ordinary plastic bag with a few dozen holes punched in it to allow free circulation of water, and suspended on a skewer.

[DouglasBaldwin]

Thank you, Douglas, for your Egg cooking time table in post #28.
I did "perfect eggs" for the first time. The eggs had 14.0-14.5cm circumference, so at 75°C your table recommends 16 minutes.
With 16 minutes, to our taste the egg yolk was a bit overdone with just a small creamy center. So I tried 14.5 minutes, the yolk had remained creamy, rather a bit liquid, and the white was also a bit liquid, the eggs easily slided out of the decapitated shells. The third run with 15 minutes resulted in "the perfect egg" to our taste with a sufficiently firm yet soft white and a perfectly creamy yolk. So at 75°C it is really time-critical, and next time I'll start with 1 minute less than recommended in the table.

Fair enough. I generated a new table tonight with core temperatures from 60°C to 67°C so you (and anyone else) can get the yolk consistency you want.

Attached Files

•  EggHeatingTimes.pdf   65.11K   2712 downloads

[OliverB]

Hmm, so I had a box of free range farm fresh (well, bought last weekend) eggs and decided to go for the perfect egg in Baldwin's book, 148 degree for 45-60 min. And I was not impressed :-(

The white was partially set, partially a wobbly glibber, and the yolks were waxy, beyond the runny kind I expected to see. Almost as if the yolks had cooked more than the whites, which makes little sense of course. The eggs were out on the counter while the machine heated the water, should they be straight from the fridge instead?

The runny white was on the unappetizing side, so I dipped them into boiling water for a moment, the white was nicely set then, but they also were pretty impossible to peel.

I'll give this an other try, at an other temp, but if the results aren't any better I'll probably rather use the time/eggs/effort to improve on my real poached eggs instead.

Any idea why the yolk would be "overcooked" while most of the white was a runny (not clear) mess? Seems counter intuitive that the inside would cook faster than the outside.

PS: Baldwin's book is a must have, though the index should be reworked in a new edition. Looking up "Salmon" and just finding about 50 page numbers listed is not all that useful IMO. A minor thing, but to me a perfect index is what makes a perfect book. What ever that may be ;-)

Edited by OliverB, 30 January 2011 - 02:18 PM.

[MartinH]

Any idea why the yolk would be "overcooked" while most of the white was a runny (not clear) mess? Seems counter intuitive that the inside would cook faster than the outside.

It is because they contain different proteins, which coagulate at different temps. In a sous vide bath there won't be any temp difference between inside and outside.

Perhaps expectations differ on what a "perfect egg" should be. Have a look at the photos on Douglas Baldwin's site.

I like to think of a 148F/64.5C egg as something unique, not a better or easier way to do a soft-boiled egg (with its firm white and runny yolk, which is "perfect" in its own way when done right), but instead a separate kind of cooked egg, another egg-style alongside scrambled, poached etc.

[OliverB]

forgot about that photo, thanks! That's more or less what I got, I was more expecting the 142 or 144 degree results, but was afraid the whites would be still clear and glibbery. I will have to try again. Perfect is of course a personal preference, I'd not call my result perfect by a long shot, unless I was only after very nice waxy yolks and discarding the whites. I guess I'll have to do one more experimental run at maybe 143 degree and see if I like the results, otherwise I'll be back at crating a vortex in a large pot of water with a dash of vinegar

[ScottyBoy]

Poached and SV'd eggs for me are two totally different applications. I can't bread and fry a SV'd egg...I can't use a poached egg to melt into a sauce for pasta after an awesome presentation with it whole on the plate.

From what you've been saying I might really suggest bumping it up to 145-46. Below that is very hard to handle and I find the white just a little too loose for my tastes. Good luck!

[MartinH]

[snip] I can't bread and fry a SV'd egg...

Well, maybe you can. Here's a way: take a 64.5C SV egg, wash off the white, roll the yolk in breadcrumbs, and fry briefly. Crunchy exterior with that rich custardy interior.

[ScottyBoy]

Oh sure, I use those custard yolks for all kinds of stuff but I'm just saying, a true poach is the only way to get that firm white that you can work with the whole egg.

[PedroG]

I did "perfect eggs" again using Douglas' new egg heating time table.
The eggs were 14.3-14.7mm in diameter, cooked 16 minutes at 75°C. The whites were soft with no residual liquid, the yolks were creamy at the center and a little bit firmer in their periphery, a perfect replacement for poached eggs.
Considering Douglas Baldwin's scientific explanations it is clear that a perfect egg with a soft yet firm egg white and a creamy yolk cannot be achieved by equilibrating for an arbitrarily long time in a 64.5°C water bath, but in a 75°C water bath it is a time-critical procedure to get the perfect "perfect egg".

Here's another way of suspending the eggs for fast and easy retrieval exactly at the right time:

[DaveJes1979]

Pedro, I think it would be critical to regulate the initial temperature of the eggs. Are you putting them in straight out of the fridge?

Edited by DaveJes1979, 09 February 2011 - 07:36 PM.

[PedroG]

Pedro, I think it would be critical to regulate the initial temperature of the eggs. Are you putting them in straight out of the fridge?

Yes, directly from the fridge, as specified in Douglas' first time table.