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Sous vide scrambled eggs problems


Tiwas

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Hi guys,

I was hoping someone here could help me with my little experiment.

From what I've read 75C is a good temp for scrambled eggs, and most recipes say they'll be done in like 25-30 minutes. I've played around with a recipe which fits my diet and finally got the consistency right. However, it takes a looong time (upwards to two hours) and once it starts cooling down a bit it separates. Nothing much, but I need to massage the bags to reabsorb the liquids.

I don't mind the cooking time as I'm making two days worth in each ziploc-bag and prepare it for the whole week, but I'd really like to get the consistency perfect.

This is the recipe I'm at now (for one bag / two days worth)

* 7 large eggs (about 450g)

* 50g creme fraiche

* 100g sliced ham

Is there too much liquid in it making it require so much time? Is it the temperature causing it to separate? I've tried 74C, but it still separated.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Lars

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I don't know about sous vide, but where are you getting your sliced ham? If it's from a deli, or prepackaged like Plumrose, there's always water added to the meat. That can mess up your cooking time and the consistency of the eggs. If you're using you own homecooked ham, sliced off the roast, that's different! HTH!

"Commit random acts of senseless kindness"

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My ignorance of sous vide is nearly total, but I'm willing to learn.

Thus, my question is why would you bother to make scrambled eggs via sous vide rather than the more conventional way in a pan?

What are the advantages? The draw back seems to be that it takes a long time.

I seek enlightenment.

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Mainly temperature control and consistency. If you do everything the same way every time, you will always get the same result :)

My ignorance of sous vide is nearly total, but I'm willing to learn.

Thus, my question is why would you bother to make scrambled eggs via sous vide rather than the more conventional way in a pan?

What are the advantages? The draw back seems to be that it takes a long time.

I seek enlightenment.

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Mainly temperature control and consistency. If you do everything the same way every time, you will always get the same result :)

My ignorance of sous vide is nearly total, but I'm willing to learn.

Thus, my question is why would you bother to make scrambled eggs via sous vide rather than the more conventional way in a pan?

What are the advantages? The draw back seems to be that it takes a long time.

I seek enlightenment.

Your reason for using SV over the conventional approach is contradicted by your results. Personally, I wouldn't waste two hours of my time over scrambled eggs. Too much a pyrrhic victory methinks.

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Yeah, I agree with the above 2 posts. I can make some pretty damn good scrambled eggs in a frying pan with butter, cream if so desired, etc.

And they'll come out practically the same every time.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

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While I do agree with the above posters that making scrambled eggs traditionally is very easy and repeatable, I have also made them sous vide before as well to great success. I started with Modernist Cuisine recipe for scrambled egg foam, but reduced the amount of liquids since I wasn't planning on using the whipping siphon. I just blended the following (by weight) with some eggs. I added a few extra yolks only as well.

100% eggs

20% butter

20% milk

salt

Blend it all together, cook @ 167F for 15 minutes. I had to take the bag out and massage it once or twice. If you want the ham flavor without the hassle, I would add it in after cooking or just infuse the milk/butter with ham prior to using. The resulting texture is definitely softer than most traditionally scrambled eggs, almost a bit like a custard.

Edited by Baselerd (log)
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The texture and taste cannot even be compared to making it in a pan. I can do that myself, and it only takes me about 20 minutes to make a portion. However,

1. I like the science, so spending an extra hour with an experiment really doesn't bother me

2. I like the texture from the SV scrambled eggs

3. I like the variety - some times I make them in a pan, some times I'd like them SV

4. I make one weeks worth and I cannot be bothered to slave over the stove every night when semi vacuum packed eggs stay good for at least a week

So...to me, making them in a pan is boring. It just doesn't give me anything as I've already "mastered" that technique.

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The texture and taste cannot even be compared to making it in a pan. I can do that myself, and it only takes me about 20 minutes to make a portion. However,

1. I like the science, so spending an extra hour with an experiment really doesn't bother me

2. I like the texture from the SV scrambled eggs

3. I like the variety - some times I make them in a pan, some times I'd like them SV

4. I make one weeks worth and I cannot be bothered to slave over the stove every night when semi vacuum packed eggs stay good for at least a week

So...to me, making them in a pan is boring. It just doesn't give me anything as I've already "mastered" that technique.

Okay, makes sense, and I can see your point (Although I loathe cooked eggs, I love cooking them, and the first dish I ever cooked was scrambled eggs, again and again and again, for about a fortnight, until I had a pretty good idea of exaclty what I could do with this preparation; my parents were stunningly patient about eating the same thing almost every night during this period).

You mentioned massaging the bag, upthread: when you do that, do you get the consistency you want? The mechanical element of making traditional scrambled eggs (i.e. stirring) definitely affects the end result, so I was thinking the post-cook massaging might do part of the trick. Is it? Does this have any affect on the extra liquid in the bag?

Michaela, aka "Mjx"
Manager, eG Forums
mscioscia@egstaff.org

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You mentioned massaging the bag, upthread: when you do that, do you get the consistency you want? The mechanical element of making traditional scrambled eggs (i.e. stirring) definitely affects the end result, so I was thinking the post-cook massaging might do part of the trick. Is it? Does this have any affect on the extra liquid in the bag?

From my understanding, the massaging is about moving the differently tempered areas around in order to get even distribution and thus even coagulation. Also, it prevents it turning into a soufle, but when you let it cool back down it will still become "one piece".

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  • 2 weeks later...

The separating issue is under cooked egg white, to sous vide scrambled egg the temp is 171 or you are not cooking all of the myriad of proteins that make up the egg whites. At 171 if all of the air is out of the cooking pouch (you wont achieve this with a zip bag or external sealer) they will cook in 15-20. Air in the pouch will cause uneven heating so they will take longer to heat all of the way through thus taking longer to cook.

p24%20scramble.jpg from 'At home with sous vide' our cookbook on sous vide available 1st December 2013.

Dale Prentice
Director at SousVide Australia
Http://sousvideaustralia.com

President - Australian Culinary Federation - Victoria Chapter

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The separating issue is under cooked egg white, to sous vide scrambled egg the temp is 171 or you are not cooking all of the myriad of proteins that make up the egg whites. At 171 if all of the air is out of the cooking pouch (you wont achieve this with a zip bag or external sealer) they will cook in 15-20. Air in the pouch will cause uneven heating so they will take longer to heat all of the way through thus taking longer to cook.

p24%20scramble.jpg from 'At home with sous vide' our cookbook on sous vide available 1st December 2013.

So what you're saying is I should increase from 74 to 77,5C?

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I just tried this at the 171 degrees F....bain marie style in a stainless steel malt cup.

It came together well at the 20 minute point but I went to 25 minutes to thicken it up a bit more.

I still have mixed emotions about sous vide scrambled eggs....they're definitely soft, smooth and creamy...but almost too soft, smooth and creamy....I prefer a bit more curd structure.

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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Yes that is my suggestion, we experimented for months around 74-80C and found that 77.5C gave the best result.

Ok, I just tried your temps and the consistency seems fine after about 35 minutes - more than an hour shorter than with 74C. Looking forward to tasting them in the morning :D

Do you usually take them out to massage the pouch? I guess I lost up to 5 minutes to the massaging, and I have to admit I put them in the demi a few degrees early (my kitchen floor was cold, damnit! :P ) so the real time in the bath might not be too far off from yours.

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Yes that is my suggestion, we experimented for months around 74-80C and found that 77.5C gave the best result.

I have a follow-up question, if you don't mind.

What happens to the times when egg whites:yolks is changed? I'm on a diet and have removed some yolks from my scrambled eggs. After an hour at 77,5C there's still a lot of liquid in the bags even though the yolks have solidified a long time ago. Have you guys experimented with this?

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