el Bulli's golden egg

[foodite]

I finally got around to attempting to make el bulli's golden egg over the weekend and, sufficed to say, had a couple issues... was wondering if anyone else has attempted it and what tips you may have.

For those that don't know, el bulli's golden egg is a raw quail egg yolk wrapped in a thin coating of crisp caramel. The recipe is in the el Bulli 98-02 CD. In it, it says that the caramel is made by heating isomalt, fondant, and glucose to 325 degrees and then spreading it out in a 1/2" layer. It is then cut into 2" squares. To make the squares paper thin, they are re-heated for 5 minutes at 345 degrees between 2 silpats and rolled out thin. Once rolled, the sheet is cut into 3/4" squares, which are then blow-torched onto the yolk so they melt and conform to the contours of it.

A couple questions:

What is the best way to cut the sugar into squares? I found that if I waited until they cooled, they were so brittle that they exploded into shards instead. I also tried piercing an edge with the heel of my knife to start the cut and those turned out a little better, but still not that clean. Should I cut it while it's still warm?

Also, I tried thinning out the sugar into as thin a sheet as possible by rolling it between 2 Silpats, but it still wasn't quite thin enough. Any thoughts on other ways to make extremely thin sheets of caramel?

[alanamoana]

1) make sure your caramel is pretty warm (basically liquid, like when it is first finished cooking) when you try to roll it out. if it is too firm, you won't be able to press it thin enough

2) cut while the caramel is warm but not molten, you'll have to practice to get a feel for the right consistency. i would probably use a pizza cutter rather than an knife. once cool, remove the pieces which you've already cut before putting the uncut caramel back into the oven to warm (if you weren't able to cut it all at the same time), otherwise, the pieces will melt back together again.

[tan319]

pizza cutter, maybe scissors?

Have to wear a couple sets of gloves

A trick I've heard is used is to roll out your sugar as thin as possible with the silpats, break it down, pulverize it in a robocoupe/cuisineart processor.

Strain it back onto a clean silpat thru a seive like a sifted powder, rewarm in a low oven quickly ( it can be covered with the other silpat also) and this time it will roll out VERY thin, should be on the thinnish side anyways.

After you cut your squares, have your quail egg on there, use a blow torch to melt the caramel around it and over it, instead of a salamander

It will happen quickly, you can seal the edges with your fingers (gloved, of course) and it should be a bit easier.

Hope that helps.

[filipe]

Aren't you forgeting the GOLD?

I've never tasted it, but according to this article, the gold seems essencial to the whole experience...

[Michael Laiskonis]

What Ted said, basically, except I would sift that powder (a coffee grinder will get it down to a superfine dust) directly to the silpat through a handmade stencil, sized to the measurements you need. No rolling or cutting, no burnt fingers, no in and out of the oven- and you control the thickness by how heavy you sift. This method also allows you to introduce any number of other powdered ingredients or garnish to add flavor. Depending on your oven temp, this method will only take 90 seconds or so for the powder to 'melt' into shape. I will also sandwich another silpat on top, and I'll allow it to cool a moment or two before peeling back...

[chefpeon]

What Ted said, basically, except I would sift that powder (a coffee grinder will get it down to a superfine dust) directly to the silpat through a handmade stencil, sized to the measurements you need.

What would I make the stencil out of? Another silpat? I like to use plastic lids from coffee cans and sour cream containers to make stencils for tulip paste, but I don't think those plastics would withstand that kind of heat.

Where does one usually find quail eggs? Does the yolk of a quail egg taste dramatically different than a chicken egg? Does the yolk want to break when you torch the sugar to it, or does it happen so quickly there's no time for the yolk to break?

Most people I know are far too "food paranoid" to ever want to try eating a raw yolk. But I want to try it.

One last question.....

In it, it says that the caramel is made by heating isomalt, fondant, and glucose

Do you have to make the caramel that way, or can you just make a regular caramel from dry sugar, pour it onto a silpat, let it harden, pulverize it, and continue with the process?

[chefette]

you can make the template out of anythong you would use to create a tuille shape

shower liner (some gray thin stuff you can purchase in the hardware store is good

you do not heat in it - just create form then remove

you can sprinkle a full sheet and score the powder then bake til melted

remove thinn hard squares

set up, place quail egg yolk -

quail eggs available at gourmet food places - not frequently found

are very small - a whole quail egg is smaller than a chicken egg yolk

the melting - forming is very fast

yes - must use te fondant caramel - the plain sugar dust just does not work out

[foodite]

Thanks everyone for the advice, a pizza cutter definitely sounds like it would help. I also like the idea of not having to cut anything at all by sifting pulverized caramel onto stencils! I'll report back once I re-attempt the egg.

Filipe - Yes, the gold powder is essential for the holistic experience of this treat and once I nail the caramel it'll surely be dusted, but until then, I didn't want to waste gold.. even as just dust it's pretty expensive

[Tonyy13]

foodite, can you give us an update? Had a chance to check it out yet?

[glennbech]

"I've never tasted it, but according to this article, the gold seems essencial to the whole experience..."

Yes, the gold powder is essential for the holistic experience of this treat and once I nail the cara

Actually... The article says this ;

As food, El Bulli's golden eggs would lose nothing if the gold powder were omitted. As something more than food, as comedy or theatre, this dish is not the same without it.

As "comady or theatre"... I think I'd practice without, and maybe impress the h*ll out of some friends with the "real deal" for a special occasion .-)

Also, I'd never never never use the gold before I had the technique 100% .-)

Update please! :-)

[foodite]

An update:

I think I finally honed a technique that I'm happy with. I took on the suggestion of whizzing up broken up pieces of thecaramel in a spice grinder and then sifting it onto silpat using a square stencil that I jimmied up with a piece of cardstock. The humidity (and heat wave) in my NYC kitchen made it a little hard to work with because the caramel dust started bunching up almost immediately, so I did the the squares in small batches.

Once sifted onto the silpat, it went into a 325 degree oven to remelt. I didn't time it exactly, but basically kept them in the oven until they turned clear. When they cooled, they were thin pieces of almost-clear neutral caramel. Initially, I believe the el Bulli recipe said to make 3/4" squares, but I found them to be too small for the quail yolks. I redid it with 1" squares and found the extra sheet that hung off the edge worked much better in conforming to the countours of the yolk when torched.

Apart of making the thin sheets, another thing that I found difficult was actually flipping the yolk after doing the first side. Unless the caramel sheet is perfectly centered, they yolk could easily slip out of the hemi-shell so I started torching the first side of the yolk on a spoon so that I could just take the entire spoon and invert it.

Here are some pictures of the process...

And the final preparation, plated a la el Bulli vol 3:

[Rachel Perlow]

It's amazing to me that the yolk's membrane doesn't rupture when you apply the hot caramel.

[Patrick S]

It's amazing to me that the yolk's membrane doesn't rupture when you apply the hot caramel.

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Its amazing to me that anyone would want to eat a sugar-covered raw quail egg.

[Anna N]

It's amazing to me that the yolk's membrane doesn't rupture when you apply the hot caramel.

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Its amazing to me that anyone would want to eat a sugar-covered raw quail egg.

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I am with Patrick but then maybe the gold makes all the difference.

[foodite]

It's amazing to me that the yolk's membrane doesn't rupture when you apply the hot caramel.

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Its amazing to me that anyone would want to eat a sugar-covered raw quail egg.

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The yolk membrane actually starts to cook a little from the blowtorch and begins to turn white if you leave it on too long. I've never actually broken the yolk by the blowtorch alone, every time the yolk broke it was because the hardened caramel pierced it when I was trying to flip it over.

Trust me, I wouldn't want to eat more than 1 of these at a time, but the combination of sweet crunch and creamy yolk gives a really interesting mouthfeel and texture, even if it only lasts for 1/2 a bite.

[miladyinsanity]

It's amazing to me that the yolk's membrane doesn't rupture when you apply the hot caramel.

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Its amazing to me that anyone would want to eat a sugar-covered raw quail egg.

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This strikes me as hilarious. But I do agree.

[docsconz]

I would have to think that it has an incredible richness along with amazing textural contrast between the crisp shell and the creamy yolk. I would be very happy to try one

[Patrick S]

Trust me, I wouldn't want to eat more than 1 of these at a time, but the combination of sweet crunch and creamy yolk gives a really interesting mouthfeel and texture, even if it only lasts for 1/2 a bite.

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I'm sure that's true, and since I haven't tried it, I'm not in much of a position to knock it anyway.

[alanamoana]

i've kinda been thinking the same thing as patrick during this thread...amazing mouthfeel and textural contrast aside, it has to taste like something other than a moutful of sugar and raw yolk...

[docsconz]

i've kinda been thinking the same thing as patrick during this thread...amazing mouthfeel and textural contrast aside, it has to taste like something other than a moutful of sugar and raw yolk...

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If it were to be offered as a complete dessert in its own right perhaps, but the context of this dish is as a single step amongst a progression of many. Perhaps the flavor isn't anything particularly special. I would bet that it is very satisfying, however.

[tan319]

In regards to "cooking the yolk, I would bet a heat gun would blow a less brutal blast of heat then a blowtorch?

I think heat guns are used a lot at Alinea and perhaps even El Bulli nowadays...