Sous Vide Eggs
My girlfriend calls these Perfect Eggs.
Due to the precise temperature of sous vide cooking, you can reliably accomplish the exact egg yolk consistency you want while reducing the number of things that can go wrong while preparing eggs.
The "perfect egg" preparation provides a wonderful yolk consistency this is really only possible using sous vide.
Ingredients
- Large eggs, refrigerated
Method
Choose the yolk consistency
| Yolk consistency | Temperature | Time | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liquid and only slightly thicker than raw | 145°F / 63°C | 45 minutes | Poached-egg equivalent |
| Thickened but still flowing | 145°F / 63°C | 1 hour | “Perfect egg” |
| Thick and spreadable, like custard | 147°F / 64°C | 45 minutes | Custard-like yolk |
| Thick like tender pudding | 145°F / 63°C | 90 minutes | Spoonable, non-flowing yolk |
Cook and finish
- Choose the desired yolk consistency and preheat the sous-vide bath to the corresponding temperature.
- Place the eggs, still in their shells, directly in the bath. Hold them in a sieve or other small bath-safe container if needed to prevent movement and cracking.
- Cook for the corresponding time.
- Working with one egg at a time, crack the large end of the shell and carefully release the egg into a small bowl. Pour off or drain away any watery loose white while preserving the tender white surrounding the yolk.
- If the remaining white is sufficiently set and presentable, serve the egg immediately. For a cleaner, more cohesive exterior, lower the shelled egg into water held just below a simmer for 30 to 60 seconds, then lift it out with a slotted spoon and drain well.
- Place the whole egg on the dish and serve promptly.
Sous-vide poached egg
- Cook the egg at 145°F / 63°C for 45 minutes.
- Crack it carefully into a small bowl, allowing the watery loose white to fall away from the intact egg.
- Slide the egg into water held just below a simmer and cook for 1 minute to set and neaten the exterior white.
- Remove it with a slotted spoon, drain, and serve immediately. The result is the functional equivalent of a poached egg: a cohesive, tender white surrounding a liquid yolk.
For the same presentation with a thicker, slower-flowing yolk, extend the sous-vide cook to 1 hour before applying the same hot-water finish.
Storage
- Chilling: If the eggs will not be served immediately, transfer them directly from the sous-vide bath to an ice-water bath for at least 10 minutes. Dry them and refrigerate them unpeeled in a covered container. Discard any egg whose shell cracked during cooking or chilling.
- Refrigeration: Keep chilled eggs refrigerated and use them within 3 days.
- Rewarming: Rewarm the eggs, still in their shells, in a 130°F / 54°C water bath for 15 minutes. Crack, drain, and apply the brief hot-water finish from the method when a neater or more cohesive white is desired.
- Freezing: Not recommended; freezing damages the texture of the white and yolk.
- Do not microwave an egg in its shell.