do you like sous vide egg yolk but hate the runny white?

Canugghead

Today I tried something I meant to do for a long time ...

After removing the egg from the sous vide, I dunked it in boiling water for 5 seconds, then transferred it to icy water bath for 30 seconds.  As usual I cracked it open like a raw egg, here are the photos

A small layer of white is stuck on the shell (the layer was thicker and harder when I tried 30 secs and 10 secs in boiling water, 5 secs seem just right):

scoops out nicely, not hard and not watery:

and here's the yolk:

still silky and custard-like as usual, the white that's stuck on the yolk is not watery either:

assessment: I think the quick dunk in boiling water was just enough to firm up the white, the icy water arrests heat transfer into the yolk. 30 secs in icy water is probably too long, I'll try 15 secs next time.

henapple

Gotta ask...why sv an egg?

Little Steven

My Polyscience is on the fritz. Really looking forward to the eggs. Kyle's girlfriends father raises chickens and the eggs are incredible

Canugghead

henapple said:

Gotta ask...why sv an egg?

with sv, anyone can make perfectly poached eggs in a set-it-n-forget-it manner 

Botch

Cook's Illustrated did a pretty extensive test on poaching eggs, with the ideal being set whites but a still-runny yolk.  This is difficult because egg yolks set at a lower temperature than the whites do, so you need to, as the OP did, send heat into the egg but then pull it out before it affects the yolk too much.  

The technique: let the eggs steam in 1/4" of boiling water in a covered pot.  When the water covers the eggs, the water cools when the eggs are added, and this amount changes depending on the number of eggs.  1/4" water won't do that.  Let the eggs steam for 5 minutes 45 seconds exactly, and it makes a difference whether they're room temp or refrigerated.  Immediately run them under cold water for 30 seconds, and they're done.  

It's a little fussy for work mornings, but occasionally on weekends I make a couple, then toast some sourdough, slice it into 3/8" strips, and dip the toast into the runny yolk as I eat the whites with a spoon; good stuff.  

Canugghead

Little Steven said:

My Polyscience is on the fritz. Really looking forward to the eggs. Kyle's girlfriends father raises chickens and the eggs are incredible

Did you get your new Anova?

Not knowing what went wrong with your Polyscience, I always felt that a water oven type sv like @caliking 's will outlast an immersion stick because there's no moving parts nor heating element in contact with liquid (water, leaked meat juice or marinades).

Last year someone gave us several dozens of organic eggs from a local farm in Bolton.  When fried, those eggs were definitely amazing, however, when poached sous vide way, it was hard to differentiate them from run-of-the-mill supermarket eggs. We saved the rest for frying only!

Canugghead

@Botch, I'd love to try that, is 5m 45s for room or fridge temp eggs? Thanks for sharing.

Carolina Q

I just fry mine. Very little oil. Yolks are soft, whites are firm. Always. And it's easy. No fancy equipment required.

Lit

I have posted a scrambled egg sv recipe in the past that the wife and I love. Best eggs ever.

caliking

henapple said:

Gotta ask...why sv an egg?

why does a dog scratch its b@lls? because it can!!

caliking

@canugghead - yep, I really like the Sous Vide Supreme Demi. I bought it on sale about this time last year. The bait for SWMBO was that we could make baby food in it... ummm, we haven't done that yet.

I like that it doesn't have any moving parts like you said - nothing to get gunked up if a bag leaks or such. Reasonable enough size that it can live on the counter - which means that I'm much more likely to use it. I've made steaks for 10 in it, so the size is good enough for now.

Your mod for SV eggs looks good! I don't mind the white being runny, but your trick takes care of that too. I'll give it a whirl sometime

Botch

Canugghead said:

@Botch, I'd love to try that, is 5m 45s for room or fridge temp eggs? Thanks for sharing.

Embarrassed, not sure, but I think that was for room temp eggs (I always keep two out of the fridge for cooking, whether its frying, poaching, scrambled, or omelettes).  Also need to point out that I live at 4,300 ft. altitude, so boiling water/steam is cooler than at lower altitudes.  

I'd recommend starting at 5:45, trying the eggs, and then adjusting from there (that's what I did).  

Canugghead

Don't be embarassed, after I asked I realised it was a dumb question ... not just the altitude, my room temp and fridge temp are probably not same as yours either. Have a great weekend!

Eggcelsior

caliking said:

henapple said:

Gotta ask...why sv an egg?

why does a dog scratch its b@lls? because it can!!


You spelled balls wrong.

theyolksonyou

I thought they licked them because they can...

Lit

Sous vide is warming up for eggs as I type. MMMMMMMM

DMW

Interesting, thanks for posting. I like the runny whites myself, my wife, not at all. I tear up a piece of bread in small pieces and pour the eggs over the bread, mix it all together with salt and pepper. This will be great, I'll just drop hers in boiling water at the end.

Thanks again, I think I know what I'm making for breakfast.

Zmokin

In the AM, I will be frying up 6 slices of low sodium kirkland bacon, and then cooking 3 eggs over medium (i.e. fully cooked white, runny yolk) for breakfast.  that's one egg and 2 slices of bacon for every human member of the family in the AM.  I use a square skillet as it holds 6 slices of bacon perfectly.

Lit

I am going with the test kitchen soft boiled method. 3 minutes boil them 1 minute ice bath then 45 minutes at 143. 35 more minutes left in the SV.

DMW

Lit

Nice @DMW I am hungry. How did you cook those?

DMW

156* for 21:35, followed by 15 seconds in ice water. I dropped my wife's in boiling water for 5 seconds before the ice bath, her's needed another 5 seconds in boiling water.

Canugghead

Lit said:

I am going with the test kitchen soft boiled method. 3 minutes boil them 1 minute ice bath then 45 minutes at 143. 35 more minutes left in the SV.

Wow, that's fancy, I may try that one day just for the heck of it!

Canugghead

DMW said:

That looks killer! I like your higher temp and shorter time, I did mine at 146 for 1 hr. btw, I did the 5 sec boiling water dunk straight from the sv, followed by ice water.  The only way to (literally) top what's in your insane picture is to add strips of fried home made bacon 

Canugghead

@henapple - @DMW's photo is the best answer to your 'why sv egg' question 

DMW

Thanks @Canugghead‌
Check out the Chefsteps app. It has an egg calculator where you choose the texture of the white and yolk and then it gives you temp and time.

Canugghead

DMW said:

156* for 21:35, followed by 15 seconds in ice water. I dropped my wife's in boiling water for 5 seconds before the ice bath, her's needed another 5 seconds in boiling water.

Thanks for sharing, tried your method today ... 

156F, probably 22 to 23 minutes since I didn't have the boiling water and ice water ready 

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then 5 sec boiling water and 15 sec ice water.  

Quite pleased with the outcome and cutting the time in half.

caliking

OK. I need to try this "mod" soon. Would be nice to have a shorter cook time some days.

Canugghead

@caliking yes, sure comes in handy when you don't have the time.  I need to experiment prolonged soaking at 156F though, may not be as forgiving as 146F?

btw, used my diy sous vide to control a new toy ... small fryer picked up for $7 at a thrift store, what's nice is the removable 1500 watts (almost 2x new Anova's 800 watts) heating element can be dipped  into a larger pot.

caliking

That's pretty neat!