
Bit by slow bit, I have been collecting my preferred egg preparation techniques. The fried egg was easy -- I grew up on my mom's over easy/medium eggs -- liquidy yolks with a nice ring of brown crispies around the edge of the whites. For poached, I use the ladle technique. For hard-boiled, I bring the eggs to a boil, then let them sit with the heat off for a while. But soft-boiled -- I've yet to find a technique I'm perfectly happy with.
Perhaps the Soft Boiled Eggs by Cooking for Engineers will be key. They bring the water to a boil, add the eggs, cover, and boiling for 5 minutes without lowering the heat. Then they're placed in an ice water bath. Why? It lowers the temperature of the egg whites, which helps keep the yolk from cooking, and two -- it causes a little bit of shrinkage.
See, this recipe ends with peeled soft-boiled eggs. I have to say -- the thought never occured to me, but now I'm scheming up eggs twists -- perhaps a soft-boiled egg cracked open into a small, hollowed-out and toasted roll?
What's your favorite soft-boiled egg technique, and do you eat them in or out of the shell?

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8-21-2008 @7:25PM Lorenzo said... Michael's fortunate that he doesn't have issues with breakage. I find they break pretty often if I drop a cold egg into a pot of boiling water, even easing it in with a ladle. I start the egg in cold water, and when the water starts to boil I start the timer for three minutes.
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8-21-2008 @9:33PM Adam Fields said... It's important to start with a cold egg instead of a room temperature one. Doing so significantly decreases the chances that you'll overcook the yolk.
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8-22-2008 @2:03AM Berkana said... There was this Discover magazine article on molecular gastronomy of the egg, with a description of the "67˚ egg" (67˚ Celsius), which is supposed to have a perfect custard like texture. I haven't tried it myself, but the method is to put eggs in a waterbath that is 67˚C and to put this waterbath into an oven that is set to 67˚ for an hour.
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8-22-2008 @7:02PM LySiNe said... Wow, I'm simple. Put em in water, set on stove. Wait till boil and wait for 5 minutes. Add soy sauce and white pepper to taste.
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8-22-2008 @6:51AM Aaron said... five minutes?? I bring the eggs to a boil and then *simmer* for 2:45 (handily, the amount of time my toaster takes on its 90% setting)
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8-22-2008 @7:08AM ronzo said... I use the same method. Five minutes in boiling water, then the ice bath. It works, but peeling the eggs is the toughest part. The shell likes to fragment into a million tiny pieces and getting them all off without leaving any nasty little crunchies is a tough task.
And I love mixing the shelled, soft boiled eggs in a mug, adding a small amount of butter, salt and pepper, and then scooping them out onto buttered toast, a spoonful at a time. It's great.
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8-22-2008 @10:16AM tzurriz said... Five minutes gives me hard boiled eggs. 3 minutes is soft.
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8-31-2008 @2:12PM justfoodnow said... I think we over complicate things. We can all do it - just get the timing right & remember that sea level does play a role!!!
Great site!
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