Need help soft boiling eggs.

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buckytom

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after watching "master chef" tonight, my wife and son wanted me to show them how to make the 4 kinds of eggs featured in the pressure/elimination challenge: sunny side up, poached, 3 egg omelette, and soft boiled.

i know how to make sunny side up and omelettes easily, and i can do poached no problem in vinegared water.

my problem is going to be the soft boiled. i usually hard boil eggs for things like breakfast or lunch, for colouring at easter, or to be taken on road trips or to turn into devilled eggs, but i can't recall ever making a soft boiled egg intentionally, lol.


what are your methods or techniques for making a perfect soft boiled egg? how long do you cook it? slow rolling boil, or another temp? cold eggs in with the cold water, or room temp, or added to hot/boiling water?

i'll be going home with a dozen eggs in the morning for our little cook off, so i'll post results tomorrow night.

tia. :chef:

also, any personal secrets to poaching eggs? swirling the water, adding lemon, or such? i can make them, but they don't look as perfect as the ones on the show.
thanks.
 
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Soft boiled eggs, childhood revisited, ok pan of simering water add 1 tea spoon of salt and 1 of vinagar, ( helps with eggs cracking ) eggs take about 3 minutes to cook in simmering water, ever heard of an egg timer hour glass with sand in it turn and sand runs threw, to get them soft boiled timing is critical.

take the egg out of pan after 3 minutes if all the water on outside evaporates instantly its hard boiled, should take about 2 seconds for water to disapear.

tip place eggs in pan with a spoon , with just enough water to cover the eggs.

do some toast with the eggs butter toast then cut into about 10 finger sized strips.

if you get it right the white of the egg is cooked but the yoke ( yellow ) is uncooked

take the top of the egg and dip the toast in
 
I love soft boiled eggs and have them once or twice a week. Here's how I make them.

First, take your egg(s) out of the fridge beforehand so they come to room temp, or at least are not cold directly from the fridge.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, should be enough water to cover the egg by an inch or so. Don't use an oversized pot or they will bounce around too much and could crack.

When the water comes to a boil, put the egg on a spoon and VERY slowly lower it into the boiling water. You don't want it to hit the bottom of the pot with any force. Set your timer for 6 minutes for a large egg, or 5 for a medium sized egg.

When the timer goes off, take your egg out immediately and run it under cool water until barely cool enough to handle, but still hot. Crack it around the middle with a spoon and gently pull it apart over your plate. Spoon each half onto your plate. The yolk should be confined to one half or the other, done but very soft and loose, the whites should be soft but not runny.

Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy. :yum:
 
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I'm up late tonight and just had a soft boiled egg - perfect excuse to have a late night snack. :)

Forgot to say, when you put the egg in the boiling water, lower the temp a tad so that it's still a boil, but not a raging, violent boil. 5 and a half minutes was perfect for a large egg.

Happy experimenting, buckytom. Will be interested to hear of your results. :)
 
thanks very much, cheryl and tango.

hey, welcome tango! thanks again.


the variables will be interesting: size of egg amd shell, makeup of water, temp of boil, specific amount if time.

it'll be fun, educational, and the best part, edible.
 
:yum:Now you will have to try out all the individual methods Bucktooth.

I do soft boiled eggs all of the time.

I keep eggs out of the fridge, so straight into a pan of cold water.

Bring to boil. Lower heat to a good simmer.

Depending on size of egg - time to at least 4 minutes. ( I use large eggs so 4 minutes).
 
I have more steps than are probably necessary, but I am finicky about my eggs.

Take eggs from frig. Start a pan of water and bring to a boil. Carefully lower eggs into the boiling water. When the eggs return to a bubbleing boil, not a full angry boil, set timer for 5 minutes. At 5 minutes empty pan of hot water under running cold water and fill the pan with cool water. Return pan to a cold burner on stove. Remove eggs one at a time and gently crack on the counter. Gently peel shells. Do a quick dip back in the cooled pan of water and rinse off any shell bits. Then gently roll on a double up paper towel to dry. Place the egg on a slice of toast on the center of your plate. Repeat with next egg. Yes, if you work it right, the cool water does bring the cooking to a stop, cools them enough so they are readily handled, and yes, the eggs remain warm if you serve them right away.

I like the egg whites cooked and the yellows still runny. I find 5 minutes does this. I also try to maintain consistency in how much water is used for cooking and always the same size pan-- about an inch higher than the eggs, and I use a one quart size copper bottom stainless steel pan.

Cut the eggs in halves when you sit down, salt and pepper. Serve with a slice of buttered toast and allow the toast on your plate to absorb some of the egg yolks too.

PS. "new" eggs sometimes don't want to peel as easily as those that have been stored awhile. So for your experiment, use any you already have on hand for soft boiled.

PPS. Your son may better like his toast cut in strips or Little Soldiers. I didn't learn what this term meant until well into adult- hood despite seeing it referenced in various books / novels etc. Great for egg dipping.
Have fun too.
 
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eggs @ room temp.gently boiling water with salt & vinegar in.the vinegar will instantly "heal" the white if the shell cracks.dunno what the salt does,but if it was good enough for me mum.......anyway prick the blunt end of the egg with pin/toothpick(not your dewalt!) this punctures the air sac which is what usually causes the egg to crack as the air expands in the hot water.lower egg into water gently with a spoon.time depends on size 3-4 mins should do it.don't cover pan.forget the eggs,order take away sushi.now phone your mum & dad:LOL:!!
 
Eggs straight from the fridge and into a 2 quart pot with cold tap water filling an inch above the eggs. Turn flame to medium and heat until the water just starts to bubble. Set timer for 2 minutes and 32 seconds, and let simmer at a low boil. Teh water temp is the same at a low boil as it is at a hard boil, so that makes no difference, but keeps the eggs from jostling around and cracking. When the timer goes off, remove the pan from heat, drain the hot water, and crack the egg shell by bouncing gently in the pan. Fill the pan with cold water, letting the water overflow the pan for about a minute. Remove the eggs and peel. Rinse and place on hot, buttered toast. Egg whites are cooked through, with a runny yolk.

Perfect poached egg. Bring salted water to a boil, then turn down the heat until the water quits boiling, and is still. Use AA grade large eggs as the yolk stands up better. Carefully break egg into the water, right at the water. Let set for a moment before adding a 2nd egg. The water is still hot enough to cook the egg, but the egg stays together in the unmoving water. Cook for about 3 minutes. Test with a spoon to make sure the egg white is set. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on top of toasted, buttered English muffin.

Perfect poached egg #2 - Fill dedicated poaching pan with 1.5 inches of water. Remove the egg cups from the cup holder and smear with a generous amount of butter. Break room-temperature eggs into the cups and place back into the cup holder. When the water is boiling in the pan, put the egg cups back into the cup holders. Cover and cook until the whites are just firm and the yolk is still runny. Remove from the cup holders to toasted English muffin that has been covered with your favorite melting cheese. Serve hot with S&P. You can also use either of these poached eggs to make Eggs Benedict.

Sunny side up eggs you already know. But for a pink-top egg, use the same technique as for a sunny side up egg. For the last 30 seconds of cooking, add 2 tbs. of water to the hot pan and cover. Remove the lide after the thirty seconds have passed for a perfectly pink covering on the yolk.

Basted egg is made by frying the egg in bacon or sausage grease, and spooning the hot grease over the egg top until the white is set and the top is pink. S&P to taste.

Basted egg with crispy edges - same as above, but over medium high heat.

That's more than four techniques here, but then, how else would I earn my moniker - Chief Longwind?:LOL:

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
Sunny side is a fried egg that doesn't get flipped over so you can see the yellow yolk on the plate.

Tom, add either vinegar or lemon to the poaching water. The acid speeds setting of the white. If you put the raw egg into a little vortex created by a spoon handle or similar it tends to keep the white from spreading around.

I once saw Jacques Pepin do poached eggs and his were neat because he trimmed them with a paring knife after taking them out of the water.
 
I never flip my fried eggs so hurray I can already do sunny side up !:chef:

Life is seriously too short for trimming them!! You could put them in a ring or something if you desperately wanted them to be neat. :rolleyes:
 
:yum:Now you will have to try out all the individual methods Bucktooth.

I do soft boiled eggs all of the time.

I keep eggs out of the fridge, so straight into a pan of cold water.

Bring to boil. Lower heat to a good simmer.

Depending on size of egg - time to at least 4 minutes. ( I use large eggs so 4 minutes).

Exactly what I do too.
Find that much easier and quicker than putting eggs in boiling water and risking cracks.

I also always shock them in cold water when they are done to make the shell come off nicely (if you're gonna peel them).
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Like everyone else said. I am going to try a different method, just for the heck of it. I do my hard boiled eggs this way and they are perfect every time.

I will place the eggs in a pan with enough cold water to cover. then bring to a boil, turn off the heat and cover the pan. let stand for about 8 mins (12-15 for hard boiled). Remove them from the pan and run under cold water until you can handle them. Do what you will with them after that. Personally, I like to put them in an egg cup and take the top of the shell off and enjoy.
 
Sorry--my pics turned out as crap. But, I did this today:

2 fresh eggs (these were fresh today) washed (so these would be body/room temp)
Enough water to cover the eggs x 1/2 egg height
1/2 c white vinegar
bring the water to a soft boil (that took about 2 minutes) on high
let the water softly boil (a rolling boil that you can stir down) for 3 minuites
Drain, cover the eggs with ice water for 1 minute
Crack the top off, and scoop out.

I put mine on top of a bed of steamed kale with chickpeas, and had a side of quinoa.

Perfect soft-boiled eggs if you like the yolks runny. If not, cook for 4-5 minutes once the water starts to roll. If you let them cook longer, you're on your way to a perfect hb egg.
 
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