The biggest complaint we have had and heard about low temperature cooked eggs is about the texture of the egg white. That is what inspired us to develop the 13 minute egg, featured in our book Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work. We've discovered that even our 13 minute egg can be improved upon. That super soft texture is not always desirable. To firm things up a bit we have taken to secondary cooking. Just like a post sear on sous vide meats and a pan roast on low temperature cooked vegetables, slow cooked eggs need a finishing step.
The simplest answer is to crack the egg open into simmering water. The thin white will fall away and the the thick white will firm up and surround the yolk. We have found that our 13 minute eggs cooked straight from the refrigerator will be warm in the center in about 2 minutes. The perfect amount of time to heat them through in a pot of ramen. If you have the ability to hold the eggs in their shells at 60°C then a 30 second drop into simmering water or broth is all you need to put the finishing texture on the egg white. The video above illustrates our results.
Years Past
