Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The plight of the 6 minute egg

Okay, so a few weeks ago (again, sorry for being a tad behind in the posts) I made a salad with what was supposed to have a lovely “6 minute egg” on top. The night I made this alleged salad happened to be at the end of a very long week and one where every night had featured a new dinner so needless to say, I wasn’t really paying attention. It was only 7 days after the start of the “one new recipe every week” adventure and I was already sick of following someone else’s directions. I was annoyed at the fact I had to do things Tyler’s way and couldn’t just whip up whatever so I guess my brain was doing what I really wanted to do and that was not pay attention at all to these damn eggs. The first go-round they were so gooey I couldn’t even get the shell off—undercooked. I think it's because I didn't bother to use the timer (something I rarely rely on) and just went for it thinking they would automatically be cooked correctly. So, I did what any budget cook would do and put those same eggs back in the pot and turned the water back on. That’s where I went wrong. They were supposed to just sit in the hot water. When I took them out a few minutes later, they were hard-boiled. Not AT ALL what I wanted and I must say I was pretty annoyed. These 4 little hard boiled eggs made me feel defeated and like a total amateur (which I am, but still) and I completely doubted any cooking ability I had. The salad still turned out okay but I couldn’t help imagine how it would have tasted if they had been true 6 minute eggs. So, I tried again. 

Last week, I had some extra time one afternoon, didn’t feel rushed, and figured what the heck? If it doesn’t work out, oh well. No one is here watching this so whatever. I googled 6 minute eggs and found the Voltaggio brothers' blog with detailed directions. I completely trust them since they were on Top Chef and decided to follow the recipe exactly. I added 2 eggs to a pot, filled it with just enough water to cover them, and when it boiled turned off the eye and started the 6 minute countdown. After the 6 minutes was up I put them in a bowl of ice water and cracked them gently to remove the shell which was somewhat tedious but no one was looking so to me, they were just right. They came out…perfect. They were soft and a little runny and everything I had imagined a few weeks before. I added a little salt, pepper, tiny bit of shredded cheddar (of course) and put them on toasted French bread. This was a fantastic lunch! I was filled up but didn’t feel stuffed and was so happy to have mastered these seemingly simple eggs. If only there was a stove in the break room at work…



2 comments:

  1. I've only ever made scrambled eggs or eggs over easy, but I've always wanted to try your method. From what it sounds like they would be delicious! I'm hungry just from reading this!

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  2. I love me a runny egg (fried over easy or poached over easy) but have never tried these 6 minute eggs. I think I am definitely going to have to give it a whirl!

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