Real Aphrodisiacs for Valentine's
Making Chocolate from Wild Cacao
How to Make a Marshmallow Pop
Valentine Gifts for the Five Senses
McBites = Modern McNuggets?
Sausage Recipes of the Month
How to Sous Vide an Egg at Home
Janine Falvo, chef de cuisine of Carneros Bistro & Wine Bar in Sonoma, California, brushes truffle oil (but you can use any kind of oil or butter) onto a piece of plastic wrap, adds some chives and salt and pepper, and cracks an egg into it. She ties the plastic wrap and puts it into boiling water. Once the egg’s been cooked, she removes the plastic wrap and, voilà, a deliciously seasoned poached egg.
Brilliant and so simple. Never would've thought of this, great advice!
I am also worried about the toxins from plastic wrap... why not just butter/oil a small ramekin, add your spcices and eggs to that and put the ramekins into a shallow pan of boiling water? You could then serve the eggs rignt in the little ramekins or turn them out and they would be nice little round disks. It might take a little longer to cook, but there would be no worries about poisons and the...+READ
I am also worried about the toxins from plastic wrap... why not just butter/oil a small ramekin, add your spcices and eggs to that and put the ramekins into a shallow pan of boiling water? You could then serve the eggs rignt in the little ramekins or turn them out and they would be nice little round disks. It might take a little longer to cook, but there would be no worries about poisons and the presentation would be prettier.-COLLAPSE
I'm with the yay (as in Hurray) sayers; tried it for lunch and thought it was great. Next time will add more salt and pepper, more chives, more truffle oil to the olive oil. Besides, it's great fun to do. Playing with your food is always neat. Any other interesting seasonings some have tried?
OK, tried this today in my friend's kitchen. I took @skwid's advice and tied my little ramekin molded bundles around a metal skewer to suspend over the sauce pan of water. I used olive oil as a lubricant, and sprinkled the oiled plastic wrap with Penzey's Fox Point and Tuscan Sunset seasoning.
Problems were minimal. I did not get all the air out of the two bundles, so they floated on the...+READ
OK, tried this today in my friend's kitchen. I took @skwid's advice and tied my little ramekin molded bundles around a metal skewer to suspend over the sauce pan of water. I used olive oil as a lubricant, and sprinkled the oiled plastic wrap with Penzey's Fox Point and Tuscan Sunset seasoning.
Problems were minimal. I did not get all the air out of the two bundles, so they floated on the surface. But a slotted plastic spoon let me control that somewhat. At one point the two bundles became siamese twins, so I was very careful after that point.
I served them on top of buttered toasted whole wheat that was covered with chopped nuked spinach mixed with feta cheese.
Yum. One came out more runny than the other, but just by a little.
Would I do this again? Maybe, it's a lot of bother for poached eggs, maybe even more than the traditional swiled water method, but it was fun to do. And delicious!-COLLAPSE
I am looking forward to Ms Webber reporting back about the wrap. I agree the "off-label" use of plastic wrap in this way is worrisome. It's also wasteful of resources (plastic and all that goes into its production), though I suppose one could argue that cleaning the mess from traditional poaching has its own resource-intensive ramifications.
I poach eggs the "traditional" way using a non-stick...+READ
I am looking forward to Ms Webber reporting back about the wrap. I agree the "off-label" use of plastic wrap in this way is worrisome. It's also wasteful of resources (plastic and all that goes into its production), though I suppose one could argue that cleaning the mess from traditional poaching has its own resource-intensive ramifications.
I poach eggs the "traditional" way using a non-stick wok and clean-up isn't so bad. I crack the eggs into a separate bowl first so they all go into the water together at once and well-set, and swirl the boiling water and get minimal waste. It's fast, seems to me way-faster then tying up squirrely little bundles. But as another poster said, your kitchen's mileage may vary. Oh, after one minute you gently separate and detach from the bottom if necessary, the eggs. This step is important so they're all available to come out at once. I can do a dozen this way, though I prefer to do them in batches of four.-COLLAPSE
I think this method is fantastic, easy and a great way for groups to have poached eggs without the long wait times. Along with the flavor injection that is not capable with traditional poaching methods!
I think some people responding to this blog have gone off the deep end with their plastic, pvc, toxin issues, as all plastic wrap is considered "food quality" and has to be by govt. standards.
...+READ
I think this method is fantastic, easy and a great way for groups to have poached eggs without the long wait times. Along with the flavor injection that is not capable with traditional poaching methods!
I think some people responding to this blog have gone off the deep end with their plastic, pvc, toxin issues, as all plastic wrap is considered "food quality" and has to be by govt. standards.
And as many have noted, there are many ways to improve or adjust this technique to suit your needs, and I thank them all for there input. As this worked quite well for my latest brunch for 26 people, and all had poached eggs, with some asking for more hard than others and .... NO PROBLEM, not with this method!
And if your microwaveable poacher works for you, or you just cannot handle the "toxic" plastic....go boil some water and have a blast cleaning up your pots and pans, we'll be eating and enjoying our guests company while you clean.
Bon Appetite !!-COLLAPSE
Ya know what, A buddy of mine gave me a microvave egg poacher and it works great (and I know how to poach an egg tradionally) no muss, no fuss. 40 seconds and you have two nice poached eggs. You can put truffle oil if you want or even 30WT if you want, no more water, pans, plastic bags, blah, blah, blah......
Whatever the translation of the French terminology, "sous vide" cooking does not require a vacuum seal when the food will be consumed immediately.
The only requirements are a constant temperature and no water entry into the bag. Whether vacuum sealed or not, the end result is the same.
Sous vide means under vacuum, how is this under vacuum? this is just a poached egg with some plastic wrap. Retarded to call this sous vide.
Cheap B****** is right, and although I'm not at the bottom of the sea, but just a shade above sea level, it was the contact with the pan and not the actual boiling water that did the damage. However, the boiling water is what caused the nifty little bundle to bob around and come in contact with said hot pan. And I never intended for the water to boil during cooking, I just failed to turn the heat...+READ
Cheap B****** is right, and although I'm not at the bottom of the sea, but just a shade above sea level, it was the contact with the pan and not the actual boiling water that did the damage. However, the boiling water is what caused the nifty little bundle to bob around and come in contact with said hot pan. And I never intended for the water to boil during cooking, I just failed to turn the heat down when I put the eggs in.
And none of the above would have happened if I had made and consumed the coffee BEFORE trying to make breakfast. Ya' live, ya' learn :)-COLLAPSE
Rainey has it right - this is not sous vide, this is poaching in a bag. If simply throwing a bag in boiling water was sous vide, would minute rice be more impressive?
After a love-hate affair with poached eggs (love the egg, hate the poaching technique), i must say that this IMHO is the most valuable technique i have read so far. What a pleasure SUnday morning was with homemade corned beef hash with poached eggs! After making 3 eggs this way, I added a little vinegar tot eh water and poached my last (fall-apart again) poached egg ever - and fed it to the...+READ
After a love-hate affair with poached eggs (love the egg, hate the poaching technique), i must say that this IMHO is the most valuable technique i have read so far. What a pleasure SUnday morning was with homemade corned beef hash with poached eggs! After making 3 eggs this way, I added a little vinegar tot eh water and poached my last (fall-apart again) poached egg ever - and fed it to the kitchen gods. Bye bye imperfect life - I love you Janine Falvo - you are a truly exceptional chef! Thank you a million times!
...and to those detractors who nit-pick the words and try to find problems .... poor you - you will continue to look for difficult ways to perfectly poach an egg.....-COLLAPSE
As to the plastic, temperature matters A LOT!
Some plastic wraps can take higher heat than others. Saran Wrap is safer than the stretchy kinds, for example. Yes, you can use Saran Wrap to shape and cook food at lower temperatures. However, these wraps were not intended for boiling.
Most plastic wraps leach undesirable chemicals at boiling temperatures, and many will melt - especially if they...+READ
As to the plastic, temperature matters A LOT!
Some plastic wraps can take higher heat than others. Saran Wrap is safer than the stretchy kinds, for example. Yes, you can use Saran Wrap to shape and cook food at lower temperatures. However, these wraps were not intended for boiling.
Most plastic wraps leach undesirable chemicals at boiling temperatures, and many will melt - especially if they contact the bottom of a pan. Many wraps are not suitable for cooking, period.
If you want to use this method, use a product rated as stable at boiling temperatures, such as "boil-in" bags and "oven wraps".-COLLAPSE
Hi Mountquercus, great suggestion for a Nagging Question topic. I will put it on the list. Thanks!
-Roxanne of CHOW
Regarding safety of food contact (particularly with heat), it varies from one wrap to another. There are (at least) two different materials that are used for wraps: PVC (clings better, less impermeable) ("Stretch-Tite", Reynolds "Seal-Tite", "Freeze-Tite") and LDPE (more impermeable, doesn't cling as well) (Glad, Saran. Some earlier PVC wraps have had issues with food contamination. Both Saran...+READ
Regarding safety of food contact (particularly with heat), it varies from one wrap to another. There are (at least) two different materials that are used for wraps: PVC (clings better, less impermeable) ("Stretch-Tite", Reynolds "Seal-Tite", "Freeze-Tite") and LDPE (more impermeable, doesn't cling as well) (Glad, Saran. Some earlier PVC wraps have had issues with food contamination. Both Saran (LDPE) and Reynolds (PVC) that I find around my house say on the label: "Allow one inch between food and wrap". Maybe this is something for Roxanne Webber to investigate.-COLLAPSE
@hanlon
"Many plastics are made from PVC."
No, only PVC is made from PVC. All other plastics are made from other polymers (including eggs ironically enough).
"PVC plus heat means the release of toxic chemicals. I'll poach mine the old fashioned way."
How much heat? If you are talking "burning" the plastic with a nice black smoke, sure, but if you are talking about boiling water, which, unless...+READ
@hanlon
"Many plastics are made from PVC."
No, only PVC is made from PVC. All other plastics are made from other polymers (including eggs ironically enough).
"PVC plus heat means the release of toxic chemicals. I'll poach mine the old fashioned way."
How much heat? If you are talking "burning" the plastic with a nice black smoke, sure, but if you are talking about boiling water, which, unless you are cooking with Sponge Bob and aggiecat at the bottom of the sea, can not exceed 100C no matter how hard it boils (@STP for you pedantic bastards like me). I don't have any evidence to back this up, but I would guess that if you leave your plastic wrap in a box, in a drawer, for a while (month or so...) when you open the box, you will breath in more toxins given off from the plastic, than by eating the egg cooked for 3 min in boiling water wrapped in plastic.-COLLAPSE
Well ive tried it this morning, it was great. this method would be great for a brunch for a group. the mise en place could be done to the point of dunking the eggs. I can picture all the little packets waiting in the fridge. Less time slaving more time at the party.
sous vide = in a vaccum
I havent tried this yet but it sounds good, could the bursting bundles result from tying thm too tightly and not allowing the cooking egg room to expand?
I tried the recipe, it was quick,easy. the eggs look and tasted great,they cook so fast best advise is have the rest of the meal ready . I used
kitchen twine , mine was kind of thick, so I separated in half, it was easy to tie the bundles, must use a brush to spread oil on the plastic, just keep an eye on the eggs pull it out by the strings and enjoy.
I tried this technique this morning with 3 large eggs straight from the fridge. It worked out great. Excited to try it again with different seasonings.
I've tried this two days in a row with sketchy results. 3 min with (extra large eggs from fridge) was not enough. (size & temp does matter) I tried 5 min today and they were a bit better. (no runny clear whites, with liquid warm yolk).
But! Both days I cooked at the simmer/low boil with Saran and my wrap broke, one package each day. I'm excited to perfect this recipe so I can make 8 eggs at once...+READ
I've tried this two days in a row with sketchy results. 3 min with (extra large eggs from fridge) was not enough. (size & temp does matter) I tried 5 min today and they were a bit better. (no runny clear whites, with liquid warm yolk).
But! Both days I cooked at the simmer/low boil with Saran and my wrap broke, one package each day. I'm excited to perfect this recipe so I can make 8 eggs at once for a party that all come off at the same time.-COLLAPSE
apicius76, how much duck fat do you put with the egg? Do you just use duck fat instead of the olive oil?
This egg is definitely not "sous vide"... This is an "Arzak egg" a technique that was perfected by Juan Mari Arzak in San Sebastian, Spain. I put duck fat and shaved truffles into my "egg flower" when I cook these.... and no, cooking in plastic wrap won't kill you... or you would have chefs dropping dead everywhere.
These look fantastic! I will disregard naysayers, skeptics and those fearful of plastic wrap, and give them a try this coming Sunday brunch. They should make a delicious accompaniment to my husband's waffles.
Yes alkapal, you are correct, it may look "les miserables" but it tastes delicieux.
cool technique, with great potential for experimentation with seasonings.
but tell me this, doesn't that "little bundle" (when she pulls it up, at 22 seconds) look exactly like the "les miserables" waif? http://88.87.211.197/MEBO/imagenes/Evento/les_miserables.jpg
~~~
i was right, huh? ;-)).
i can't remember the official way but here's what I do:
1. spread/drizzle/spray oil of choice of spread out flat square of wrap (I can only dream of tuffle oil)
2. sprinkle herbs, salt, pepper, seasonings of choice. Basically, what you normally put on a plain poached egg plus the fun seasoned extras.
3. Set the wrap on/a cupI like a plastic one that it won't cling to and use finger or spoon...+READ
i can't remember the official way but here's what I do:
1. spread/drizzle/spray oil of choice of spread out flat square of wrap (I can only dream of tuffle oil)
2. sprinkle herbs, salt, pepper, seasonings of choice. Basically, what you normally put on a plain poached egg plus the fun seasoned extras.
3. Set the wrap on/a cupI like a plastic one that it won't cling to and use finger or spoon or whatever to create a place for the egg to go. 4. Crack egg in plastic wrap.
5. Tie up bundle. Again, I use a wooden clothespin and it works great.
6. I'd try leaving the egg in longer but only a bit (15 second increments) and trying it. You could also let it sit for a 1/2 minute or so before serving and the carry-over heat might take it just the last little bit to perfect.
6. Poach, open and enjoy.
With this kind of precision cooking, where seconds and degrees actually do affect results, you just have to experiment. Even minor variations in altitude, starting egg coldness, etc. are going to change your results so you want to figure out the way you are always going to do it and do it that same way exactly every single time changing only the one factor (variable) like how long you cook, So that in then end you will replicate the exact same egg every time. This is why I'm trying to afford a good eletric egg poacher. Much less work with easier variable control. in the meantime, this is working pretty well.-COLLAPSE
So should I lower the heat and leave the egg in longer? Would that do the trick? I left the eggs in for 3 minutes as the video says. Btw, I accidentally forgot to add the truffle oil to one of the eggs and my wife said the eggs defnitely needed the truffle oil (or it could have been because she ate the truffled egg first and the other one then seemed to be missing something). Also how much salt...+READ
So should I lower the heat and leave the egg in longer? Would that do the trick? I left the eggs in for 3 minutes as the video says. Btw, I accidentally forgot to add the truffle oil to one of the eggs and my wife said the eggs defnitely needed the truffle oil (or it could have been because she ate the truffled egg first and the other one then seemed to be missing something). Also how much salt and pepper do hounds use? I used to pinches of salt and just ground some pepper on the oil covered plastic. Should the salt and pepper be added after the egg is cracked into the plastic?-COLLAPSE
Yeah, I wouldn't leave the water at boiling because this is what I did and I got melted wrap. Either the water was just too hot, or the vigorous boiling caused the wrap to come in contact with a really hot part of the pan and melt. I'm sticking with a low simmer when I do this or, just an easy-over egg in a non-stick pan, cause it's easy too. But the low and slow easy over causes the white to...+READ
Yeah, I wouldn't leave the water at boiling because this is what I did and I got melted wrap. Either the water was just too hot, or the vigorous boiling caused the wrap to come in contact with a really hot part of the pan and melt. I'm sticking with a low simmer when I do this or, just an easy-over egg in a non-stick pan, cause it's easy too. But the low and slow easy over causes the white to cook a little to firm which is hard for me to digest. I have food issues, they are complicated. Poaching soft eggs means I have very softly but totally cooked egg whites and warmed yolks which just make me and my tum happy. Otherwise, I've got to hard poach and send the whole egg through a ricer a couple of times to get the egg whites mashed very very finely.
For your wife, try experimenting with turning them loose, or try it for a tad bit longer, like 15 second increments. Then you are likely to hit the poached egg sweet spot for her.-COLLAPSE
Hanlond, Saran Wrap (and the like) are no longer made of PVC. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saran_(plastic) as a reference. Glad's cling wrap is likewise not PVC. Things we call "plastics" can be made of several different types of compounds have quite different properties. You might still need to be worried about heat and plastic wrap but not because of PVC problems.
Back to the cooking of...+READ
Hanlond, Saran Wrap (and the like) are no longer made of PVC. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saran_(plastic) as a reference. Glad's cling wrap is likewise not PVC. Things we call "plastics" can be made of several different types of compounds have quite different properties. You might still need to be worried about heat and plastic wrap but not because of PVC problems.
Back to the cooking of the egg.
I decided to cook some eggs this way for breakfast on Saturday to suprise my wife (who hates the way I normally cook eggs). Things came out pretty good and she was impressed. Significantly less mess than the way she does poached eggs (which imvolves slowly laying the egg into boiling water and then fetching it out, not getting everything).
I changed things a bit in that I used a wooden spoon and tied the packages to this spoon. I then just places the spoon across the pot of boiling water and teh eggs were in the water. At the appointed time I just lifted the spoon and the eggs all came out. This part worked very well (the imersing and removal) but one of my wifes eggs had a small bit of the white not quite fully cooked. She seems to think this was because the eggs weren't allowed to float around the water bath freely. I did turn the heat down a bit so the water was not at a full boil once the eggs were added. Should I have left the heat on high? I really like using the wooden spoon to tie everything to as it makes imersing and removal of the eggs really simple.
So what say the chowhounds?-COLLAPSE
"No. Professional kitchens use plastic wrap to cook all of the time. Poaching is done at a fairly low temperature so there should not be any issue with toxicity for this technique."
Just because professional kitchens use plastic wrap to cook all of the time does not mean that it's safe. Most professional kitchens also use nonstick pans and aluminum pans that are often in really poor condition...+READ
"No. Professional kitchens use plastic wrap to cook all of the time. Poaching is done at a fairly low temperature so there should not be any issue with toxicity for this technique."
Just because professional kitchens use plastic wrap to cook all of the time does not mean that it's safe. Most professional kitchens also use nonstick pans and aluminum pans that are often in really poor condition because of careless use.
Many plastics are made from pvc. PVC plus heat means the release of toxic chemicals. I'll poach mine the old fashioned way.-COLLAPSE
Why not use an old-fashioned egg coddler? It's easy & no messy plastic wrap to dispose of.
I have a powerful GE Monogram microwave, so I found that I need to check the eggs after about 25secs as opposed to the 1-2 mins they suggest ! I made great egg salad from the first few trys...a great way to make oddly shaped hard boiled eggs, but keep trying.
uassoc: I got one and have tried it with a doz eggs without success. Mine always pop a LOT and I have never been able to get the power, time combo right. so I gave up in frustration. I'm microwave impared if it doesn't involve heating up water. it's also a factor with the microwave at my new house. Its a lot more powerful than my old one and even sensor cooking for fresh veggies often leaves a...+READ
uassoc: I got one and have tried it with a doz eggs without success. Mine always pop a LOT and I have never been able to get the power, time combo right. so I gave up in frustration. I'm microwave impared if it doesn't involve heating up water. it's also a factor with the microwave at my new house. Its a lot more powerful than my old one and even sensor cooking for fresh veggies often leaves a brown "charred" bit on the top. Not good. So I'm having a lot of trouble with things that ougfht to be very simple to cook in the microwave. Ahh, better living through technology, right?-COLLAPSE
I just purchased a two egg plastic poacher for microwave use made by RPI Group at local Stop & Shop. You simply put 1/2 tsp of water in each cup, break in an egg, pierce the yolk slightly, put the cover on loosely and microwave for a minute or less. Came out great !
Also great for tailgating at noon games. In a crowd, you and your buddies can scramble eggs w/bacon, sausage, cheese, etc using this method in a propane-fired steamer, using a zip-lock baggie with your initials on it.
Sounds and looks great......can't wait to try it!
"Is anyone else scared of the plastic wrap decomposing and releasing toxins?"
No. Professional kitchens use plastic wrap to cook all of the time. Poaching is done at a fairly low temperature so there should not be any issue with toxicity for this technique.
I thought "sous vide" meant under vacuum rather than referring to a specific temperature.
Is anyone else scared of the plastic wrap decomposing and releasing toxins? Some brands melt at a lower temperatures than others...
That's a very nice technigue for a poached egg but I'm not sure the visual is as nice as a traditional poached egg. I think this is a great tip for a lot of people no matter what you call it.
Yeah, I was hoping this would tell me how to sous vide an egg at home for 60 minutes (or however long it's supposed to be) without the use of a circulator.
Jay:
True. However I was referring to sous vide as a technique and not eggs specifically. I apologize for not making that clear.
Sous vide, or poaching for that matter, is not done with boiling water.
Yeah, I've been bringing the water to a good boil, turning down the gas and cooking these at a good simmer/ barely boiling. Today I forgot to turn the gas down when I put in the eggs. Oops, my bad. 2 eggs, cold from the fridge for 3 minutes. Pull out of the water and let sit until I get the gas off or something else in the water, open the bags and slip eggs effortlessly onto the toast, or plate...+READ
Yeah, I've been bringing the water to a good boil, turning down the gas and cooking these at a good simmer/ barely boiling. Today I forgot to turn the gas down when I put in the eggs. Oops, my bad. 2 eggs, cold from the fridge for 3 minutes. Pull out of the water and let sit until I get the gas off or something else in the water, open the bags and slip eggs effortlessly onto the toast, or plate or bowl :) ahh yum.-COLLAPSE
140 F will not change the protein structure of the egg at all, merely warm it up.
145-150 F will give you perfectly poached eggs, but it will need to be at that temperature for about half an hour or more.
First, it's a whole lot cleaner, I mean, I love that I can put on the water, plonk in the egg, remove egg and dump water without having to wash the pan. I often will then put something else in the water to cook or heat, like some eggs in shells for egg salad sandwiches or some pasta that will get cooked al dente and then added in to the sauce at the last minute for dinner. Or it can become part...+READ
First, it's a whole lot cleaner, I mean, I love that I can put on the water, plonk in the egg, remove egg and dump water without having to wash the pan. I often will then put something else in the water to cook or heat, like some eggs in shells for egg salad sandwiches or some pasta that will get cooked al dente and then added in to the sauce at the last minute for dinner. Or it can become part of your wash water if you are into hand washing.
Unless... and this makes me right beside MsDiPesto on the plastic wrap question.. the water is boiling a little to hard, or the egg bundle touches the bottom of the pan or otherwise the plastic gets a little melty and the egg falls out. Still totally salvagable but I think I got my water a little too hot.
A second reason is that it makes the beayoootiful little eggs so perfectly cooked and round.
Third, It's easy to tell that they are perfectly cooked because you can kinda check the bundle for firmness, the firmer it is the more done.
Fourth, this is a really, truly, non-stick egg.
Fifth, you can do more than one egg at a time. Have you ever tried to do a true swirly poached egg with another egg already in the pan? Can't be done in my kitchen, milage may vary in yours. So that means that both my poached eggs come out perfect, at the same time, ready go to on the toast with minimal fussing on my part. I put them in, set the timer and get the milk, yougurt, fruit and cereal out for the munchkin and by the time he's eating my breakfast is ready too.
Also, for those who might be wondering, you can use wooden clothespins, the one's with the springs, in place of string, just twist the wrap up really well and get the pincer part of the pin right on the twist. Reusable and easy! Do NOT use plastic. Now, about that wrap, I made sure mine was microwave safe as I thought it would be best at standing up to the hot water. But, it was generic and while there normally isn't a huge difference, perhaps there might be. Sure, I'll buy an egg poacher when I can afford one. But I'm not getting suckered into buying a cheap one again. I mean, what part of "non-stick" don't they understand.-COLLAPSE
Why is this better than than the old-fashioned way, though?
Do you have to use some special plastic wrap?
Nice technique! However, I would take issue with the term "sous vide." I know I'm nitpicking, but sous vide is done at a much lower temperature, not boiling, or even simmering. Typically below 140F.
But I DO like the idea of the plastic for oil flavor infusing of the egg. Otherwise, you'd have a mess.