When I was a young lad, one of my most thrilling discoveries was the soft-boiled egg.
Later on, I came to appreciate more complex dishes but for sheer satisfaction nothing ever eclipsed “un oeuf à la coque”, a perfectly timed soft-boiled egg.
It is a very simple yet sophisticated fare that can be prepared in minutes, but few people are skillful enough to cook this item properly.
Restaurants are utterly incapable of preparing such delicacy.
In spite of my repeated admonitions, kitchen jocks proved totally unable to turn out decent “over-easy” eggs, let alone “oeufs à la coque”.
The perfect soft-boiled egg should have a firm white, a warm runny yolk and should be savored with “mouillettes” (thin fingers of bread that are delicately dipped into the warm yolk). To be properly savored, it should also be eaten in a “coquetier“.
Ultra-suave James Bond (MBE), when not bashing heads or making love to beautiful women, was known to be fond of SBE (soft-boiled eggs).
Shaken not stirred.
Before being able to produce the perfect soft-boiled egg, I fumbled with various methods, without ever being completely satisfied with the results.
The yolk was always undercooked or overcooked.
But one day a came across a set of instructions that changed my life.
And I owe it all to Jennifer Farley*.
It is on her blog (Savory Simple) that I discovered her foolproof recipe.
Since that fateful day, and after successfully producing a series of perfect “oeufs à la coque”, I stopped drinking and beating my wife.
I am now a new man and a better pétanque player.
Here is Jennifer’s simple but extremely effective recipe:
- Add ½ inch of water to a saucepan and bring the water to a boil on medium-high heat.
- Take the eggs directly from the refrigerator. Use tongs to VERY gently lay the eggs in the bottom of the pan.
- Cover and allow the eggs to steam for 6½ minutes.
- Run cold water into the pan for 30 seconds. Peel and serve.
Bon appétit you all, and check out Jennifer’s blog!
Alain
*Jennifer graduated from L’Académie de Cuisine in December 2010 and has been cooking and baking professionally ever since. Her blog, Savory Simple, began as a journey through culinary school and has evolved into a home for her recipe creations and food photography.
Hi Alain,
You are hardly ( or soft- boiledly) alone in your love of a well cooked coque. Marcel and I indulge at least twice a month, and really must. enjoy therm more often. At two of our hotels in France, there was an egg cooker at the petit dejeuner buffet, so we naturally partook. But I overlooked mine, since I did not pay attention to the timer!
At home, I cook the eggs the same way you do, with the following exception: once I bring a half-inch to an inch of water to a full boil, I set a metal steamer into the pan, then add 2 to 4 large eggs, cover, and turn the temp down so the water doesn’t evaporate. The eggs steam for 6 minutes.any longer, and I find that the yolk is getting too firm around its edge. The eggs continue cooking for a while, no matter how much cold water you add ( I don’t add much, since I want the eggs hot but still a little runny.)