63 degree eggsperimenting


(Running from stupidity) #1

This was cooked at 63C for 45 minutes, AFTER it was blanched in boiling water for a minute before being cooked sous vide.

As you can see, the yolk is a fair bit runnier at 63C. However, the white is only a little firmer after the 1min blanching. My wife really hated the extremely loose white yesterday, but reported that today was better and she ate more of it. (Careful semanticists will note that “better” does not necessarily mean “good.”)


(Running from stupidity) #2

This egg was cooked for 45-50 minutes at 64C. I like the yolk a little runnier (63C does that) but the white is still really sloppy, so I tried 64C as an experiment. Effectively no difference, still not too nice.


(Running from stupidity) #3

This was cooked at 63.5C for about 50 minutes, after the eggs were blanched in boiling water for 90 seconds before being cooked sous vide.

The whites are definitely better set - I got my wife to come and look at them and she declared she’d eat the lot - and the yolks are def more creamy/less runny. Half a degree difference makes a noticeable change in the end product.

It’s 50 minutes rather than 45 because today is being a bitch, and I screwed up getting the spam cooked. However, the time doesn’t seem to make much difference. I’ll repeat these settings tomorrow and we’ll see what happens.


(Running from stupidity) #4

So, a repeat of yesterday - blanched for 90 seconds, then 45 minutes at 63.5C.

And, strangely, very similar results :slight_smile:

My wife loves it at this level.

It’s one of the great things about sous vide, the metronomic repeatability of it, it removes a lot of variables. (Which is one reason so many restaurants use it, of course.)

OTOH, I think blanching it for that long is too much, so on Monday (probably, due to fasting) I’ll try it with about 75 seconds blanching then 45 mins at 63.5C.

I also put another egg in with this morning’s batch that was also blanched for 90 seconds, but I’m leaving it in the SV until lunchtime, to see how much - if any - difference it makes if I cook it for four hours rather than 45 minutes.

Also worth noting, if the eggs crack when you’re blanching them, they’re fine to sous vide. At least one of the ones in the pic above had cracked, along with one from yesterday’s eeggsperiments.


(Running from stupidity) #5

OK, so this about four hours @ 63.5C

Still very usable, but also kinda weird.


(Running from stupidity) #6

This was supposed to be blanched for 75 seconds then cooked for 45 @ 63.5 but the timer didn’t start, so it was an estimated 75 seconds :slight_smile:

They worked a treat, though :slight_smile:


(Running from stupidity) #7

OK, so I tried these ones in the sous vide at 63.5C for about 45 minutes, THEN into the simmering water for about 45 seconds. They were good, but I def had the simmer too hot for the first one (RHS) and less so the middle one, but the front one was best. I think I need to work on getting them out of the shell post-sous vide, though, I think that was something I did badly.

Good thing I like iterating experiments…


(Carl Keller) #8

You should invest in some egg laying hens. And for the record, I could eat any of those eggs without complaint.


(Running from stupidity) #9

I suspect the people in the other apartments wouldn’t be thrilled :slight_smile:

And for the record, I could eat any of those eggs without complaint.

Oh yeah, I ate them all, but two were a bit dry, in addition to the whites being somewhat munted.