All meals have just been improved. It's because the 6-minute egg has entered my life, and I'm in love! It's amazing. So keep reading, if you will, and I'll turn you into a wizard.
It's been around forever, this egg style, but I had my first one only recently. This particular 6-minute egg found its way into an incredible, rustic-yet-classy breakfast that Colleen and I had a Lula several Fridays ago. You may find yourself linking over to this restaurant's site and feeling quite seasick because of those godforsaken blinking squares, but if you can get past that, head over to the brunch specials and you'll likely see a 6-minute egg somewhere on the menu (the current one sounds pretty amazing). Ours was served with black quinoa, watercress, some other weeds-worthy green things, obscenely pungent black garlic, a sweet potato pavé, sautéed apples, and some other odds and ends. And it was incredible. The black garlic punched me in the face, but you know how fermented foods are. Is it good? Is it bad? It tastes so good! It tastes so bad! Should I actually be eating this?!
They've quite mastered this egg preparation, I think, and, well, you know me -- I can't have OTHER people mastering things while I stand idly by! So I'm learning. Rather, Andy and I are learning. He doesn't consider himself much of a cook, but he likes the magical process of this egg-cooking method because he is A Science Person. Plus, it's impossibly, beautifully simple, and that means a lot to a guy who thinks that even a frozen pizza feels like a bit too much work sometimes.
The 6-minute egg can be a good main course for breakfast, of course, but it's also the perfect touch for any kind of salad, or as the crown on nearly any type of rice dish. I could see this on greens or grains, Indian food or Thai food, or anytime that your meal needs a little flair or a little punch of protein. Think about serving the egg with a good toast, or polenta, or a nice sauce. I could also see this egg with a meat dish, like with a steak, or pork. Be sure to sprinkle your finished eggs with good salt, pepper, and a little olive oil. It's unexpected, this egg, and really sort of like a treasure.
So, let's talk consistency. The texture of the egg is going to blow your mind. The white is similar to that of a poached egg, so it holds together, but isn't rubbery, and the yolk stays together, but is also quite soft at the same time. The process of spilling your yolk in any type of soft-yolk egg preparation is so satisfying, but often a little too wet for me, so I love this 6-minute method because your yolks will not be completely liquid-like, nor will they be cooked. It's the perfect in-between yolk state, and I do believe you'll love it quite a lot.
6-Minute Eggs
Short version:
Boil water.
Cook eggs for 6 minutes.
Move to ice bath.
Remove and peel.
More-words version:
Start with room temperature eggs. (Hate to break it to you, but this part is really important! If the egg is too cold, it'll crack as soon as it hits the boiling water. But sometimes I cheat by microwaving the eggs for about 15-20 seconds in order to mock room temperature.)
Bring a pan of water to a boil. There should be enough water in the pan to cover the eggs completely. When the water is at a rolling boil, carefully and gently lower your eggs into the water with a slotted spoon. Set the timer for 6 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare a bowl of ice water, using about two-thirds ice to one-third water. Keep the water boiling the whole time. At the end of the 6 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and quickly remove the eggs from the pan with the slotted spoon. As you remove them from the boiling water, carefully and gently lower them into the ice bath.
Leave in the ice bath for 20-30 seconds, or up to a few minutes. This part of the process will cause the egg white to separate from the shell and make the egg easier to peel. If you keep it in the ice water for a short amount of time, the egg itself will stay warm, and that's what you want (and by that I mean "that's what I want" -- so it's up to you!). Crack the eggs on a hard surface very gently on all sides, and peel off the shells, being careful to not damage the egg at all. Clean off the membrane and any shell bits and serve immediately.
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