Anytime I read about a foolproof method for cooking eggs, I have to try it out. And this method from Cooks Illustrated, I promise you, proved revolutionary. Tender, but set, warm whites and reliably runny yolks–whether one egg or six–every single time.
All I do is bring a 1/2-inch of water to boil (One-half-inch! As in takes-no-time-at-all) before placing my eggs in the pot, lowering the temperature to medium, and re-covering it. Then I set a timer for 6-1/2 minutes. It turns out that steaming the eggs (placing less water in the pot) actually means there’s less temperature variability owing to the number of cold eggs you introduce, making this recipe work for a simple morning ritual or for serving a crowd.
After time’s up, I run cold water through the pot and over the eggs to get them cool to the touch. The eggs are easy to peel (easier than hardboiled eggs) because the whites are so springy.
Soft-cooked eggs are delicious on their own, atop pasta with butter and cheese, on pizza… on nearly anything. Right now, my favorite way to eat these is with salt-and-pepper avocado toast: smear toast with a light serving of mayonnaise, cover with at least half a ripe avocado, top it with eggs and give it a healthy dash of freshly ground pepper and sea salt. Then, let the runny yolks do their job.
By the way, the folks in the Cooks Illustrated test kitchen pointed out that you’ll have the best success with eggs having perfectly centered yolks. It doesn’t make a huge difference, but it’s true: if you wanted to be an absolute stickler for an important meal you’re serving you can hold your eggs up to a bright light and select for the ones with centered yolks.
Have a great weekend! Will you try this for breakfast?
P.S. Blood-Orange Salad, my go-to pressed sandwiches, and a cardamon-pear upside-down cake.
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
Cook’s Illustrated has yet to fail me, it is such a fabulous resource for perfecting many recipes. These eggs look delicious, especially combined with the avocado toast.
Whoa! This is so great and exactly what I’ve been looking for. I feel like I’m still perfecting hard boiled eggs, and now I can’t wait to try this. Love the idea of putting it over avocado toast. Thanks for sharing!
-Kristina
Well, I will not try it for myself. I have an aversion to runny yolk. I am happy to eat the egg if the yolk is firm
I may try the recipe for a loved one… thanks for sharing! Your pictures are lovely as always.
I love Cooks Illustrated. Thanks for sharing. xo.
YUM! & yes, I will! My sister just emailed me a short (similar) recipe: scramble your eggs w/ avocado. Is there anything avocado can’t improve?
My co-worker recently sent me her go-to recipe for Brussels sprouts from Cooks Illustrated, and now this! I am still trying to figure out how to “perfectly” poach an egg, and it’s been hit and miss. This looks pretty fail-proof, though, and will still give me those runny yolks I like so much. Plus, on avocado toast! I will definitely be trying this out soon (as well as those other recipes you linked to, which all sound delicious).
I love an over cooked poached egg on avocado and/or hummus toast for easy dinner- i’ll have to give this a try for faster results.
Yum yum yum!!!!
Thanks for sharing this ! My husband, always trying for the perfect egg, is very thrilled to try this method!
Yum! I have to give this a shot! Lately I’ve been fry/steaming eggs in an iron skillet with a lid on low temps.. It has been delicious, but I am looking for some new techniques. Thanks for the post!
This is one of my all time favorite combinations! Will definitely have to try this method. And hope Aron is doing well after his surgery and the three of you can be out and about on adventures soon!
Thank you, Yumi! He’s doing really well! (Sort of love having him home.
Wow, definitely trying this cooking method. And that toast! Totally dreamy!
This looks like perfection, ESPECIALLY on that avocado toast. Definitely going to try this out tomorrow morning!
Just made these in the same pot I had just used to make my pasta in… bad choice. The whites exploded and they stuck to the sides and bottom of my pot like some kind of twisted take on spider man…delicious though!
Uh-oh! I wonder why that happened? Water evaporated? So odd!!
starch!
i am SO making this tomorrow morning! yum
i am picking up an avacado and making this for breakfast thismorning. i have been putting over-medium eggs on everything lately – so this will add a little variety! haha!
I literally *just* followed these directions and as a result had the most blissful Saturday brunch to date. Who would’ve thought that half an inch of water + covering the pot for six & half min would do such glorious things to the egg?! Thanks for sharing!
Tried this this morning and it was delish! You’re right, the eggs were perfectly cooked using this method.
My hubs and I don’t like mayo at all so we swapped that out for goat cheese and it was really tasty.
Thanks for sharing!
Yum! So glad to hear it worked for you, too!
Eggs on toast with avocado (and sometimes a little cheese, and tomatoes if they are in season) is my favorite breakfast. Will try this technique out tomorrow morning!
o-m-geee. this is perfect.
cooks illustrated is my go to for so many things. and the perfectly cooked egg is one i’ve continually tried to perfect but never thought to look at CI for the answer! so thank you. those look amazing.
Yum! Just made this. Used home-made sourdough bread, and instead of mayo, a thin spread of cream cheese and a bit of feta cheese. The egg came out perfectly!
Can I. Use this technique for hard boiled eggs?
THat sounds delicious! I would *think* it would work if you just pushed the time longer, but I can’t say I’ve tried. In the past, I’ve used Martha Stewart’s hardboiled method (probably findable with a Google search). You bring water to a boil. Then turn off heat, add eggs, and set a timer for a certain number of minutes. I can’t recall. But this is essentially the same thing… so it should work!
OMG thank you for this! I tried it this weekend and it worked perfectly!
I just tried this method for a late lunch and it was absolutely delicious (and soooo easy!) Might be my new favorite way to eat eggs.
So glad to hear!!
Oh my eggy goodness! I never knew! This is by far my favorite way to eat eggs, so I will be pinning this right now. Thank you for the great tip!
Oh dear that looks so good. I love a good runny egg (with salt!). I recently saw something that said you can bake them in the oven too. Have you ever tried this with any success? I’m going to try your method soon.
Yes! I often bake eggs in cupcake pans. It’s wonderful–especially for large groups. Ramekins or something would work, too. I imagine there’s a recipe on Epicurious, but basically I just pop an egg into the tin, add some milk, top with some good swiss cheese and add salt and pepper–and sometimes nutmeg. Delicious! You can add spinach, too, but I’m not sure of how it changes timing, etc. Butter the tins first.
I just tried this and you were right- it’s easy and delicious! I’m so glad you posted this recipe.
Just tried this technique — perfect indeed! I made only one egg; can’t wait to try it for two or more. Thank you so much for sharing.
Add a dash of cayan pepper – mmm good!
This looks like the perfect breakfast! I can’t wait to try this.
{ 11 trackbacks }