How to cook the perfect soft boiled egg

JAS_OH1

JAS_OH1

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[Mod. Edit: this and following few posts moved to start a new thread]

Hi everyone, I am new here! We are just starting to really enjoy the many ways of eating eggs in quarantine. I have been buying them a lot more than normal on my curbside grocery pickups. I accidentally made them soft-boiled about a week ago and now that's the only way my husband likes them. Does anyone have a fool-proof way of making sure the yolks are not overcooked? Thanks so much!
 
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JASOH1 said:
Does anyone have a fool-proof way of making sure the yolks are not overcooked? Thanks so much!
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That is a question we have debated a lot here. There are lots of different methods and it does depend on how big the eggs are, to an extent. I'll try to find links to the posts where we have discussed this before. :okay:
 
JASOH1 said:
Does anyone have a fool-proof way of making sure the yolks are not overcooked? Thanks so much!
Click to expand...

I have no doubt that some will disagree but this is my method:

Remove the egg from the fridge and allow it to reach room temperature.

Put sufficient room temperature water in a sauce pan to cover the egg.

Bring to the boil and allow to boil vigorously for 60 seconds.

Turn off the heat and leave covered for 2¼ minutes (medium egg) or 2½ minutes (large egg).

Drain off the hot water and flush with cold water to stop the cooking process.

Peel carefully or place in an eggcup to serve.

with toast 5 s.jpg

with toast 5 s.jpg

  • Media owner Yorky
  • Date added
Soft boiled eggs.

The image above were duck eggs which have a slightly thicker shell.
 
Last edited:
JASOH1 said:
Hi everyone, I am new here! We are just starting to really enjoy the many ways of eating eggs in quarantine. I have been buying them a lot more than normal on my curbside grocery pickups. I accidentally made them soft-boiled about a week ago and now that's the only way my husband likes them. Does anyone have a fool-proof way of making sure the yolks are not overcooked? Thanks so much!
Click to expand...

Here is a link to a previous (old) thread on the same subject: The Perfect Boiled Egg
 
We eat a lot of soft-boiled eggs here, and I can vouch for the microwave method morning glory linked to above. I've used it before.

My usual method, though, is one outlined by SeriousEats: get some water boiling, put in your egg(s), boil for 30 seconds, then cover and gently simmer for about six minutes, then into some ice water for a few minutes.

Since I have an electric stove, I'll set one burner for the boil, and turn another burn on simmer, and move the pot over; otherwise, if you cut the heat on the boiling burner, it'll keep boiling for a couple of minutes.

I also like my egg to be warm, so I don't leave it in the ice water for long.
 
TastyReuben said:
My usual method, though, is one outlined by SeriousEats: get some water boiling, put in your egg(s), boil for 30 seconds, then cover and gently simmer for about six minutes, then into some ice water for a few minutes.
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I will try this - 6 minutes plus 30 seconds sounds too long for me. Be interesting to compare. I will weigh the egg so we can be accurate. :D
 
morning glory said:
I will try this - 6 minutes plus 30 seconds sounds too long for me. Be interesting to compare. I will weigh the egg so we can be accurate. :D
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Ok, I misspoke and managed to combine their hard boiled and soft boiled egg methods into one...spongy boiled method?

In the interest of not giving them a bad name, here's SE's method:

Perfect Soft-Boiled Egg Recipe

I've also used America's Test Kitchen's method, which is more akin to steamed eggs, with pretty good results:

How to Cook the Perfect Soft Cooked Eggs from Cooks Illustrated
 
morning glory said:
Eeek. I just did it! Result was soft yolk in parts, set in other parts. I won't post photos.
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I think I just discovered why mine turn out that way.

On the plus side, I'd much rather have some hard bits of yolk versus some liquidy bits of white.
 
OK so here are the results of using this method: How to Cook the Perfect Soft Cooked Eggs from Cooks Illustrated

As you can see, I do have what appears to be a runny egg:

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However, when I tipped it out to inspect, it is clear that the yolk is partially set. I'd say at least a third set if not more. And that is the part that was submerged in water and closest to the heat source. This was a large egg (67g) cooked for the specified 6½ minutes.

I don't see any point in cooking less time. I think that would result in a partially uncooked yolk/white.

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I put an egg into a saucepan and cover it with cold water. I boil the water, then turn the heat down to simmer for 2 minutes. Sometimes it works and I get a nice runny yoke and a set white, sometimes it doesn't work and I either get a hard yoke or a liquidy white.

Just as a slight sidetrack, I don't eat my boiled egg with 'soldiers' - when I did this a long time ago, I was running out of egg a long time before I ran out of toast. Now I spoon the egg out of its shell and spread it all over the toast - well, as far as I can spread it - yum!
 
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