Gourmet Live Blog

Photo: Gourmet

Whatever happened to the soft-boiled egg? Poached and fried eggs have pushed it to the sidelines. But there’s really nothing simpler. The soft-boiled egg was important enough to spawn an industry of cutsy eggcups to hold the hot shells, egg scissors to slice off the tops, and fanciful egg timers to reach the perfect consistency—all fun, but not essential—so it’s high time you rediscovered its delights, accoutrements or not. Here are five tips for perfection:

• Stick A Pin in It: Soft-boiled eggs can crack easily. Although not everyone agrees, I’ve found it helpful to make a tiny hole with a pushpin in the wider end of the egg, before submerging it in the hot water.
• Go Gently: Bring 2 inches of water to a boil in a pot, then turn it down to a simmer before you lower your egg—in the shell and cradled in a slotted spoon—into the water.
• Rumble Not: Cook the egg at a slow simmer; you should see a few bubbles rise to the surface, but not enough to hear the shell knocking against the bottom of the pan.
• Don’t Forgetaboutit: Use a regular kitchen timer, not an adorable flea market find. Gently cooked eggs take longer. Figure on 5 to 6 minutes for a runny yolk, 7 to 8 for barely set. And transfer it to a bowl of cold water for 1 minute to stop the cooking.
• Soldier On: Have ready buttered toast, cut into strips—toast soldiers—for dipping into the runny yolk. Or take a tip from my father, who scooped the egg into a tea cup, added butter and pieces of soft bread, and mooshed it altogether.

Photo: Kemp Minifie

Even if you don’t cook much, it’s not hard to fry an egg, right? Yes and no. It’s the simple things that get us pretty heated about the best technique. I’m a fried-egg-over-easy girl, and here are my five tips for perfection:

•  Get your toast or whatever the egg’s going on ready. Fried eggs don’t wait.
• Use a cast iron skillet if you have one, and heat it first before adding a mix of olive oil and butter. (If using a nonstick, heat the pan with the fat in it). The pan should get hot enough so that the butter foams up and then subsides, but not so hot that it burns.
• Crack the egg on a flat surface, not an edge—your chances for a clean break are better that way—then slide it gently from the shell into the pan.
• Turn the heat down to medium and cover the skillet. Cook the egg undisturbed until the film of egg white barely covering the yolk just turns a milky white, 1 to 11/2  minutes. This makes the yolk sturdy enough to handle the flip.
•  Using your thinnest metal pancake turner,  slide it gently but confidently under the egg and turn it over. Don’t be timid. Turn off the heat and let the egg cook in the still-hot skillet, uncovered, for 10 to 20 seconds, or until the yolk still jiggles when touched for a runny yolk. Longer for a firmer one. Now land it where it belongs.