# Anyone know how to make flawless soft-boiled eggs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 2, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121 "2012-01-02T04:53:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/1 "2012-01-02T04:53:59Z")
By “flawless” I mean that the white is completely cooked, no runniness anywhere, and the yolk is thoroughly heated and thickened, but not hard. Room temp eggs? Stir during cooking? Exact time from cold or from room temp for large? Any other secrets or tricks? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/2 "2012-01-02T05:13:58Z")
This is a “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” question. Practice, practice, practice. Start out by lowering an egg into fully boiling water for three minutes. Modify to taste. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/3 "2012-01-02T05:22:20Z")
I’ve been quite impressed by [this recipe](http://epicureandebauchery.blogspot.com/2009/03/recipe-perfect-soft-boiled-eggs.html), which is a bit different than the usual method. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/4 "2012-01-02T05:22:41Z")
You can also use a sous-vide [machine](http://www.foodiemoment.com/2010/01/21/in-search-of-the-perfectly-cooked-egg-sous-vide-style/). ---
**Author:** ![UFC\_Is\_Sux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/46a35a/32.png) [@UFC\_Is\_Sux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UFC_Is_Sux)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/5 "2012-01-02T05:37:53Z")
1. Remove eggs from refrigerator, letting them warm to room temperature for 1 hour. 2. Gently put eggs into small saucepan. 3. Heat water in another saucepan or microwave to just below boiling. 4. Fill saucepan containing eggs with the hot water, covering them by about 1/2 inch. 5. Turn heat on stove to high. 6. Heat eggs on stove for exactly 1 minute (use a timer to confirm). 7. Remove saucepan from heat, cover, then leave eggs in water for exactly 7 minutes (use a timer to confirm). 8. Drain water and remove eggs from saucepan. The white should be solid and the yolk firm and creamy. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/6 "2012-01-02T05:38:54Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > You can also use a sous-vide [machine](http://www.foodiemoment.com/2010/01/21/in-search-of-the-perfectly-cooked-egg-sous-vide-style/). OK, that’s just fucking weird. A poster there, in a mild correction to cooking eggs in a vacuum sealed container at 64 C. for two hours, offers, > [@](#): > > That said, vacuum sealing everything for a sous vide/immersion cooker can get cumbersome and expensive. Since eggs aren’t water-shy, it also shouldn’t be necessary. I’d recommend trying to put some eggs in a ziplock bag, and add enough water to the bag that you needn’t worry about air pockets. … I expect that, with the extra water mass, you’ll need to add some cooking time. That site is a parody, right? ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/7 "2012-01-02T05:56:22Z")
I use a free app from the Android app store. Works like a charm. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/8 "2012-01-02T05:56:34Z")
> [@UFC\_Is\_Sux](#): > > 1. Remove eggs from refrigerator, letting them warm to room temperature for 1 hour. > > 2. Gently put eggs into small saucepan. > > 3. Heat water in another saucepan or microwave to just below boiling. > > 4. Fill saucepan containing eggs with the hot water, covering them by about 1/2 inch. > > 5. Turn heat on stove to high. > > 6. Heat eggs on stove for exactly 1 minute (use a timer to confirm). > > 7. Remove saucepan from heat, cover, then leave eggs in water for exactly 7 minutes (use a timer to confirm). > > 8. Drain water and remove eggs from saucepan. The white should be solid and the yolk firm and creamy. This sounds like how to HARD boil an egg. Especially since the end product is a “firm” yolk. Me no likey firm yolk in a soft-boiled egg… ---
**Author:** ![UFC\_Is\_Sux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/46a35a/32.png) [@UFC\_Is\_Sux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UFC_Is_Sux)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/9 "2012-01-02T06:10:20Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > This sounds like how to HARD boil an egg. Especially since the end product is a “firm” yolk. Me no likey firm yolk in a soft-boiled egg… It really works - of course there are variables such as gas vs electric stove, room temperature in your locale, size of the eggs, etc. Cut back the sitting time to 6 minutes in Step 7 if the yolk is too firm. I hard-boil mine on full heat for 10 minutes - can’t stand soft-boiled but learned how to cook them for my family who love 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/10 "2012-01-02T06:16:00Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > This sounds like how to HARD boil an egg. A hard-boiled egg is more like twelve to fifteen minutes. Y’know, none of us know exactly how you like your soft boiled eggs, and even if we did, your eggs, your water, your stove and your altitude could make us screw up the instructions for exactly how _we_ like our soft boiled eggs. Just make some, and modify according to how out of line they are with what you were hoping for. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/11 "2012-01-02T06:27:05Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > OK, that’s just fucking weird. A poster there, in a mild correction to cooking eggs in a vacuum sealed container at 64 C. for two hours, offers, > > That site is a parody, right? No. Most people don’t bag eggs at all and it’s usually cooked for one hour rather than two. If you own a sous vide machine and don’t need the eggs right now, it can be incredibly convenient. That being said, sous vide will never produce the ideal soft boiled egg alone. The whites need to be cooked at a higher temperature than the yolks for both to be their ideal temperature so some temperature gradient is necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/12 "2012-01-02T06:48:22Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > No. Most people don’t bag eggs at all and it’s usually cooked for one hour rather than two. If you own a sous vide machine and don’t need the eggs right now, it can be incredibly convenient. I’m seriously bewildered. Why would I want an egg, and not want it now? I’ve got any number of hard boiled eggs that I’ve boiled in a saucepan, that I can use for egg salad, chef salad, whatever.. If I don’t need a soft boiled egg right now, I can start one about three minutes before I do, instead of an hour or two. Now if the sous vide machine will allow me to throw in some eggs, tomato, mushroom, and cheese, and serve me up a perfect Sunday morning omelette . . . but it doesn’t appear to do so. Nor will it serve up over medium and crispy bacon. I just don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/13 "2012-01-02T07:19:14Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I’m seriously bewildered. Why would I want an egg, and not want it now? I’ve got any number of hard boiled eggs that I’ve boiled in a saucepan, that I can use for egg salad, chef salad, whatever.. If I don’t need a soft boiled egg right now, I can start one about three minutes before I do, instead of an hour or two. > > Now if the sous vide machine will allow me to throw in some eggs, tomato, mushroom, and cheese, and serve me up a perfect Sunday morning omelette . . . but it doesn’t appear to do so. Nor will it serve up over medium and crispy bacon. > > I just don’t get it. Well, one of the advantages of SV is that there’s generally no upper bound to time. You could pop an egg in the bath when you go to sleep and have a soft boiled egg for you in the morning. Or, if you’re preparing an poached egg to go on top of a salad as a first course, you can pop it in and prepare the rest of the ingredients for dinner and then take the egg out when needed. Or, if you’re a restaurant, you pop 200 eggs in at the beginning of service and take them out as needed. Here’s instruction on a [sous vide omlette](http://blog.sousvidesupreme.com/2011/04/sous-vide-omelette-party/) ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/14 "2012-01-02T07:30:16Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Well, one of the advantages of SV is that there’s generally no upper bound to time. You could pop an egg in the bath when you go to sleep and have a soft boiled egg for you in the morning. Or, if you’re preparing an poached egg to go on top of a salad as a first course, you can pop it in and prepare the rest of the ingredients for dinner and then take the egg out when needed. Or, if you’re a restaurant, you pop 200 eggs in at the beginning of service and take them out as needed. I appreciate the info, but quite frankly, eggs don’t take very long to cook. I’m unimpressed. It sounds like something pretentious enough to be right up the OP’s alley, though, so I doubt you wasted your time. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/15 "2012-01-02T14:34:02Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I appreciate the info, but quite frankly, eggs don’t take very long to cook. I’m unimpressed. > > It sounds like something pretentious enough to be right up the OP’s alley, though, so I doubt you wasted your time. I have a sous-vide machine, and I’ve done eggs in them. They’re not like normal soft-boiled eggs; as **Shalmanese** says, a normal soft-boiled egg has the white cooked slightly hotter than the yolk. However, a lot of very highly respected chefs really, really like sous-vide eggs; the 64-degree (C) egg was a standard at a lot of high end restaurants for a while. But you’re totally off base if you consider sous-vide “pretentious.” Yes, it’s not something that’s made it into the mainstream yet. But it’s the exact opposite of pretentious - it makes cooking things to the exact right temperature foolproof and easy for even a complete novice. In the past few days, I’ve made sea bass and filet in my sous-vider, and it’s not even like cooking. You pop it in at the desired temperature and walk away. You come back later and the food is cooked perfectly. My filet was exactly medium rare all the way through, and delicious. Sea Bass was like eating a cloud, not a bit over- or under-cooked. Seriously. It’s less work than microwaving, and produces food that’s higher quality and better cooked without having to know anything about technique or cooking beyond “what temperature do I want this?” ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/16 "2012-01-02T14:51:51Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > But you’re totally off base if you consider sous-vide “pretentious.” Well it’s pretentious in the sense that I achieve the same effects cooking in a $40 1400W Turbo Oven set to the Wash setting. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/17 "2012-01-02T15:36:35Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Well it’s pretentious in the sense that I achieve the same effects cooking in a $40 1400W Turbo Oven set to the Wash setting. If you have a $40 device that maintains a precise temperature in 1 degree increments from 86F - 210F, I’m impressed. Start advertising it; you’ll sell a ton of them. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/18 "2012-01-02T15:54:54Z")
If you’re a DIY-er, [here’s a way to make a sous vide heater and circulator](http://qandabe.com/2011/50-diy-sous-vide-immersion-heatercirculator) for around $50, for anyone interested. There are also guides for how to do it with a rice cooker. They generally ain’t pretty, but the basic idea of the sous vide setup isn’t exactly rocket science, and the parts for a basic set-up are not that expensive. The hardest part, in my opinion, would be to get the water circulating properly so that the temperature is relatively even across the water levels. ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/19 "2012-01-02T15:55:47Z")
Semi-coddled soft boiled eggs are very easy to make. Put eggs in a pot of water that covers them. Bring to a boil. Set timer for 4 minutes. Turn off the heat. When the timer goes off remove the eggs to a cold water bath for 20 seconds to stop the cooking. Crack and eat. If you want hard boiled eggs, leave the eggs for a few more minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121/20 "2012-01-02T15:58:22Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > If you’re a DIY-er, [here’s a way to make a sous vide heater and circulator](http://qandabe.com/2011/50-diy-sous-vide-immersion-heatercirculator) for around $50, for anyone interested. There are also guides for how to do it with a rice cooker. They generally ain’t pretty, but the basic idea of the sous vide setup isn’t exactly rocket science, and the parts for a basic set-up are not that expensive. Yup, there’s a lot of do-it-yourself options that aren’t particularly pricey. And if it gets more popular, you know someone will start selling a cheap version. > [@](#): > > The hardest part, in my opinion, would be to get the water circulating properly so that the temperature is relatively even across the water levels. That’s not really hard at all; convection works fine, at least in the sous-vide supreme. No need to circulate. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-how-to-make-flawless-soft-boiled-eggs/608121.md?page=2)