How many ways can you cook an egg?
June 25, 2012 7:58 PM Subscribe
How many ways can you cook an egg? Looking for methods, not recipes.
Looking for how many answers you can give to the question, "How do you want your eggs?"
I've tried googling 'how many ways to cook an egg' and whatnot, but have failed to discover a comprehensive collection. I've been able to assemble a short list, but I feel like there should be more. I'm wondering... what am I forgetting? And are any of these "wrong?"
So far I have: scrambled, baked, fried, omelette, puffy omelette, over easy, over medium, over hard, sunny side up, deviled, poached, custard (ed?), souffled, basted, medium boiled, soft boiled, hard boiled, coddled, baked, dropped, steam-basted, pickled.
Some of these might not be right, either. Or doubles. And I'm not sure if something like 'mayonnaise' or 'timbale' counts as a method.
It can be really esoteric. Thanks.
Looking for how many answers you can give to the question, "How do you want your eggs?"
I've tried googling 'how many ways to cook an egg' and whatnot, but have failed to discover a comprehensive collection. I've been able to assemble a short list, but I feel like there should be more. I'm wondering... what am I forgetting? And are any of these "wrong?"
So far I have: scrambled, baked, fried, omelette, puffy omelette, over easy, over medium, over hard, sunny side up, deviled, poached, custard (ed?), souffled, basted, medium boiled, soft boiled, hard boiled, coddled, baked, dropped, steam-basted, pickled.
Some of these might not be right, either. Or doubles. And I'm not sure if something like 'mayonnaise' or 'timbale' counts as a method.
It can be really esoteric. Thanks.
The various overs and sunnysideup are types of fried.
posted by mollymayhem at 8:08 PM on June 25, 2012
posted by mollymayhem at 8:08 PM on June 25, 2012
Best answer: Century egg?
You can poach eggs in liquids over than water (such as bacon fat!) and I'd count that as a different thing than regular poached egg.
Slow poached eggs - you poach them at a lower temperature, in shell.
posted by punchtothehead at 8:09 PM on June 25, 2012
You can poach eggs in liquids over than water (such as bacon fat!) and I'd count that as a different thing than regular poached egg.
Slow poached eggs - you poach them at a lower temperature, in shell.
posted by punchtothehead at 8:09 PM on June 25, 2012
What about the fertilized pickled eggs? Is that a real thing I saw on Bizarre Eats? Or just some fever dream.
Anyway....fertilized?
posted by ian1977 at 8:11 PM on June 25, 2012
Anyway....fertilized?
posted by ian1977 at 8:11 PM on June 25, 2012
Actually "omelette" isn't really an answer. Usually, when asking how one wants eggs, the idea is that the eggs will be cook by themselves. So something like an omelette, which includes other ingredients, wouldn't really count. On the other hand, if you're looking for "how many things can eggs be the main ingredient in," then you're opening this up to a whole new slew of answers (i.e. quiche, aka "egg pie").
posted by DoubleLune at 8:11 PM on June 25, 2012
posted by DoubleLune at 8:11 PM on June 25, 2012
Well, there's what I do when I make pasta alla carbonara, which is basically scrambling, adding salt/pepper/cheese (maybe a little cream), then dumping a bunch of just-out-of-the-boiling-water spaghetti into them and stirring to coat. The residual heat cooks the eggs just so, without forming curds the way normal scrambling would.
posted by axiom at 8:23 PM on June 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by axiom at 8:23 PM on June 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
I don't know if you're going for a full taxonomy, but I think "over medium, over hard, sunny side up" are all subsets of fried.
posted by pompomtom at 8:24 PM on June 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by pompomtom at 8:24 PM on June 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: On the other hand, if you're looking for "how many things can eggs be the main ingredient in," then you're opening this up to a whole new slew of answers.
I don't want that. Because, I agree, that's too broad. So yeah, strike stuff like omelet. And 'fried' is redundant.
Things like "thousand-year egg," though, appears to be a completely separate method for preparing an egg. So stuff like that.
posted by joechip at 8:24 PM on June 25, 2012
I don't want that. Because, I agree, that's too broad. So yeah, strike stuff like omelet. And 'fried' is redundant.
Things like "thousand-year egg," though, appears to be a completely separate method for preparing an egg. So stuff like that.
posted by joechip at 8:24 PM on June 25, 2012
Best answer: Onsen tamago - hot spring egg. The egg is poached at precisely 160 F for 30-60 minutes. The yolk sets and solidifies, and the white turns opaque but is still liquid.
posted by WasabiFlux at 8:28 PM on June 25, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by WasabiFlux at 8:28 PM on June 25, 2012 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Actually I think omelettes qualify because a classic french omelette can consist of just eggs. (It's often filled with finely chopped herbs, but it doesn't have to be, and it's still an omelette.)
You can pressure-cook egg yolks on their own to get something bread-like in texture [scroll down on that link].
You can also smoke eggs.
posted by miss_kitty_fantastico at 8:29 PM on June 25, 2012
You can pressure-cook egg yolks on their own to get something bread-like in texture [scroll down on that link].
You can also smoke eggs.
posted by miss_kitty_fantastico at 8:29 PM on June 25, 2012
From my copy of The Other Half of the Egg:
posted by zamboni at 8:33 PM on June 25, 2012
- Boiled Eggs
- Soft-Cooked: American Cold-Water Method, American Boiling-Water Method, French Method, Oeufs Mollets
- Hard-Cooked: American Cold-Water, American Boiling-Water, French Method
- Fried Eggs
- American Style, Oeufs Poȇlés, Oeufs Frits
- Broiled Eggs
- Scrambled Eggs
- Shirred Eggs
- Poached Eggs
- Eggs in Ramekins
- Molded Eggs
- Omelets
posted by zamboni at 8:33 PM on June 25, 2012
Best answer: steam an egg (very common in east Asian cuisines, Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
also, preserve in brine (a la salted duck egg to eat with congee) or pickle in vinegar
posted by scalespace at 8:35 PM on June 25, 2012
also, preserve in brine (a la salted duck egg to eat with congee) or pickle in vinegar
posted by scalespace at 8:35 PM on June 25, 2012
Best answer: Iron eggs (recooked until small and chewy)
Tea eggs and soy eggs (Lu Dan)-- hard boiled but simmered to the point of completely turning brown, so...
posted by acidic at 8:41 PM on June 25, 2012
Tea eggs and soy eggs (Lu Dan)-- hard boiled but simmered to the point of completely turning brown, so...
posted by acidic at 8:41 PM on June 25, 2012
Also tamagoyaki (scrambled but cooked thin layer by layer)
posted by acidic at 8:43 PM on June 25, 2012
posted by acidic at 8:43 PM on June 25, 2012
Best answer: Oh! You can deep fry an egg too. So good.
posted by miss_kitty_fantastico at 8:45 PM on June 25, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by miss_kitty_fantastico at 8:45 PM on June 25, 2012 [3 favorites]
Best answer: The 300 minute egg is effectively a roasted egg, but the long, low roast results in a very different end product.
posted by jedicus at 8:48 PM on June 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by jedicus at 8:48 PM on June 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
Yes, Scotch eggs.
If deconstructing the eggs is allowed, then meringue.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:49 PM on June 25, 2012
If deconstructing the eggs is allowed, then meringue.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:49 PM on June 25, 2012
There are actually two different kinds of scrambled eggs - what my father calls 'pan scrambled,' in which eggs are cracked into a hot pan, and the yolks and whites broken up and occasionally stirred around. They never really combine, though, which results in a yellow-and-white mottled looking dish.
The other is 'french scrambled,' in which the eggs are broken and stirred continuously. The egs are kept moving in the pan, carefully cooked to ensure yolk-and-white combination and a resulting moistness.
Gordon Ramsay demonstrates
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:56 PM on June 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
The other is 'french scrambled,' in which the eggs are broken and stirred continuously. The egs are kept moving in the pan, carefully cooked to ensure yolk-and-white combination and a resulting moistness.
Gordon Ramsay demonstrates
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:56 PM on June 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
Best answer: In virgin school boy urine.
posted by unliteral at 9:02 PM on June 25, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by unliteral at 9:02 PM on June 25, 2012 [5 favorites]
I make omelettes with just eggs and water quite often. Whisk the eggs and water so it's a bit frothy, then you make it in the pan until the bottom is cooked like a regular omelette but stick it under the broiler to cook the top. It's a lot lighter and fluffier that way.
Buttering eggs is a traditional method of preservation, not cooking, but they do taste different. And more delicious! The only place I know that sells them is in Cork, Ireland and if you want to make your own you're going to need a laying hen.
posted by fshgrl at 9:08 PM on June 25, 2012
Buttering eggs is a traditional method of preservation, not cooking, but they do taste different. And more delicious! The only place I know that sells them is in Cork, Ireland and if you want to make your own you're going to need a laying hen.
posted by fshgrl at 9:08 PM on June 25, 2012
You've got most of the ones that come to mind, I'd add grilled on a tortilla and shakshouka (simmered in spicy tomato sauce).
posted by foodgeek at 9:09 PM on June 25, 2012
posted by foodgeek at 9:09 PM on June 25, 2012
Best answer: Yellow Boiled Egg - scrambled in the shell.
posted by unliteral at 9:10 PM on June 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by unliteral at 9:10 PM on June 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Nested.
Oh, and you have some dupes in your list. Shirred means baked in a dish, so unless you mean baked in the shell in coals (which I'd say is different) I wouldn't list both.
posted by cali at 9:35 PM on June 25, 2012
Oh, and you have some dupes in your list. Shirred means baked in a dish, so unless you mean baked in the shell in coals (which I'd say is different) I wouldn't list both.
posted by cali at 9:35 PM on June 25, 2012
there's a thai dish of which i don't know the full origin that's quite unique, called son in law eggs
posted by Under the Sea at 9:59 PM on June 25, 2012
posted by Under the Sea at 9:59 PM on June 25, 2012
You list "steam-basted" and I'm not sure what that is, but you might want to just say "basted." At least around these parts, a basted egg is one that is fried sunny-side up, and then you ladle hot grease on the top of it to cook the top.
Also, there's a way that I'm not sure has a name. It's beating the raw egg and then drizzling it in a hot broth to cook it. The wikipedia entry for egg drop soup lists other dishes that use this same method.
posted by Houstonian at 2:24 AM on June 26, 2012
Also, there's a way that I'm not sure has a name. It's beating the raw egg and then drizzling it in a hot broth to cook it. The wikipedia entry for egg drop soup lists other dishes that use this same method.
posted by Houstonian at 2:24 AM on June 26, 2012
Best answer: Vauquelin (microwaved egg-white foam).
posted by misteraitch at 4:21 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by misteraitch at 4:21 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
Huh, we were just talking about this at dinner yesterday. We make a dish by microwaving minced meat and lightly mixed eggs in a shallow bowl, and the texture of microwaved eggs is unlike any other method of preparation I've seen. Sort of halfway between steamed and really puffy omelette.
posted by lucidium at 5:28 AM on June 26, 2012
posted by lucidium at 5:28 AM on June 26, 2012
Oh, I guess that qualifies as a recipe. Sorry, I couldn't resist.
posted by jvilter at 5:57 AM on June 26, 2012
posted by jvilter at 5:57 AM on June 26, 2012
Best answer: Alternate method for scrambling eggs: you can use the steam jet from an espresso machine. Gives them a lovely texture.
posted by roger ackroyd at 9:04 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by roger ackroyd at 9:04 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks so much everyone! These are great. Now to go get breakfast and make the cook's life hard (not really).
posted by joechip at 9:59 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by joechip at 9:59 AM on June 26, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: There's a third distinct variation of scrambled eggs, too, which my local hole-in-the-wall calls country scrambled: the eggs are cracked onto a griddle or into a pan whole, and allowed to set up a bit before being scrambled. The result has distinct white and yellow bits, and with a flavor and texture distinct from standard diner scrambled eggs.
(Note that a search for "country scrambled eggs" turns up mostly eggs scrambled in the normal way with a bunch of stuff added, and that's not what I'm describing here.)
posted by rhiannonstone at 1:07 PM on June 26, 2012
(Note that a search for "country scrambled eggs" turns up mostly eggs scrambled in the normal way with a bunch of stuff added, and that's not what I'm describing here.)
posted by rhiannonstone at 1:07 PM on June 26, 2012
Best answer: Curdled eggs are similar to custard, except that they're lumpier. The whole page that comes from (the Georgia Egg Board) has a huge listing of egg terms, and if you really wanted to answer your question, I'd contact your local egg board, who will have this information already prepared.
(I make meyer lemon curdled eggs pretty regularly as both a pie filling and as a precursor to a frozen dessert [it seems wrong to call it ice cream, as it's got no dairy except a little butter from curdling the eggs])
posted by klangklangston at 1:51 PM on June 26, 2012
(I make meyer lemon curdled eggs pretty regularly as both a pie filling and as a precursor to a frozen dessert [it seems wrong to call it ice cream, as it's got no dairy except a little butter from curdling the eggs])
posted by klangklangston at 1:51 PM on June 26, 2012
I was watching an episode of Iron Chef and they made tempura egg yolks. Separated the egg, rolled the yolk (carefully!) in panko and deep-fried it.
posted by KathrynT at 11:39 PM on June 26, 2012
posted by KathrynT at 11:39 PM on June 26, 2012
Scrambled yolk in a baked meringue nest, with or without fillings.
Or bake the whole thing, with cheese.
posted by Fretful Porpentine at 2:10 PM on June 28, 2012
Or bake the whole thing, with cheese.
posted by Fretful Porpentine at 2:10 PM on June 28, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by janell at 8:04 PM on June 25, 2012