How to cook Egg in a Hole so that the white is set and yolk is runny

[sweet100s]

At a restaurant I had Egg in a Hole for breakfast - Inch thick toast with an egg in a hole in the middle of the toast.

I requested whites set and yolks runny.

The first one I sent back because the whites were not set, which I really really don't like.

The next one I kept even though the yolk was almost completely hard - at least the whites were set.

I would like to try to make this dish.

In order to obtain a runny yolk while making the whites set -- What about the tip of cooking the white for a couple minutes first, before adding in the yolk? Has anyone tried this and had it work?

[sweet100s]

Thanks everyone!

Question re: Toast Cups

Thanks Dan - that looks interesting!

Wouldn't you need to first toast the bread for a couple minutes so that it doesn't get soggy?

[danhole]

No, it gets a bit crispy in the oven. Not like toast, but not soggy.

[normalheightsfoodie]

I made this for my wife on Saturday, I only had regular bread. I used a Pam type spray on the pan, but I would add a little butter to the bread.

Use a small pan that you can cover.
Get the pan hot

Cut a good sized whole in the bread.
Have the egg ready in a ramaken.

Put the bread in the pan
slowly poor egg in the hole.

remove from heat/lower and cover for a few minutes.

It should be done in about two minutes.

[Stuffed Monkey]

It is all in timing. The first was undercooked the second overcooked. Just watch it carefully and pull it off the heat a moment before it is how you want it cooked, to allow for a bit of carryover cooking.

[danhole]

Here is a recipe from our newspaper last week that looks like what you are talking about but easier. It is Toast cups with eggs, and while you can't see the photo with this link, they looked perfect.

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/arc...

[Boccone Dolce]

We call them "Bird's Nests" and they usually come out perfect when I use a small, heavy pan- small pat of butter, gotta use a jelly-jar glass like Daddy did to make the hole. I fry the bread lightly on one side, with the cut out part along side the bread. Flip once, add another pat of butter and crack in an egg. Let it cook a while (add some salt and pepper now) and flip once to get the other side done. I like the white crispy and the center a little runny. It tends to use about 3 hunks of butter per person, so we don't eat these a lot...
I don't know that I'd cook the white then add the yolk- I'm fairly lazy when I cook breakfast!!!

[leanneabe]

That's exactly how I cook them and I've only gotten an overcooked yolk when I got distracted and left it on the stove too long. Cook on the first side until the whites are mostly set, flip (carefully), and when the whites don't stick to the pan I pull it out (it takes less than a minute). Yum.

[fern]

If the loaf is large enough maybe you could make the hole bigger so the white spreads out and cooks faster. Toss the piece you cut out into the skillet, buttered, and serve it as extra toast.

[dtud]

butter one side of the bread. melt butter in the pan and put the non-buttered side down. break egg into the "hole". lift up an edge of the bread a bit so that the egg white spreads underneath quite a bit (and cooks). once it is done to your liking, flip until the other side is browned. i always get a runny yolk this way.

while that is cooking, i usually put the hole in the toaster oven to brown that and put on top.

i use about medium heat.

[Tehama]

Hi - I have an idea you might want to try that I think would work perfectly... poach the eggs. You will have exactly what you are looking for--- runny yolk and set whites.

If you haven't poached an egg before, here is a serious eats how-to video: http://www.seriouseats.com/videos/2007/04/all-about-eggs-how-to-poach.html and here is a WikiHow link: http://www.wikihow.com/Poach-an-Egg

[Antilope]

I would pour about a teaspoon of water on the hot skillet and then cover with a lid just a little larger than the piece of bread. This method works for me when I want a fried egg with a firm white and runny yolk without turning it over. Remove lid and periodically to check on cooking progress. The white should set before the yolk does.