Help with a 6-minute egg!

[chefhound]

I tried to make a 6-minute egg today and I came across a problem: the egg cracked when it hit the hot water.

All the recipes I've found say that the egg should be placed into hot/boiling water. When I make hard-boiled eggs, I start the eggs in cold water. However, all the recipes for soft-boiled eggs say to add the eggs to hot water.

The eggs turned out fairly well, texture-wise but I'm wondering why the eggs cracked and how I can prevent this.

The eggs were cold or at least cool when I put them into the water: should I have waited for the eggs to reach room temperature?

[paulj]

This article has a formula for the cooking time of an egg, as a function of its size (in gm), initial temperature (room, fridge), temperature of the water, and desired temperature at the yolk surface.

http://blog.khymos.org/2009/04/09/tow...

[HillJ]

oh my paulj, my head hurt reading that.
I agree with thew on this dilemma. And size matters.

[EM23]

I have had consistent success with cooking runny yolked eggs ever since I started following this technique http://www.chow.com/food-news/55250/h...
I use x-large eggs that have sat out for at least 15 minutes and I take them out of the water at 7 minutes (not 8 min. as in this video) and put them into an ice bath immediately for at least 1 min. They turn out just like the picture.

[BerkshireTsarina]

Well, we all have our opinions, I see! A 6 -minute egg is what the French call Oeuf Mollet, a soft egg, not soft-boiled and not hard-boiled. The white is set, the yolk is runny.
I ALWAYS let eggs come to room temp, otherwise they've always cracked on me. And I find it easier to start in cold water, bring to boil, cover and remove from heat and then start timing. Hard-boiled eggs, 13 minutes; 6-minute egg (oeuf mollet), you can figure out; soft-boiled probably 3 minutes.
Size of egg makes a difference --- large, extra large, jumbo --- have to adjust time. Learn the base time for the size you always use.
I love oeuf mollet because I'm no good at poaching. And if you crack them very carefully, and peel them even more carefully, you can use them as a kind of poached egg. Delish.

[greygarious]

Puncture the larger end with a needle or thumbtack if you are submerging it in hot water, but NOT if using a cold water start. If you do the latter, IME, the eggs almost always crack and leak. Use unpunctured eggs for a cold-water start.

I would hardly call a 6-minute egg soft-cooked. After 4 minutes nothing is remotely runny. Not necessary to bring the eggs to room temp before cooking.

[chefhound]

Thanks, I'll try that. I thought the cold egg coming in contact with hot water was the possible cause of the cracking so I guess a small hole might prevent the pressure from building up? I was never any good at science but it sounds like a good idea.

I considered it soft-boiled because the yolk was still runny but the white was fairly firm. Maybe my temperature was off or my timing. I guess I'll keep trying until I get it right.

[greygarious]

Okay, after reading other responses I conclude that my 4-minute egg is firmer than others' because I don't put soft-cooked eggs in cold water after removing them from the hot water. So I get some carry-over cooking. Via a CH post a few years ago (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/596358) ) these days I most often do them in the toaster oven along with an English muffin, so it's a moot point. They never crack in the oven.

[chefhound]

I tried the thumbtack and it worked! No cracking - hooray!

Thanks for the tip, greygarious.

[thew]

i do my soft eggs the same way as hard

start in cold water, stop and cover when it comes to boil, then start timing

[Val]

yes, thew, same here...put egg or eggs (large size) into cold water in saucepan...bring to boil...turn off heat and remove eggs from heat...start timing...for me, the PERFECT soft boiled mark is right around 4 1/2 minutes...whites cooked but yolks still soft....ahhhh!

[c oliver]

I'm very glad to read that. I've had dicey results with bringing the water to a boil first. Not breaking but timing it. Thanks.