Feature

He Is the Egg Man

How to Cook an Egg, By Wylie Dufresne

(Photo: Courtesy of Polyscience)

High-Tech
“Let eggs sit out at room temperature for a couple hours so they won’t crack when they hit the water. Put them in a 64-degree bath, bring them back up and hold them there. After about 55–60 minutes, crack one open to check the texture. When they’re right, remove them and put them in an ice bath to cool. It’s nice to do them the day before you serve them and refrigerate them overnight, because as they cool they sort of set in the shell in a beautiful ovoid shape. Reheat by soaking them in 145-degree water for five minutes, then crack them into a bowl.”

(Photo: Getty Images)

Low-Tech
“Crack your eggs into a little ramekin. Bring a saucepan of water, with a little vinegar to help the proteins coagulate, to a boil, and then turn it off. Take a big spoon and stir the water vigorously in a circular motion, ten times or so, to really get it moving. Get the ramekin as close to the water as you can, and quickly slide the egg right into the center of the whirlpool. The motion of the water will cause the egg to wrap around itself, and you’ll get a really nice shape, and the watery bit of the white will break off and float to the top where you can skim it off. After about three and a half to four minutes, scoop out your eggs and put them onto lightly toasted and well-buttered English muffins, aggressively topped with hollandaise and chopped chives, with some bacon on the side. Potatoes are optional.”