Perfect Soft Boiled Egg Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you soft boil an egg perfectly? ›

Bring water to a gentle simmer in a medium pot. Gently lower eggs into water with a slotted spoon or strainer (do not drop eggs into water, as they might crack). Cook for exactly 6 minutes, then remove eggs with slotted spoon and serve.

The short answer is that it takes six minutes to soft boil an egg with fully set white and a liquid yolk, or 3-5 minutes if you prefer softer, slightly unset whites near the yolk. The long answer is that the time for soft boiled eggs also depends on the size of your egg and the technique used to boil the egg.

Set a bowl of ice water nearby. Remove and chill immediately in the ice water for a minute or two until the eggs are cool enough to handle. Tap the bottom of each egg to crack off a little bit of the shell. Take a small spoon and carefully slide it in and around the egg to loosen and remove it from the shell.

Place them in a single layer in a medium pot and fill with cold water, covering the eggs by about an inch. Set the pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. As soon as the water comes to a rapid boil, turn off the heat completely and cover the pan with a lid. Set a timer for four to five minutes.

You might have heard that you should drop your eggs into room temperature or cold water and then bring the water to a boil. This is a myth. In our tests, bringing the water to a boil first and then lowering the eggs into the bath made for easy peeling and more accurate timing.

Lower the heat slightly – so the eggs don't crack due to being bashed around but water is still at a gentle boil. Start the timer – 6 minutes for runny yolks, 8 minutes for soft boiled, 10 minutes for classic hard boiled, 15 minutes for unpleasant rubbery whites and powdery dry yolks.

You can also use an egg pricker to make a very small hole in each egg before boiling, which will also reduce the chances of it cracking in the heat. Slowly lower the eggs into the water using a spoon. Set your timer for 4-5 mins for runny/dippy eggs to serve with soldiers, or 6-7 mins for soft-boiled eggs for a salad.

True to its name, a soft-boiled egg is one that's cooked in simmering water until the white is just set, but the yolk is still runny. Because the cooking time for a soft-boiled egg is around 3 to 4 minutes, it's often referred to as a "3-minute egg" or "4-minute egg," depending on your preferences.

Carefully place the eggs in a large saucepan; add cold water to cover by one inch, and bring to a rolling boil. Cover pan; remove from heat. Let stand 12 minutes, then drain and rinse under cool water. To store, keep eggs unpeeled in the refrigerator, up to 4 days.

The fresher the eggs, the harder they are to peel. This is because the egg white or “albumen” in a fresh egg has a relatively low pH level, making it acidic. When cooked, these fresh egg whites bond strongly to the inner shell's membrane.

How does Ina Garten soft boil an egg? ›

Directions. Place the eggs a large saucepan and cover them with cool tap water. Bring the water to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the eggs from the saucepan and immediately place them in a bowl of cold water until they are completely cool.

Cooking time for a soft-boiled egg is 3 to 4 minutes, and indeed many aficionados specify their desired doneness by referring to a "3-minute egg" or "4-minute egg." With the former, there may be a slight amount of unset white around the yolk, but with the latter, the white is fully set.

Set your timer for 4-5 mins for runny/dippy eggs to serve with soldiers, or 6-7 mins for soft-boiled eggs for a salad. If serving in a salad, plunge the eggs into a bowl of cold water as soon as the timer goes off – this will stop them cooking and cool the shells quickly for peeling.

Place cold eggs in saucepan. Cover with at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) cold water over top of eggs. Cover saucepan with lid and bring water to boil over high heat. Immediately remove pan from heat to stop boiling.

Yes, soft boiled eggs can be made ahead of time. Just make sure to store them in the refrigerator and consume them within 2 days. When it comes time to serve, give them a gentle warm-up in a bath of hot water so they're ready to be served at the perfect temperature.