No, this isn't about making them feel really comfortable. It's another way to cook eggs, and I've decided I may as well cook my way through the list I made a few years ago. It was something I meant to do then, and life got in the way. May as well start now, right? Besides, with the cost of groceries, we all need 99 Ways to Cook an Egg.
Coddling an egg is more a technique than a recipe, so I've done a photo tutorial of sorts, with notes about what worked, because my first attempt went wonky.
Grease your egg coddlers well. The original were these fancy porcelain things with screw-on lids, but they tend to run pricey, not to mention being useful for nothing else. Unlike jam jars, which get used for so many other things than canning in my house!
You want shallow vessels, no matter what you do. And something with some mass to it. I tried this with little aluminum cake molds, and they were a touch narrow, and light enough they tipped over in the bain marie. I think coffee mugs might work, or even small bowls.
Pretty, but not practical.
I sprinkled a little bit of parmesan and some (real!) bacon bits on our eggs, but you could put lots of things in with them if you wanted.
You could absolutely do this in ceramic ramekins without lids. You're steaming the eggs, so they are a lot like a poached egg, without touching the water to the egg. Settle your eggs in a saucepan, fill with water to the level of the egg, and put the lid on.
I'm finding that on my stove, from cold water to done, with the heat just below medium, it takes 12 minutes to the consistency we like. Runny yolks, solid whites. Don't let the water boil. They should still be quite jiggly in the center when you take them out.
I ran a butter knife around the edge, and this came right out. Served with toast and a nice ripe tomato, the verdict is that they are a very good break from routine. I'm going to have fun with additions when I make them again! It's a good way to cook enough eggs, fast, if you have more than one or two people eating, as well. A bigger pan and you could totally do a full dozen eggs at a go.
For that matter, you don't have to dump it out of the container, and could just make toast soldiers to dip, and finish the egg with a spoon!
