Sous-Vide Egg with Red Wine Sauce & Wild Mushroom Panzanella

Sous Vide Supreme recruited me to develop a few recipes and sent over a water bath and a vacuum sealer to my home. If you’re thinking of experimenting with the cooking of the future, they have the perfect solutions for the home cook. They sent me the equipment for free but my opinions are my own of course, and they’re not paying me to say how much I love them. Now we’ve got the full disclosure thing out of the way, let’s get cooking.

The inspiration for this recipe is Oeufs en meurette — a typically Burgundian dish. It’s a delicious combination of soft poached egg, red wine sauce and lardon which in my opinion is the greatest brunch dish, ever. Too bad nobody knows about it. I updated the recipe for the 21th century, replaced the lardons by sauteed chicken liver, and added a wild mushroom panzanella. The biggest change in this dish is of course the egg itself, and the way it’s cooked. Sous-Vide cooking allows you to control temperatures by half degree increments which gives you a lot of control over deliciousness. Chefs and scientists have been experimenting with Sous-Vide for a long time and everybody seem to agree that if you cook eggs in the water bath at 147’F (64C) for 45 minutes you’ll get the silkiest, creamiest egg you ever had. The yolk literally turns into custard.

Needless to say, use the highest quality eggs you can find or afford.  I used Americauna eggs which comes from a breed of chickens that lays colorful eggs ranging from pink to blue. They’re groovy and they’re delicious. Amazing.

  • Sous-Vide Egg with Red Wine Sauce & Wild Mushroom Panzanella

  • Serves 4
    • For the sous-vide eggs:
    • 8 organic eggs
    • For the red wine sauce:
    • 1/2 carrot, chopped
    • 1/2 onion, chopped
    • 1 celery stalk, chopped
    • 1 clove garlic, smashed
    • 1 sprig thyme
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorn
    • 2 cups Burgundy red wine
    • 1 cup veal or chicken stock
    • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
    • 1 tablespoon flour
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • For the wild mushroom panzanella:
    • 8 ounces chicken livers (optional)
    • 1/2 lb assorted wild mushrooms, cleaned
    • a drop of cognac (optional)
    • 1 crusty country bread
    • olive oil
    • good vinegar
    • butter
    • 1 shallot, finely chopped
    • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
    • baby spinach leaves
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • chopped parsley
    • For the sous-vide eggs:
    • Preheat water bath to 147’F (64’C). When temperature is reached drop the whole eggs in the water and set the timer to 45 min.
    • When done, remove from the water bath. Let the eggs rest for 2 min. Crack the shell and slide the eggs onto the plates.
    • For the red wine sauce:
    • In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat add a little oil, the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Cook until the vegetables soften, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the stock, bring to a simmer, and reduce the liquid by 2/3 or until it coats the back of a spoon. Meanwhile, mix the soft butter and flour in a small bowl. Strain the sauce and season with salt and pepper and whisk in slowly the butter/ flour to thicken the sauce and give it a nice shiny look. Keep warm.
    • For the wild mushroom panzanella:
    • If using chicken liver, sautee them over high heat until cooked. Season generously with salt and pepper and deglaze the pan with Cognac. Chop roughly and set aside.
    • Cut the bread into large croutons, toss them with melted butter, salt and pepper ,and toast in a pan or oven until golden.
    • Sauteed the mushroom in olive oil and a touch of butter until cooked, season with salt and pepper, add the shallots and garlic until fragrant. Finish with parsley. Keep warm.
    • Dress the baby spinach with a olive oil and a little vinegar.Toss the mushrooms, croutons, chicken livers, vinegar and parsley  in a bowl. Season if necessary.
    • Place 2 eggs on each plate. Garnish with spinach, wild mushroom panzanella, and the warm red wine sauce.

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  • http://chefpandita.com Yuri

    Omg you’re so lucky! I want to get this equipment next year. Been to a couple of sous-vide cooking demos, such an interesting technique. You just proved that you don’t need fancy ingredients to make a stunning dish. Love this :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001923409071 Papa Djabs

    Not sure about this, sous vide egg? why not just poach em?

  • Anonymous

    Nothing wrong with poaching them. It’s just that the texture of eggs cooked sous-vide is so much better. 

  • Anonymous

    Thanks, Yuri. I hope you get to experiment with it soon. 

  • http://vanillasugarblog.com vanillasugarblog

    they say the freshest eggs never need any salt nor pepper as the yolk tastes perfect. finding good eggs is hard and expensive but to me, worth it. as the perfect egg yolk is like a savory, warm, custard.

  • Jim

    I’m getting the Sous Vide Supreme for Christmas, can’t wait!  Will you be posting your other Sous Vide recipes here, or will I have to find them elsewhere? 

  • Anonymous

    Yes, I’ll post the recipes both here and on the Sous-Vide Supreme website. 

  • Anonymous

    I’ve got to agree with you. Let’s go chase some chickens!

  • Anonymous

    That’s it! I am definitely getting the sous vide machine! Now I am already dreaming of the list of Asian dishes I can prepare with it! Aiyah, you’ ve really helped to burn a hole in my pocket!

  • Anonymous

    Did you just “Aiyah” me? :) 

  • Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

    I was just talking to someone about sous viding at home today! I didn’t realise that they made at home devices!

  • Grubarazzi

    Oy, I can only imagine how silky this yolk is.

  • http://www.kitchenriffs.com kitchenriffs

    Really cool post.  I’m of course aware of sous-vide (both why it produces superior results and the method it requires), but always assumed it was “for trained professionals only” and “don’t try this at home!”  And in its early days that was probably correct.  I haven’t kept up with the world of small kitchen appliances – I didn’t realize affordable sous-vide machines aimed at the home cook were on the market.  So thanks for both the information, and a really great recipe.

  • Cucina49

    Your photos are stunning, particularly the one of the eggs!  I am swooning a little over the mushroom panzanella.

  • Anonymous

    Thank you!

  • Anonymous

    It’s perfection!

  • Anonymous

    Times have changed! Sous-Vide is the frozen pizza of the future. :) 
    It’s quite fun actually, and it gives us great control over the quality of the food. 

  • http://www.katherinemartinelli.com Katherine Martinelli

    Wow. Just gorgeous. Lucky you that you get to develop recipes using this awesome equipment! I can’t wait to see what else you come up with.

  • http://www.ouichefnetwork.com Oui, Chef

    Your lovely take on a classic has me writing a new letter to Santa.  “Dear Santa, don’t make me cry and PLEASE bring me a Sous-Vide Supreme for Christmas this year, and while you’re at it, how about some of Zen’s awesome talent too!

  • Anonymous

    haha.. Santa will bring you a Sous-Vide Supreme for Christmas, I’m sure. As for the talent you’ve already got plenty of that. 

  • Ryanvelilla

    Beautiful Dish! I like you’re plating style. The sauce over the egg is a nice touch.

    http://www.caterroirproject.com

  • BlackLabelTable

    getting one of these for xmas.  in your recipe do you strain the red wine sauce?  your picture shows a smooth sauce without the veggies

  • Anonymous

    Yes, strain the sauce. Sorry, I forgot to mention that it the recipe. It’s fixed. 

  • Nicola

    At 64C the yolk is a perfect custard.  But what about the white?  I have problems with people finding the ‘uncooked’ texture off-putting.  Do you see this?  My sous-vide eggs are here 
    http://north19.co.uk/sous-vide-poached-egg/

    Beautiful photography, as ever!

  • Anonymous

    Great experiment. I love the break down of temperature/cooking time you did on your blog, and the results. Very interesting. As you said in the post there are cultural preferences when it comes to this. The Japanese for example have been cooking eggs in Onsen (hot springs) for hundreds of years, and are accustomed to the viscous texture of the whites some of us Westerners find off-putting. I think that texture is great is you’re gonna add it to a bowl of ramen. I agree with you that a slightly firmer texture of the whites is probably nicer for other use but it’s a question of taste. I think I’ll try to cook them at 64′C for 60 min next. Thank you!

  • Anonymous

    um, how much do i love that image with the egg inside the machine?  like, a lot. :)

  • Anonymous

    um, how much do i love that image with the egg inside the machine?  like, a lot. :)