How To Make Coddled Eggs

Lately I’ve been a little bored with my morning eggs. Same ol’ scrambled or hard boiled eggs just don’t seem to do it for me anymore. They’re just too blah. So I decided to spice things up a bit and try a coddled egg. Have you ever tried one? If not, you definitely should; they’re delish!

So today’s post is a little tutorial on how to make them. First, let’s talk about the egg coddler. Ah, what’s an egg coddler, you ask. An egg coddler is a little porcelain cup, typically beautifully decorated, with a lid that’s used to prepare the eggs. Coddled eggs are similar to poached eggs, except that the egg is cooked inside the coddler which makes it easier to control the cooking process. The coddlers have a lid, made out of metal, or porcelain, that you must screw on before you submerge it in the boiling water. You can then use this lid to check on the egg’s firmness during the cooking process.

While there are still a handful of brands today that sell egg coddlers, you should really consider buying a Royal Worcester. Royal Worcester is one of the oldest English porcelain brands and is believed to be the inventor of the egg coddler in the late nineteenth century (the first known Royal Worcester coddlers were made in the 1880s). To this date they make the Cadillac of egg coddlers and their earlier pieces are collected around the world. Me, I’m a little obsessed with the Royal Worcester egg coddlers and have sold quite a few – currently I only have one available in my store and it’s gorgeous and in its original packaging which is rather rare to find. You can buy it here.

Ok so here’s how it’s done. First, let me tell you that the ingredient options are endless. I made mine with just, heavy cream, grated mixed cheeses and chives but you can in there chopped ham, crumbled cooked bacon, chopped green onions, minced fresh herbs, or whatever you like with your eggs. So go nuts with your ingredients! Second, the coddlers come typically in standard or kind size; the standard size takes one egg while the king size takes two. Mine is a king size so keep that in mind when reading the directions below.

Directions:

First, butter your egg coddler and the inside of the metal lid (I like to use a vegetable spread or Canola Oil spray; you can also place 1 tsp. butter in the bottom of the coddler if you like your eggs more buttery. Then add some grated cheese to the bottom (I used a mix of Parmesan and Romano cheese) and move the coddler around to allow the cheese to move and coat the walls of the coddler.

Now break two eggs into the coddler and top them with 1 tsp. cream and some cheese – this is where you can add ham, bacon, green onions or herbs. Oh, and don’t forget to sprinkle some salt and pepper too.

Screw on the lid and stand the coddler in a pan of boiling water, making sure that the water level only reaches halfway up the porcelain body (do not submerge the coddler completely in the boiling water!). According to the original instructions you should let simmer for 10 minutes but I find that after 10 minutes the eggs are still too runny for my taste so I like to cook mine for close to 18 minutes. To make sure, simply remove the coddler from the water, unscrew the lid and check on the eggs; if too runny, just put it back in the water and let simmer a few more minutes. And voilà! xo Anda