Sous Vide Egg Bites

September 5, 2018

Sous Vide Egg Bites

These are the little jarred egg custards that made sous vide cooking mainstream: a copycat of the Starbucks breakfast item, built at home with a water bath, a blender, and a handful of small glass jars. Eggs go in with a soft dairy component - cottage cheese, cream cheese, or heavy cream - and get blended until completely smooth before pouring into jars with cheese and bacon. The result is closer to a savory custard than a baked frittata, dense and creamy rather than fluffy.

The blender step is what separates a real egg bite from a disappointing one. Whisking by hand leaves the cottage cheese curds intact, and the texture ends up grainy instead of silky. A proper blend also works a little air into the batter, which is part of what gives the finished bite its soft, almost mousse-like set. The jars go into a water bath around 172°F (78°C) for an hour - hot enough to set the eggs firmly but gentle enough that the custard never turns rubbery the way a fully baked egg dish can.

Lids matter more than they sound like they should. Screwed on finger-tight, they let trapped steam vent as the jars heat; forced fully sealed, that same steam pressure can crack the glass or send a lid flying. It looks like a fussy detail until the first time skipping it goes wrong.

Bacon and Gruyère are one classic combination, but the base recipe is really just a blank canvas - swap in ham and cheddar, broccoli and cheese, or roasted red pepper, as long as anything raw gets fully cooked before it goes into the jar. Egg bites hold up well in the fridge, which makes them a natural batch-cook breakfast: pull one out, warm it, and eat it with toast, fruit, or a cup of coffee on the way out the door.

Ingredients

Makes 6-8 bites (Serves 4)

6 eggs, large
75 g cottage cheese, small curd
56 g Gruyère cheese, shredded (or cheddar, gouda, or another semi-hard cheese)
1/4 tsp fine salt (omit or reduce if using a very salty cheese)
3 slices bacon, cooked crisp and finely chopped (about 40 g)
cooking spray, for the jars

Directions

Set the sous vide water bath to 172°F (78°C) and let it come up to temperature while you prep everything else.

Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp, then drain it on paper towels and chop it finely once it’s cool enough to handle.

Combine the eggs, cottage cheese, Gruyère, and salt in a blender. Blend on high until completely smooth and slightly aerated, about 30-45 seconds. This step does the real work - whisking by hand won’t fully break down the cottage cheese curds, and the texture will come out lumpy instead of custard-smooth.

Coat six 4 oz (125 ml) wide-mouth glass jars lightly with cooking spray, then divide the chopped bacon evenly among them. Pour the egg mixture into the jars on top, leaving a little headspace, and wipe the rims clean.

Screw the lids on finger-tight only. Do not force them fully sealed - trapped steam can crack or shatter the jars as they heat.

Submerge the jars completely in the water bath and cook for 1 hour (60 minutes).

Lift the jars out carefully; they’ll be hot. Let them rest for a minute, then serve straight from the jar, or run a thin knife around the inside edge and turn the egg bite out onto a plate. For a browned top, finish briefly under the broiler or with a kitchen torch before serving.

Notes

For a plain, cheese-only version, drop the bacon and use 6 eggs, 1/2 cup hard cheese, and 1/4 cup cream cheese in place of the cottage cheese - this is the simplest base formula and a good starting point for other mix-ins.

For a looser, more pourable batter, swap the cottage cheese for 1/2 cup heavy cream. The result is softer and richer, with less of the curd-like texture cottage cheese gives.

Other mix-ins work well in place of the bacon - cooked broccoli, ham, roasted red pepper, or sautéed shallot all hold up, as long as anything raw is fully cooked before it goes into the jar; the water bath isn’t hot enough or long enough to cook raw meat or dense vegetables through.

Egg bites keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat gently in a 140°F (60°C) water bath for about 15 minutes, or with a short 30-60 second microwave burst. They don’t freeze well - the custard texture breaks down on thawing.