donut pan idea no. 16: eggs two ways

There are many, many things we can do with eggs in these donut pans. Egg ideas are the number one idea suggested to me when talking about the donut pan project with my friends. I know what you are thinking. Don't worry, we'll get to that one.

These are coddled eggs, for lack of a better term. One is coddled to a soft cook, the other to a hard. The beauty of coddling your egg is twofold. First, you are able to gage the level of doneness of your egg simply by looking at it (and maybe giving it a poke), unlike the guesswork involved with cooking an egg in its shell. Same taste, no mystery. The second wonderful thing about these ring-shaped eggs is just that. The shape. You know where your yolk is from the get-go, and getting to the yolk is the best part! Not to mention how nicely a ring would sit on a bagel. Remove the yolk completely and you've got a perfect egg white for your bagel sandwich. The shape is just fun. It's just awesome.

Soft cooked, with toast.

Hard cooked, in a deconstructed egg salad.

All you need is a large metal roasting or broiler pan, a metal baking sheet, a gas oven, cooking spray and large eggs. And whatever you want to serve your eggs with.

Start by spraying the donut pan cavities you are going to use with cooking spray. Set the donut pan in water within the larger roasting pan. The water should come up to the underside of the top of the pan, no further. When the water boils the donut pan with float around a little bit, which is good. 

Oil or spray as needed.

Donut pan in larger pan.

The larger roasting pan should span two burners, so heat is distributed evenly.

Get water to a gentle boil and keep it there.

Things at this point are hot and steamy. Break one egg into a small container (preferably with a spout) and then pour into an oiled pan cavity, being careful not to break the yolk. Work quickly (and with caution)! The soft cooked eggs can be ready within 3-5 minutes, the hard cooked around 8-10. Again, the beauty of this is you can watch the eggs, not just the clock.

One at a time!

They start to set up fast!

Keep the donut hole clear if needed.

If you partially cover the roasting pan with a baking sheet, things will go even quicker.

When the cover comes off, things get extra steamy. Please be careful!

Here's the soft cooked egg. I lifted it out of the pan with a
knife and slid it onto a plate. And ate it with toast.

The hard cooked egg stays in a few more minutes. One of the neat things about this method is you get no unsightly gray coloring around the hard yolk. When you think the egg ring is cooked to your liking, remove the pan from heat. To prevent further cooking, slide it out of the pan onto a plate as soon as you can.

Toothpick test.

Super steamy!

By the way, dicing a donut-shaped hard cooked egg is way easier than dicing an egg-shaped egg.

I actually served the hard cooked egg to David at dinnertime, with some dill, diced red onion, mayonnaise and cracked pepper. He devoured it. This weekend I plan on making our breakfast sandwiches this way. Just for fun.